Is that record dead yet?

Whoa. I suggest forgetting the record cleaning machine and getting a steamer for the really dirty ones followed with the Disc Doctor cleaning system. (Bottles of fluid and a set of brushes).

I've got way more invested in my cartridge than you and get incredible results without a RCM. You'll get a higher return on investment by imrpoving your cartridge instead of saving for a RCM, IMHO.

BTW, a scratch significant enough to rip the styllus off a MC cartridge is going to be very obvious. If you have no horrendous looking scratches and you clean the records, you should listen with no fear for your cartridge. Scratches that cause pops within the dynamic range of the music or even slightly higher pose no risk to any cartridges.

Dave

01-20-08: Grimace said:
"I have heard good things about the Disc Dr. system. An RCM is not in the cards for while so that might be a good alternative for the time being. Currently I'm using a very fine automotive dust cloth for lint,dog hair, etc., especially for new records that really don't need to be cleaned. For actual cleaning I'm using D4 and the old fashioned courdoroy brush, which I know a lot of folks frown on, but its better than nothing."

Actually a micro-fiber cloth is very near the best that you can do. Given that you can buy a bag of them at Sam's Club or Wal-Mart makes it a very cost effective and high quality solution.

I combine that with a Carbon Fiber brush and a ZeroStat remove static. I get the "big chunks" off, then the micro-fiber cloth and then a zap with the Z-Stat.

I don't clean new LPs with Disc Doctor unless I get some noise on the first play. Most used records get a cleaning with D-Dr before they go on the TT. Some people say that you need to clean all records, but I say, "let your ears guide you."

Dave

Some used records will have groove damage due to poor maintenance. Unfortunately there's little that you can do for those and it's not easy to know the cause until you try cleaning.

Dave