Cleaning machine

I'm looking to buy a vacuum record cleaning machine very soon.
I've currently got the £425 needed to buy a VPI HW-16.5 from audiophilecandy.com but was wondering if anyone has any better ideas.
Is it worth spending more (hope not as its quite a bit already) - is there anywhere else I should be looking - and can you give me some advice on fluid to use. I dont like the sound of alcohol based solutions, but have noticed VPI RCM cleaning fluid from the same place that is alcohol free.
Any advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers

 

Russ Andrews has come up with a non-alcohol based solution called ReVive for £9.95 a litre which I've tried (amongst many others) and it is, unlike some of his other products, remarkably good, especially as I'm also not keen on using alcohol based solutions. In fact, it is one of the best record cleaners I've used. VPI's own cleaning fluid only rates as okay in my view.

I've got the VPI 16.5, and have had the experience of using others, such as the Loricraft machine, the VPI 17F and the Moth cleaner. The 16.5 wins hands downs IMO. It is a well-built workhorse of a machine, and provides far better long-term value than any other vacuum cleaner out there. The pricier models provide more convenience but don't clean records any better - in fact I think that because of the manual nature of the 16.5, once you get used to operating it you will be able to clean your LPs better than the fully automated cleaners. I have never once regretted my purchase, as you don't have to think twice about buying secondhand LPs (something I did beforehand), and it keeps your precious collection in top condition. Also, it is worth buying in order to clean even your new LPs, as mould release agent needs to be cleaned from them to hear them at their best. I've had my 16.5 for about 5 years now and it is working just as well as it was on day one. Highly recommended.

 

I've had a 16.5 for getting on for a couple of years now. Wouldn't be without it. I wouldn't worry about alcohol-based fluids, I've never had any problems with them. Once a record has been given a good clean you're unlikely to ever need to clean it again if it's stored properly in a decent Nagaoka inner, I suppose if I was washing records every time I played them I might feel differently about alcohol cleaners.

-- Ian

 

I wouldn'y rush into a purchase from Audiophilecandy!

I think the current price of the VPI 16.5 RCM is £475 and you should check whether postage is added on top.

I bought my VPI 16.5 from The Cherished Record Company http://www.cherished-record-company.co.uk/Vpi products.htm and he was doing a deal at the time with the choice of seven selections from a new vinyl list. Triple albums counted as one selection!!

It's one of the best recent purchases I have made. I bought some of the L'Art du Son record cleaner concentrate which is alcohol-free and does a fantastic job of cleaning LP's.

The biggest kick has been walking out of Ben's Records in Guildford with an armful of vinyl bought for a £1 a disc!!!!

 

I got my VPI for $500 including postage to Japan, so 475 quid seems like a lot of money to me!
Anyway, I second what everyone has said about it. It works really well and is pretty mcuh a crucial purchase.
Lyra do an excellent non-alcohol cleaner, which I understand they are about to start selling in concentrate form (just add distilled water). It's what I use now, and is a really good solution well worth checking out.

 

Snoopdog, you lucky sod! I used to live near Guildford and Ben's was a vinyl utopia for me. Bargains garlore. I still take a peek in when I go and visit my parents, but that hasn't been in a long while. Does Ben still stick everything in old supermarket bags, or has he got his own record bags yet?...but what do you expect for £1 per LP!!

Long live Ben's Collectors Records!

 

this might be totally out of topic/out of the league you guys are talking about, but for the price difference, is the VPI ten times better than the cheaper Knosti machine? I was told many good things about it and it is sooo much cheaper!!

Jack

 

I had a Knosti before I got the VPI. Does a pretty good job, but the vacuum cleaners are better. With the Knosti you have to leave the record to dry of it's own accord, the cleaning fluid goes into the bottom of the tank at the start of the cleaning session and gets reused throughout the session, and for really dirty records it seems to bring the gunk to the top of the grooves rather than fully cleaning it out, so the next time you play the record you get a gunk ball the size of Lithuania on your stylus tip. Despite all that, it does work reasonably well.

