Clearaudio Double Smart Matrix or Loricraft PRC4

I think your choices are good ones, and as long as you can afford such a machine without hurting yourself, then I say god bless you, and go for it!

There's some tricks, and small roadblocks to using the TOTL Loricraft, and you might hit a snag using one, noting a couple of specific issues.

But there are a good number of folks here who have the same machine, and will be able to offer good advice, and their experiences, to guide you past such.

I reckon nothing's perfect. But this quality of machine is a work of art.

Doug Deacon is one who owns the same machine. I know he's written much here. Just search the archives on this forum for all posts pertaining to these machines.

That's one thing to love about this forum, the wealth of information on virtually everything audio, that can be accessed with a simple search.

Again, and I know the gurus here will not argue this very important point I make. Use high quality cleaners, and ultra pure water rinses, and you will enter the holy shrine of vinyl-nirvana!

Ok I thought you guys might just get a bit of a chuckle out of knowing this, my whole collection prior to having my new table set-up recently was seven, yes only seven records.

Ok so how many of you guys are laughing so hard right now that your ribs are hurting, hope you didn't have any food or beverage fluids in your mouth or even worse well we won't go there.

I've seen some pics of your crazy collections, I know a few that have rooms, basements full myself, one guy I know has a room set-up like a library 22ft ceiling with a ladder and cat walk, absolutely anal.

Now my collection consist of still only 50 new and 20 used and another 30 new coming but they are all cherry picked pces that I know that I'll enjoy listening to for a long time, well I have already listened to most of them and really enjoyed. I went out and got some used pces too, found a nice mint "THE BEATLES" "HELP!" UK album, amazing sound quality and the music, well it's the Beatles. The owner was nice enough to clean each one for me and on my way out said see you soon smileing, ya cha ching cha ching, I'd smile too.

Well it's only the beginning, my redbook collection is up there and really includes all the pces that I enjoy listening to. Long time ago I just started going through and the pces I had not listened to or really did not enjoy, possibly the music or crappy recording just got rid of them and that's what I'll be doing with the vinyl.

Since I have had my vinyl rig set-up and it's still only in break-in mode my RedBook has not been listened too.

My collection is meager to some I know, probably about 800-850 records. To go back to the point of just having 7 records, well that would have to be late 1963, early 1964, and I was about 9 years old.

But we all have started somewhere. And there's no shame to your "confession".

It would be like me saying "Yeah, I was riding racing bikes when Lance Armstrong was still in diapers", but what does that proove?! If I could keep up with him on a hill for a block, it would be a miracle!

About all I can add, is do reseach your options fully, and sleep on your decisions. As many might say, for the price of a Loricraft, one could buy a fantastic Phono Stage, a great Cartridge, or something else.

As for the truth of this statement, I am unsure, but I have heard from a couple of people, that the Loricraft can be a bugger getting total fluid pickup off a record. That it might mean the necessity of a unscented kleenex (or the "mop" of your choice) to sop up any fluids left.

This of course isn't unusual, that it as well can happen with any other RCM, if you spill-spread fluids into the label area, or they leak over to the underside lip of the record. The plusses of the Loricraft probably outweigh the minuses.

Again, I've think I made it known in this thread, I own the VPI 16.5. And I excluisvey use AIVS products.

It is a basic simple machine, but I like the fact that I can manually control the applications of fluids, let them sit as long as I like, scub as little or as much as I feel necessary, use multiple cleaning-rinse steps with ease, and that the cost was not too unreasonable, especially for the improvement of playback I attained.

My only regret was not buying one sooner. Mark

Markd51 and Syntax, when it comes to the double matrix you have not a clue what you are talking about. Kostas 1, I have no clue what you are talking about. I have had my double matrix for over two yrs with out an issue, of any kind. Just flawless great prefomance. I have cleaned a lot of vinyl, using steam on the d.m. and it preforms fantastic. And as for the originator of this thread, Dev, we all have to make our own mistakes. with the little vinyl you say you have, it will not matter anyway. Oh and check out the review of the D.M. in the tas issue 180, JV loved it as much as I. Hope you have better luck then I did with the loricraft.

Koegz,
please don't write that. I will have a bad day, when I feel, you don't love me anymore. :-) I think, this Forum is a great one, because you find owners from nearly everything. Based on the - imo - exceptional knowledge here, everyone is able to find an information which is not written in our beloved magazines. I think, this is the main difference here to all others.
Yesterday I got a record - Original Dave Brubeck, Time Out - and it was cleaned from the Dealer. It had noises like mad. When I looked at it, it was super clean, shiny, really really great. I thought, this can't be possible except he used a machine with wet lips, and I cleaned it with my Odyssey (point nozzle).
After this it was silent, no tics, no pops. There are some ways to clean a record.