Opinions please


Which is your preferred Record cleaning machine?
I am considering the SOTA, VPI 16.5, and the Clearaudio Smart Matrix. I would love a Loricraft but the price is prohibitive.I am also interested in cleaning fluids being used. I live in the high desert and static is a major issue.
TIA
Mike
mcdonald43

Showing 1 response by undertow

Hmm, interesting… I feel the main advantage is for myself… RCM is no doubt 30 seconds of cleaning oppossed to 30 mins of setting up a clean, safe, and easy to use environment each time to do something so silly… But mainly I feel saftey is the key here… It is much less of an issue scrapping, dropping, banging around a piece of vinyl in a utility sink somewhere, or on top of a counter or whatever… so in a way to keep everything compact, super simple, and easily accessable seems to me to be worth 300 to 500 bucks if your serious about this.. Now for me(and I am speaking for myself) I use to clean by hand… and never got the results or pleasure in the end as you can somewhat choke down using a record machine for a minuet. They do make the process a little more reasonable, and safer if you don't want the risk of rough handling on vinyl you don't ever expect to replace.. At least get a really crappy turntable to place them on to have some control.

That being said, I would just not care so much about vinyl if I was forced to clean without a machine, cause it is necessary to have them clean no doubt.. I am not going to push anything about Sonic advantages, but just facts..
Cause I know if I go and pick up 3 new albums next week.. They will sit for about 3 months till I finally get the Motivation to mess around with trying to get them perfect by hand… RCM's Have a large amount of advantage, its on a rotating controlled platter, No shop vac nozzle will go BAnging into it, or flying off the table… and I won't be drying my lables with a hair dryer if a mistake happens :)

Kinda like somebody saying today they would just live with an outhouse in the backyard, even though people tell them all about this nice indoor plumbing, but they will still refuse the huge benefits..
RCM potential buyers do yourself a huge favor, get one, and get the vinyl under the needle for listening