Why so few record cleaners for sale?

A good record cleaner is important to have if you value your records and phono cartridge stylus. I had a VPI 16.5 for several years and found it very worthwhile. Early last year I replaced it with a Loricraft, as my collection and system have become much more 'serious' in recent years, and it does a much better job. Either way, I urge you to get something, to enable you to listen happily to your records for many more years to come. Personally I would recommend a VPI or SOTA (very similar to the VPI 16.5), or if budget allows, a Loricraft.

Brian

Nrchy, I've seen the SOTA a number of times but never compared its performance directly, although the extra features look to be nice to have. I think if the price difference between them were, say $50, the choice would be obvious.

The VPI 17 is a step up from the 16.5 by virtue of its automated features and the ability to clean in both directions. Whether it's better than the SOTA could be debatable.

I mentioned the Loricraft mainly because it uses a completely different approach, with a nylon thread which comes in contact with the record instead of the 'velvet lips' approach that almost all other record cleaners employ. The machine's operation is QUIET, and the results speak for themselves. It does take a little more time per side to clean, about a minute, and a little more manual operation is involved. The performance and the lack of sounding like a loud vacuum cleaner were what sold me on it.

Brian

How the $1795 Loricraft PRC3 compares with the $1000 VPI HW-17 is at least somewhat subjective. Does it do a better job? Based upon feedback from an HW-17 owner who loaned me three of his most valuable records to see how the Loricraft would do, it seems there is a nice improvement. Was it mind blowing? Perhaps not, but he heard improvements on each record. As a result he is considering a Loricraft. He has a fully loaded VPI TNT with ET arm, well isolated and fully tweaked and precisely leveled.

Information on the Loricraft can be found at http://www.loricraft.com.

Brian