Do you clean your new records?

Yes, it is strange. I just went to my local shop and tried an Audio Desk. Yes, the fans dried the record. Brilliant gizmo. I ordered one.

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Strong move, that’s the top of the food chain for RCM’s

Enjoy it in good health for many years…

Best,
-JP

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Hope it lasts, two had the ultrasonic pucks fail. Truth be told, which is why I passed on them.

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Hi @aangen, your machine(s) would always have all the the bells and whistles, while we have basic doggy stuff!

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I’m 5 or 6 records into the cleaning process with my new Degritter ultrasonic.
The thing is brilliant. It was designed and engineered by bright, forward thinking people. Everything about it including it’s controls feel like very high quality.
The menu routines are intuitive, everything is logical.
Some records seem less effected than others, but most are much quieter with a lot more information coming thru.
Since I’ve not had an Audio Desk, I can’t compare performance, but I like the Degritter’s simplicity, no brushes to replace, no “refresher kit”.
A happy purchase
Oh—did I mention the complete absence of static? Also nice.

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Happy to hear of your positive experience with the Degritter. I’ve been using mine for about 18 months and couldn’t be happier. Started with a Spin Clean and then an Okki Nokki before taking the plunge on an ultrasonic machine. Admittedly not cheap, but the effectiveness and convenience are worth the premium to me. I make a habit of rinsing out the foam filter whenever I change the water in the tank - other than that, as you mention, it’s maintenance free! I’ve picked up a few heavily discounted used LPs with low expectations on how they would sound. The Degrtitter has managed to render many of them quite listenable. In my opinion, Taniel and his team in Estonia have a winner with the Degritter.

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I imagine it must be the release agent coming off, but on some new records, a couple heavy clean cycles gives a sq result that feels like a cartridge upgrade.

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Agreed. My ritual with new records is to run the “quick clean” cycle on pressings from better quality manufacturers like MoFi or Analogue Productions. For other sources, especially when I can see debris on the surface, I’ll opt for the Medium or Heavy cycle. Cleaned records get stored in MFSL sleeves and then the record and jacket are stored in a 4 mil polyethylene sleeve. Used records get one or two Heavy cycles before they meet my stylus. You are correct about the nice byproduct of having a static-free, as well as clean, record after the process. At least as good as using the Zerostat gun!

Robert Harley TAS-Absolute Analog has a review of the Degritter in the October issue, he likes it a lot! I now have to add it to the never ending list of toys thatI must have🙂

There is also a review of a $340 goat hair record brush (The Ramar Record Brush) this is getting out of control

The Degritter looks like a really nice little machine!

Best,
-JP

You would not believe how filthy the water and filter gets from new records!
And a $340 goat hair brush??? Mine came with a bottle of Revolv cleaning fluid, roughly $30.
Maybe Mr Ramar put the decimal in the wrong place.
And the Degritter is so simple to use; perfect for those with a short atten

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Someone posted an early review of the HumminGuru RCM. Article is posted in English with Google Translator.

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One could buy a whole goat for far less than that! Plus you’d have the meat too :thinking: :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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This is optimistic, I’m really pleased, it’s good to see 3rd party reviews starting to come in. The project has been heavily backed so we should see more of these filtering in, but this is really positive.

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HummingGuru

Thank-you for sharing, this appears to be an economical approach for cleaning vinyl just prior to playback… Repeating the five minute drying cycle ot my attention. Overall the product looks promising.

I was at one of my Audio Dealers picking up something and I noticed that he had some record cleaners. Ten minutes of conversation later, I bought a Kirmuss KA-RC1 Ultrasonic cleaner. Many of his other cleaners were just vacuums that didn’t address the “crud” that was on some of my records. The biggest issue is the residue on many new records. Hopefully this will end that problem. I’ll try a few on the weekend to see if it’s all that it’s claimed to be in thoroughness.

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The white filter of my cleaner gets filthy after washing several new records. And I’ve even seen some particles in the distilled water tank.

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That says something about the current quality control status of many new records. I bought a new limited edition (aren’t they all) copy of Vince Guaraldi’s Christmas Songs last year, and there was a greasy residue in patches on the record and it was unplayable. It’s taken me a year to get around to fixing the problem. (my wife’s correct, I’m a procrastinator)

That’s what the “heavy” cycle is for on the Degritter.

Isonic

I ended up splurging on an Isonic and clean 3 records at a time. Seems to be a step up from the VPI 16.5. The down side of the Isonic is drying the records. Currently the VPI does a post clean rinse and drying with a spacer to keep the reverse side of the record off the VPI platter. Clumsy but effective. Just not ready for the ultimate splurge, a Degritter at $3,000, MOL. I may give the HummingGuru a shot. The Isonic came in at $649 during August, i see the price has gone up.

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I also was a part of the kickstarter for this product. I’m starting to get excited about receiving it and seeing how it does. I’ve never used an ultrasonic cleaner before, I could never justify the cost before now.

I received an email that they are preparing to ship. In that email they mentioned import duties being my responsibility. I have no idea how that works. I did a few searches, and it appears that anything imported from China to the U.S. which has a value of less than $800, has no import duties. Can anyone confirm this? If there are import duties due, do I contact Customs, or do they contact me?

Thanks,
RJ