If you had to choose between Okki-Nokki and Pro-Ject record cleaners....


Hi all,

I am going to return my sub-woofer to the hifi store where I bought it... after repeated A/B comparisons with and without, I find that I just don't need it.

So I am going to ask for store credit.   Depending on how much credit I get, I might get a better record cleaner than the Spin-Clean that I have now.      The store carries the Okki-Nokki and Pro-Ject machines, so I wanted to ask what you all thought about the differences (if any) between the two.

I am not really satisfied with the Spin-Clean.    I have tried various fluids, also just used distilled water alone, and used various iterations of number of forward and backward rotations.... everything I have read to do in the various Spin-Clean-related threads.      It gets my records cleaner, but not totally clean.   I still get a lot of pops and crackles.

I keep the records in anti-static inner sleeves after I clean them, and I use a Milty Zero-Stat using all the various methods described in the Zero-Stat-related threads, before playing and after cleaning.    Still the pops and crackles, even with my brand-new Janos Starker Bach Cello Suites record (although not as much as with my older records), even after cleaning.

So I am hoping that a better cleaning method will eliminate the pops and crackels and since the local store only carries those two machines, I wanted to check and see if anybody has experiences with either, or both.

If neither machine will be an excellent solution, I will probably use my store credit on something else and keep looking for a better method to clean thoroughly my records.

For the record, my system is:

Music-Hall MMF-5.3 turntable with Ortofon Blue cartridge and Herbie's TT mat
Music-Hall a15.3 integrated amplifier
Bowers & Wilkins 686 S2 speakers

Thanks in advance for your time and advice,

Eric Zwicky
Richmond VA


ezwicky
I just got the newest iteration of the Pro-Ject (marketed as the MK II in the UK) and have been pleased with it.  I still use my Spin Cleaner for the really dirty records first...don’t want to stress the new baby yet 🙂.   I am still experimenting with my cleaning process.  

The company has a recommended cleaning process of adding drops of their (diluted) cleaning liquid, turn on the machine rotation, use the goat-hair brush to spread the liquid, reverse the rotation and use the brush again, then vacuum two rotations and reverse for two more rotations.  

My dealer recommended another process that he uses for his record cleaningservice: he uses a Spin Cleaner for the initial cleaning of very dirty records, then attaches the record and cover, adds liquid, then gently scrubs with a Mobile Fidelity cleaning brush.  He then vacuums the machine in one direction.  

I have seen a marked improvement in the sound quality, and my cleaning and drying time is halved.  Love the fact the RCM has no platter.  I have had only two minor problems:  the aluminum arm rests on a plastic collar and is so tight I could not manipulate it; a little engine grease fixed that.  Also, the vacuum arm when fully swung over touches the record lock and causes aluminum shavings to fall on the record.   Slightly adjusting the vacuum arm avoids this. The factory-provided liquid seems to work well
I bought a Okki Nokki in 2012. Since then I have cleaned over 3000 LPs and it is still humming along as well as when it was new.
Oregon doesn’t have a state sales tax, so any online purchase shipped to an Oregon address is tax-free.
Check out the Record Doctor for $200. I've cleaned over 200 LP's over the six months I've had it and it's going strong. I bought an Okki Nokki goat hair brush to do the scrubbing with and that gets the grooves clean combined with the Nitty Gritty #2 solution and the vacuum on the Record Doctor gets all of the solution off. Great RCM for $200. 
I bought vpi 17 thinking it would get rid of pops and ticks but not the case for me. I tried all types of fluids. Not for everyone but hand held steam cleaner then vacuum with machine. I use spin clean to pre clean flea market albums or kill static. I have never damaged an album and gets rid of pops and ticks machine can't remove and always sounds much better. The scary part is when you reach the end of album with steam you can watch it warp and then go back to original form, so why I say not for everyone.