Perhaps this will come down if enough are sold....
Hardly. I think, Mk. III - Mk XVI will follow :-)
Audio Desk Record Cleaner-Anyone buy one yet
I may never get to own one of these due to the price, but if I could I would say that it may the best upgrade to any analog system. I had the opportunity recently to have a couple of records cleaned on one. The two Lp's I had cleaned are one of many copies I have purchased thru the years in search of a good clean copy. The title is the 2 disk set "Renaissance Live at Carnegie Hall". I took one of my copies over in hopes that I would get back that sought after clean copy. However I will preface my comments about the Audio Desk with the cold hard fact that once a record reaches a level of surface noise and contamination, nothing can make it new again. However once the Audio Desk completed it's 8 minute process, the improvements were immediately evident. First thing to take notice of, absolutely the cleanest and shiniest black vinyl I think I have ever seen. The LP's looked better than new under light. But the real test is listening. As I have listened to the title many many times from my first copy back in the 70's and never on LP, CD or Imported CD have I heard the detail of the recording. On disk #1 the cleanest of the two the LP was much cleaner than I have been able to obtain on my VPI 16.5 using Walker 4 Step, Mobile Fidelity Enzime, L'Art Du son, and various other solutions. My guess is the Audio Desk cleaned an additional 50-70% of the surface noise from the album. The depth of information in the Annie Haslam's Vocals, the clarity of the Bass that I had written off as muddled recording failure was now revealing the individual notes each taking their own space in the music field. The orchestra was fully present and not crowded together as before. Now on to disk 2, the disappointment of permanantly damaged grooves was inescapable. However the music that came thru had much more information to re-write the recall of this recording burned in my memory from previous listening sessions. On Scherazade with the verbal introduction to the song, I heard instruments and voices in nthe back ground that I had never noticed before. Little plucks of strings and puffs on brass as the orchestra was making sure they were ready to perform. I will say that an additional cleaning of 20-30 percent of this album was still obvious but to my disappointment, the Audio Desk is not a miracle worker, but a pretty damn good magician. I think 3800.00 is a lot of money for just about anything these days, but is it worth the 3800.00? Yes if you value and love your record collection. I have an LP12 with many upgrades and Lyra Kleos Cartridge. This record cleaner is just 800.00 more than the cartridge and when I put the two in perspective they both can bring a much higher level of performance to your turntable. Unfortunatly you need both and I sadley can only afford one. The financial curse of audiophilia continues....
Showing 6 responses by syntax
There are a few points which should be realized in cleaning, -Speed has nothing to do with a better cleaning result -Cleaning grooves from dirt and removing dust from new records are 2 different chapters. - Using always new, clean fluid is always superior to a System which uses the same fluid all over again - Quality discussions about a Design which was made for Audiophiles or serious Dealers should be seen different. - Physics and opinions are also 2 different chapters. - Cleaning Reissues and thinking about upgrading the RCM because there are still ticks and pops with the actual unit: Forget it. Reissues are bad compared to the vinyl from the 70's to 1995 (for example), with some exceptions, but in general it is the way it is... It has to do with soft vinyl, bad quality control, wrong cooling processes and so on. Buried Know H9871240ow. And when you have luck and get a silent reissue, I bet, it sounds worse than the original because the remaster was done mediocre (Today money counts, not perfection). Second Hand Records from the former years can be in top optical condition, no scratches and when you play it, you will have noise. This is mainly based on the fact, that a previous owner used a wrong aligned cart/Arm or too much VTF. Then the grooves are damaged. Best you can do, throw it away (I do it). Short pain, but then it is done. When a record is not silent after 2 cleaning processes with a point nozzle and a cleaning fluid, then there are normally grooves damaged or the vinyl has problems, years ago it was very common to use alcohol in cleaning fluids, when done wrong, the groove side walls got dry, inflexible and the only chance to enjoy them is a cart with a round needle :-) Or you go the way with short pain....500 top records are better than 3000 noisy ones. Life is too short for that |
Where do we reach the point of overkill and just start wasting time? Definitely worth thinking about. All discussions can be reduced to something simple: The cleaning fluid has the task to make any kind of dirt soft. When it is soft enough, it can be removed. Of course ultrasonics can help here, or a towel.... The real task (and secret - or background - of ANY Design) is the way to REMOVE it. When you have a drink with a Straw and a given sucking power you know, the more narrow the Straw is, the higher is the speed through it. And you have also the most power in this diameter when it is narrow. The bigger (wider) the Straw is, the more power you will loose. Motors from RCM's are not rated in HP :-) Here we have the most powerful ability to get something out of the groove. Another important fact is, what happens after the removal? The area from a point nozzle design is after the sucking process completely dry. Any other Designs have another kind of "lips, brushes, fans" behind the vacuum. When that one is wet (happens very fast, too much fluid or a few records in a row) then there will stay some wetness after the vacuuming. This fluid will dry after some time and when you play it again, you will have surface noise again. There is no way out. VPI units (or similar designs) are a good example for that. The Audiodesk uses the same cleaning fluid again and again, there are filters, but forget them after a while. There are brushes, but forget them after a while .... It is a nice toy, great for Audiophiles who can live with something which saves time, is comfortable, in a way it is "modern High Tech" and that is ok. I know record dealers who tried it and no one used them for a longer time. Most have Loricrafts or when they can afford it, a Keith Monks. All Designs have some strengths, because they are all better than doing nothing, but when you think about what is responsible for what and how it is solved (and the reliability after longer time) it is obvious, that you will find different opinions. This is ok and absolutely normal. When there are various opinions, every reader can try to find the right one for himself. The world is loaded with Jaguar Drivers, but when I can afford only one car because I buy it and have to use it for 10+ years, my choice is Mercedes. |
Effective cleaning or fast cleaning ... :-) My Way Click me gentle This is a picture from the used Fluid (from MY Point Nozzle). For each record new fluid was used (The Audiodesk uses the same fluid over and over again, it is ok for a record a day...a typical 'audiophile' Product) The dirt you can see is coming from M-, VG++ Records or new Reissues (I don't buy them anymore)... |
Well, the real Audiophile never sleeps :-) May I show you something interesting? I got it last year, it is a 1-step cleaning fluid from Germany and I use it now ( the other one is AIVS, also ok, but the German one is an interesting fluid).... HANNL VI3c |