Sweetvinyl Sugarcube - SC1 and SC2


I have the Sugarcube in my systems for a couple of days now, and I must say this is the most exciting upgrade to my system. I have both  the SC1 and SC2 and I must say they are awesome. I was very sceptical in making the purchase but now I don't have any regrets. I was in Japan a few we weeks ago and I got the opportunity to check out the ELP Laser Disk Turntable at the factory, but this is a different animal. I have been watching the ELP for a long time to see if I could get a price break, and I also know that they had a "Click remover".  so during the ELP audition I asked for a demonstration of the Click remover. It does remove the click and pops, but it also affected the audio playback. And to be honest, ELP no longer make the Click remover, probably for that same reason. So when I looked into the Sugarcubes I was wondering if how it would impact the audio playback beside removing the clicks and pops. To my surprise I can't tell any difference when I engage the click remover on these units. The noisy records playback quietly without any noticable difference in sound that affects the playback. I am still amazed how Sweet vinyl was able to do it. There is a good video on YouTube that a guy did about the sugarcube SC2, check it out.

Has anyone else listened to the sugarcube or have it in their syetem? I would like to hear about your experience with them.
almandog
What made you purchase both the SC1 and the SC2? I was under the impression that one of those two is like the other except for being deficient in some of its capabilities.
I like to listen and try things out for myself, so I decided to try these units out. Plus I have a lot of LP that a friend gave me and I want to rip them on CD for her, which the SC2 can do.
If all you want to do is to rip LPs and declick the digital files, what is wrong with Audacity?
I have an SC1 and like it a lot.  It does an amazing job on many, but not all records.  It depends on the nature of the damage.  On some records it takes a noisy surface and cleans it up completely.  Other records, it takes all but the worst noise out, still making the record quite listenable.  But some records are beyond redemption.  Another thing I like is that the company is constantly working to improve it and the upgrades are free, which is nice.  Also, Music Direct gives you their 60 money back guarantee.  It is a great product.  Very easy to use too.  I wrote a more complete review at the VPI forum if anybody is interested.
I have an SC-1 and so far I am impressed. I do not have the skill level and the time to figure out whether how much this degrades the sound quality from all these conversions!
Tkr51:
I did not say all I want to do is RIP the LP.
I said I will RIP the LP for my friend who gave me her entire vinyl collection. I used Audiacity before but the SC2 will be much more convenient. 
I have an SC-2. I am impressed with the real time click and pop removal function. It is hard to tell the difference so I I leave it on for all my listening now, at a 2 or 3 setting.

Still waiting for SugarCube to introduce the automatic track splitting function. That would be icing on the cake.

For now, I record with the SC-2 connected to an Alesis Masterlink. The recordings sound very good. It has already saved me a lot of time to not have to use Click Remover anymore. Also, it seems that the SugarCube is better than Click Remover in terms of the resulting sound quality.
It also makes cakes without icing?  I will wait for the frosting update. (Very sorry; couldn't resist the opportunity for levity.)  No one who has tried out the product(s) has had a bad word to say, so far as I recall.
The SugarCubes are brilliant pieces of equipment. I have had my SC2 up and running for a few days, and already I am able to make vinyl rips that are amazing. I have even been able to get high quality rips from 60 year old records that were previously unlistenable. 

If you are serious about your vinyl, you need to consider one.
Yes the Sugarcubes are really nice for the money, and they do exactly what they are supposed to. PM me for more information. 
I am one of the first 50 beta testers for the SC-2.  You can find my thread for the SC-2 here on the forums.  I love this thing.  Why not audacity?  Because I wanted a turn-key solution to listening and ripping vinyl that would not involve a separate computer.  Also, to my ears, there is almost no sonic penalty with the click processing.  Perhaps a slight narrowing of the soundstage, but it is subtle.  I am making incredible 96/24 needle drops of my vinyl and putting them on my server.  The software is getting much better, and an annoying transient between digitized tracks has been fixed and eliminated.  Just a few more things to do before the SC-2 software comes out of beta, especially allowing the rips to be sent to a networked server instead of the attached USB drive. 

Also, being a part of the collaborative beta process with Sweetvinyl has been a fun and interesting experience.  I get to see how the sausage is made, and it is fascinating.
Got a demo unit to try and so far it’s a keeper. The only thing I noticed as far as affecting the sound, transients are not as robust, but it’s not enough to deter me , for what it does it does really well. It makes the listening experience more enjoyable without a doubt.
I've been hoping an SC2 will show up on the used market.  Looks like it is going to be a long wait!
Just installed an SC-1Mini today. It's a silent background with no change in the audio. I couldn't be more pleased. 
Yes the Sugarcube is an awesome unit.
But that does not mean you should stop buying clean and unscratched records. The cleaner the records, the better the sugarcube performance.
For $489 USD you can get a beautiful sounding PUFFIN phono amp from Parks Audio that has a scratch and pop filter that works very nicely albiet not quite as good as the $3000 unit. But for a budget minded person, this PUFFIN is well worth the $$$$.
I finally found a SC2 model about six months ago.  Really an impressive unit that removes the surface noise from scratches.  Can take a VG to M!  I can't hear any loss at all (and neither could Michael Fremer who reviewed it for Stereophile) but there are some who claim to hear some very slight effect.  If so, still a very fair tradeoff for what is gained.

@andysf 
Consider the SVNR upgrade, s hardware upgrade Sweetvinyl will do for $500.  IME, removing the clicks and pops reveals more surface noise.  SVNR does a good job of masking that noise.  
@bondmanp     
That was my plan from the start as I bought it to archive rare 78 rpm records.  Thought I would keep it for a week or so and send it off but once I got it, I didn't want to part with it!