Emaillist : Knowing how particular you are with regard to phono carts, be assured that Steam Cleaning has much to offer you, but the process does take longer with the LC and is hands-on, hard to do when you are on the phone.All the best.
In love with my Loricraft
After spending a day trying to get the unit set up correctly, and many phone calls to the great people at Smart Devices, (and reading an old post of DougDeacons that helped me identify why the arm wasn't moving) I finally got to experience the joy of a Loricraft PRC3 with an acrylic cover.
Turns out the arm magnet base needed some vaseline to allow it to seat fully.
I really have to do some before and after testing to really tell if I am getting the improvement I think I am over my 16.5. I however can say that one LP that was truly in bad shape with lots of scratches, now actually sounds quite a bit better, and I did seem to experience the greater blackness that some people have posted about.
I do not find that it takes considerably longer than it did with the VPI, with 2 passes, some time allowing the AI enzymes to work, etc.
The huge thing for me (aside from not having to wear earmuff protectors) is that I can now actually clean some LP's while talking on the phone with friends that seem to want to talk all night. I had tried that a few times with the VPI and had to mute the phone when I hit the vacuum switch.
Also when I get the urge to clean and hear something late at night I can actually now do it without fear of waking people, and can simply clean for hours without overheating/fluid overflow.
Sure I feel a bit foolish about spending more on an LP cleaner than most people spend on their entire music system, but I guess I'll just choose to keep the cost to myself.
Obviously I wish I had bought the unit a while ago when I first learned about it (and was cheaper), but I did get in before this current price increase, which in my estimation just pushes it over the edge in terms of cost (for me anyway). It seems impending price increases lately have really gotten me to buy items I hadn't planned on. But it seems Loricraft has made improvements to the machines over the years, and now include a reverse, leveling feet and an arm rest which is nice.
To be fair, the price to performance ratio of the VPI 16.5 just can't be beat. It's a machine anyone with even a casual interest in vinyl should own.
I also seem to be getting fluid being spun onto the top, and I plan to try cutting some synthetic chamois material into a shape around the platter to absorb the fluid. Drying the spill for just a one LP cleaning session is a bit of a drag. But it seems like I need to use that amount of fluid to get good coverage.
The acrylic cover really helps to dress the unit up and will be a huge help in keeping the unit clean since it sits near a window.
It's purchase I never would have had the courage to make were it not for the great posts of Loricraft users here and on the asylum.
Incidentally, after placing my order, I happened to see a brand new VPI Typhoon in person, and started to wish I had ordered that. It was not yet set up so I couldn't hear how loud it was compared with my 16.5. It would have been a nice comparison, and the Typhoon looked like a very nice machine as well.
Turns out the arm magnet base needed some vaseline to allow it to seat fully.
I really have to do some before and after testing to really tell if I am getting the improvement I think I am over my 16.5. I however can say that one LP that was truly in bad shape with lots of scratches, now actually sounds quite a bit better, and I did seem to experience the greater blackness that some people have posted about.
I do not find that it takes considerably longer than it did with the VPI, with 2 passes, some time allowing the AI enzymes to work, etc.
The huge thing for me (aside from not having to wear earmuff protectors) is that I can now actually clean some LP's while talking on the phone with friends that seem to want to talk all night. I had tried that a few times with the VPI and had to mute the phone when I hit the vacuum switch.
Also when I get the urge to clean and hear something late at night I can actually now do it without fear of waking people, and can simply clean for hours without overheating/fluid overflow.
Sure I feel a bit foolish about spending more on an LP cleaner than most people spend on their entire music system, but I guess I'll just choose to keep the cost to myself.
Obviously I wish I had bought the unit a while ago when I first learned about it (and was cheaper), but I did get in before this current price increase, which in my estimation just pushes it over the edge in terms of cost (for me anyway). It seems impending price increases lately have really gotten me to buy items I hadn't planned on. But it seems Loricraft has made improvements to the machines over the years, and now include a reverse, leveling feet and an arm rest which is nice.
To be fair, the price to performance ratio of the VPI 16.5 just can't be beat. It's a machine anyone with even a casual interest in vinyl should own.
I also seem to be getting fluid being spun onto the top, and I plan to try cutting some synthetic chamois material into a shape around the platter to absorb the fluid. Drying the spill for just a one LP cleaning session is a bit of a drag. But it seems like I need to use that amount of fluid to get good coverage.
The acrylic cover really helps to dress the unit up and will be a huge help in keeping the unit clean since it sits near a window.
It's purchase I never would have had the courage to make were it not for the great posts of Loricraft users here and on the asylum.
Incidentally, after placing my order, I happened to see a brand new VPI Typhoon in person, and started to wish I had ordered that. It was not yet set up so I couldn't hear how loud it was compared with my 16.5. It would have been a nice comparison, and the Typhoon looked like a very nice machine as well.
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