Degritter brand ultrasonic record cleaner

I got mine a couple days ago. There have been some issues but I think (hope) we’re past that now. The company has been very responsive and helpful. Coming from a KL machine there are so many things better about the Degritter. I had one new album that was very noisy since I bought it. Probably should have thrown it out after cleaning it with the KL 10 times and no improvement. I cleaned it once on the Degritter and it’s 95% quiet now!  I’m putting every record through a heavy wash and I swear even records with no issues sound noticeably better afterwards.  

The Degritter machine met my expectations.  Nice looking, very easy to use, great user interface, excellent flexibility in how you want to wash the records.  Being able to drop a record in, push a button and walk away was what I wanted.

There was one software glitch (machine didn't automatically turn off after 15 minutes as it is supposed to) but that was purportedly fixed with updated software that I have yet to download and install. But nothing that has impeded the use of the machine. 


It's nice that the Degritter can be updated by the user as new software is released - they can tweak how the machine works based on user feedback and their own research.

Just to try, I did get a second tank.  So if I want I can do a wash with surfactant, then insert the second tank to wash off the surfactant.  Not sure this has made any difference.  It's tough to know because I only ever have one copy of a record to wash, they are all going to be in different shape sonically, so it's hard to compare multiple cleaning methods.

As for sonic results, like any record cleaner it depends on the shape of the record and the nature of it's noise.  Obviously this machine won't get rid of pops and ticks caused by actual damage to the record, only if it's caused by debris that can be scoured out.   Overall I'd say I hear an appreciable difference with every record after cleaning - smoother, less hash, somewhat less pops and ticks.  There have been the occasional jaw-dropping difference.  One record went from sounding like it had been taken directly from a trash compactor - hard to even hear the music through the noise - to sounding almost brand new after a wash in the Degritter.  I hadn't thought such a thing possible until I heard it.

Downsides?   Sometimes I'm not sure I prefer the sound of the washed record to the unwashed record.  It can sometimes make a record sound in a way a bit more CD-like than vinyl.  Can sometimes seem to lose a little bit of life/air/leading edge after a wash.

For those of us who prefer to use a distilled water wash before drying (when using surfactant or another additive to the cleaning fluid), is it possible to stop the machine before the drying cycle, to either switch tanks and run another cycle, or to rinse and dry the record on a vacuum machine? 

Yes the Degritter is very flexible and user programmable.

I got two water tanks for my Degritter for when I want to do as you’ve mentioned - a second wash to remove any left over surfactant.  Though the usual presets combine wash and dry, you can select to only wash the record - 3 presents from light/med/heavy wash times.  Or only dry.

So I do a heavy wash with the surfactant tank, with no dry time selected.   When it’s finished I switch in the water-only tank and select a quick wash/dry cycle.  

It looks like a good product and may be more serviceable than an Audidesk with its failing pump and glued together construction, I came very close to placing an order but then I read the terms and conditions which basically state that “any problem isn’t our problem” which rather put me off.