Record Cleaning Fluids: RRL vs. L'Art du Son

I've heard of folks getting more, but I average about 200 LP's per 32 oz. bottle using RRL fluids on a VPI 16.5. If you figure that rate, it comes out to about two bits per record if using BOTH the Deep Cleaner and Super Vinyl Wash on every LP. I have compared the L'Art (and nearly EVERY other commercial and home brew) to RRL and found the RRL fluids superior in most every way. Now, if one considers that RRL is viewed by MANY to be the purest, safest, and one of the most effective products AND one needn't worry about rinsing issues (actually no rinsing needed at all) the quarter per LP price is a bargain, IMHO. Adding 25 cents to any record costing more than 2-3 bucks is chicken feed in comparison and the performance is just outstanding. I'll have to admit to getting a chuckle and even being a bit annoyed when I hear someone who has spent, say, 30-40 bucks on an audiophile LP then piss and moan about cleaning fluids being "expensive". Ha! :-)

As I've said before, Albert Porter turned me on to the RRL products some time ago by sending me samples. In an effort to return the generousity, in kind, I'll send a couple-o-ounces of each RRL luid, gratis, to anyone wanting to try them (or compare them the the L'Art, as the case may be). All I ask is your feedback. Just e-mail me through this site.

^^^
Kudos to 4yanx for his generosity.

I haven't tried L'Art du Son so I can't offer a comparison. Otherwise I second what he said.

Any product which requires mixing requires a source of suitably pure water. Tap water certainly won't do, I ruined records with that before I learned better. Store-bought distilled won't do, it isn't pure enough for a final clean and rinse. Unless you have a source for highly filtered, distilled and deionized water, your results with home-mixed solutions are unlikely to match RRL's, which is based on such highly purifed water that no rinsing is ever necessary.

Except for Vinyl-Zyme to deal with mold spores, RRL is about all I use. It cleans all but the scummiest thrift shop LPs and - very important - never leaves any residue. RRL vacuums off easily and completely, which is not true of some other products. That makes it the RCF of choice for me.

Well said Dougdeacon, as a new user of RRL fluids I have to say my initial experiences are similar to yours. I have tried a home made solution before and of course the VPI solution that came with my record cleaning machine. The RRL has been the best to date.

I would try the Audio Intelligent Vinyl Solution (AIVS) if I were you. I have used, and still use, RRL solutions but have found them to be not nearly as effective at deep cleaning of LP's as AIVS but very good at that final rinse to remove the last bit of surface noise. As a result, I use both. I first clean with the 2 stage AVIS solutions and then finish off with RRL. If the record is new, I just use RRL. My observations about RRL are the same as Michael Fremer's in the recent issue of Stereophile where he commented that it didn't really spread and disperse into the grooves. He's right, it does not do this but if you use it as a final rinse it picks up the last bit of residue from the grooves.

Not unlike most of what Fremer says, IMHO, he doesn't know of what he speaks regarding record cleaning fluids. The RRL fluids DO disperse into the grooves, they just don't stay there. The idea is that they enter to the grooves, do their business, then bead on the SURFACE, not IN the grooves, with the gunk suspended in liquid to be vacuumed away.

I have used the AIVS stuff and found that it seriously compromises the high end. Only when thoroughly rinsed away with Super Vinyl Wash (AND NO EASY JOB, THAT) does this tell tale signature disappear. Way too much work. In the event of a really filthy LP, I generally look for another copy. But, if that is not possible, I'd go with the Vinyl-Zyme instead, everytime - it being MUCH easier to remove than the AIVS.

Started using RR fluids four years ago and haven't felt the need to look elsewhere. Rarely do I have to clean my stylus and I attribute that to the efficiency of using these products to clean my vinyl.

I have used the AIVS stuff and found that it seriously improves the sound quality of all records that it is used on. From top to bottom they just sound better. I have been able to save old $1 records that I thought were lost. My basement is full of record cleaning formulas that did not deliver. AIVS is the best I have found so far.

Tim

I've used RRL, AIVS, VPI, and most recently, l'Art du Son.
I think all the fluids (except the VPI) have their places in the the cleaning arsenal. I would agree with others that I would use RRL on brand new pressings. However, there is a very nice benefit to l'Art du Son in that it has completely eliminating static build up on the few records I've cleaned.

4yanx, I agree that RRL seems to get into the grooves and then bead out. This is why I think it is so efective at getting that last bit of static and noise off a record but it is decidedly less effective at cleaning even modestly dirtier records. This is just my own opinion of course but based on cleaning hundreds of records over the past few years. I understand your continued objections to it. As I recall, you voiced your concerns quite emphatically in the original thread when Frumkin first introduced the product. I am glad to hear you at least gave it a try but I can't say I'm hearing the effects on the high end that you claim.
To each his own I guess.