-- Ian

 

Cheers for the advice: it looks like I've made a good choice then...
its £475 from both audiophilecandy and cherished record co; and I want some other stuff from audiophile candy, so it looks like they're getting my money.

"I wouldn'y rush into a purchase from Audiophilecandy!"

am I going to get messed around or something.....or was it just the price?????

Looking at the catalogue I've got the choice of "Lyra VPT Vinyl Performance Treatement" and "VPI RCM Cleaning Fluid" at £30 and £15 each. The VPI fluid is a concentrate and makes over 4 litres but the Lyra just says 300ml bottle. Which makes the VPI appear much more appealing. However would the Lyra be better or is there anything else anyone would recommend.

Also how economical is the machine on cleaning fluid??

Cheers

 

I bought a five litre bottle of Moth's fluid about a year ago, and I've only just finished drinking it, er, cleaning with it:

http://store.securehosting.com/stores/sh204131/shophome.php?itemprcd=rcmfluid

-- Ian

 

cheers for the link.....looks tasty... might have to get me some of that.

 

Ben is still sending customers out of the shop with an old supermarket bag!!!!!!

There are some treasures to be had at a quid a throw though. Iv'e recently aquired mint LP's by Ricky Lee Jones, Paul Simon, Janis Ian, Fleetwood Mac and various other artists from the days of my youth!

Most concentrates are added to 4/5 litres of purified water (I get mine triple-purified through a friendly local dentist, thereby ensuring there are no mineral deposits) and make loads of cleaning fluid which I store in a cool dark place until needed.

The amount of fluid used during the cleaning process is not excessive and a standard bottle of concentrate (whether VPI, L'Art du Son or whatever) will last ages.

My comment relating to Audiophile candy was not intended to alarm (I am a very satisfied customer of theirs) but to make you aware that other sources, such as The Cherished Record Company had a promotion involving seven free albums with the purchase of a VPI 16.5 RCM.

 

I thought the Emporium did them for 425. I cant be arsed to check though, so I'll leave that to you
Chris

 

I bought mine from the Cherished Record Company at a hifi show. A sizeable discount for cash was very easy to negotiate.

-- Ian

 

record cleaner turned up today - £496 with a bottle of l'art de son; 150 nagaoka inners and 150 el cheapo shito plastic outers (personally i hate plastic outers) but that seems like pretty good value to me.

Having used it can anyone tell me if its normal for a smear to be left on the inner bit of the record (the bit after the music but before the record label). I can see it here because this is darker than the rest of the record as there are no grooves cut on it, but for all i know the smear could be across the whole record (although ive held it up to the light and i cant see anything).

Help!!!

 

What about Elusive Disc in the States? Even landed it's going to be sub £400 with loads of nice goodies to go with it. A good chance to buy some nice software at the same time perhaps?

 

erm.......bit late now

 

record cleaner....more like record smearer.....and how can a brush that scratches the records be a good idea.....beginning to think ive wasted 500 quid......any ideas......anyone!!!!!

 

Record Smearer

Hi,

The short answer to your question is 'no', smearing is not desirable!
I really like the Art du Son cleaning fluid, but I find it's a very good idea to repeat the cleaning procedure using distilled water. I usually clean side1, then side 2, rinse side 2, then side 1. Some people fuss over getting triple distilled water, and so might I if I could work out where to get some from, in the meantime I get fabulous results from standard deionized stuff.

I take it you did dilute the Art du Son?!

Toby

 

Jimmy, how are you scratching your records? I must have cleaned over 1500 records on my machine and never experienced anything like scratching or smearing Perhaps a little explanation about how exactly you are cleaning your LPs would help. Grenadier has a point also, are you diluting your cleaning fluid? I'm stumped as to how you may be damaging your LPs.