if I buy an ultrasonic cleaner for my records will I be able to hear the difference?


I have a lot of records and have cleaned some of them with a VPI vacuum machine. My system is quite nice  but not ultra high end ( turntable about $2K and the rest to match) .Will I be able to hear the difference , with my system or is it just for those who can afford the very best?
rrm

Showing 1 response by erikt

My experience has been that a noisy record will remain a noisy record with an RCM, Ultrasonic, or any combo thereof.

I’ve taken problematic samples to my local B&M audio store with an ultrasonic cleaner with detergent bath and air blow dry cycles.  Despite multiple attempts at home on my RCM - some records just remained noisy.  So I was hopeful that an ultrasonic cleaning would be the answer.

Twice thru and all the ticks and pops were in the exact same spots.

I’ve sent the same problematic samples (8 records) to a company that specializes in multi-step cleaning/archiving services for vinyl LPs. I carefully played and noted surface noise problems before sending and unfortunately, after return, the surface noise remained. Perhaps the sonics were improved a bit, but ultrasonic cleaning will not be a magic cure for ticks and pops.