Budget ultrasonic vinyl cleaning

Upstatemax
Upstatemax Posts: 2,731
edited December 3 in 2 Channel Audio
I needed an ultrasonic cleaner for cleaning brass casings, for reloading. I decided to keep it reasonable and while kicking around the Vevor website, I came across this:

https://www.vevor.com/ultrasonic-cleaner-c_11064/6l-ultrasonic-vinyl-record-cleaner-cleaning-machine-complete-w-drying-rack-p_010265133877?adp=gmc&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_id=23093382192&ad_group=189722589027&ad_id=778133999269&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23093382192&gbraid=0AAAAACq8bLVhdLwZFk1VsOJGBev78HBsr&gclid=CjwKCAiA3L_JBhAlEiwAlcWO54l7DwsrEJn27vCAyRE6xyp1-eEvXrLeyQCwxBAKItezcJcEIbBzFRoCkR4QAvD_BwE

I figured for the $15'ish it added to the "standard" version, why the heck not try it.

For it's base purpose, it's fantastic at cleaning up brass!

After a good clean out, I set up the vinyl cleaning setup.

I need to research some better solutions for the ultrasonic, but I have a good bit of the "Spin Clean" solution kicking around, and a quick search claims it works alright.

So, I dropped in 4 caps of the solution and started a cleaning cycle.

I set the water temp to 39*c (about 102*f) and ran 6 albums for 15 minutes.

I picked a few albums that I've retired for being too noisy, such as ZZ Top "First Album" and Ray Charles " Ray's Moods".

The cleaner didn't perform any miracles, it's not going to repair surface damage, but it did clean up the sound of these 2 by a really good margin. Way less hiss, crackles and pops. To the point that I'll happily put them back into rotation.

I also put my MoFi copy of "Brothers and Sisters" in. This album has always had a frustrating amount of noise to it, especially for what MoFi albums cost.

All I can say at this point, the noise is GONE.

So, it seems I'll be cleaning my entire collection of vinyl on this machine!

Thankfully it's a relatively small collection.
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Comments

  • SIHAB
    SIHAB Posts: 5,391
    That is awesome.

    If the record is already clean, I just use a surfactant.
    Triton X-100 (10 drops per run) and distilled water.
    Speakers: Polk Lsim, ATC SCM19 v2, NHT SuperzeroSpeaker Cables: DH Labs, Transparent, Wireworld, Canare, Monster: Beer budget, Bose ears
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  • Upstatemax
    Upstatemax Posts: 2,731
    SIHAB wrote: »
    That is awesome.

    If the record is already clean, I just use a surfactant.
    Triton X-100 (10 drops per run) and distilled water.

    Awesome.

    Thanks for the suggestion!

    I'll pick some X-100 up and get to some more cleaning!
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  • skipshot12
    skipshot12 Posts: 1,775
    Way cool.
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  • muncybob
    muncybob Posts: 3,227
    I have had the same experience. I thought it was just me trying to convince myself the records sounded better but when my wife said they sounded better after spinning one of her favorites (Hall & Oates Abandoned Luncheonette) I knew I was going to spend a fair amount of time cleaning all the records.

    I even clean brand new records to be sure no crap is in the grooves from the pressing and the quate(sp) in my fluid helps eliminate the "clicks" esp in this indoor dry winter air.
    Yep, my name really is Bob.
    Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, Polk L600, Rythmik L12 sub.
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  • Upstatemax
    Upstatemax Posts: 2,731
    muncybob wrote: »
    I have had the same experience. I thought it was just me trying to convince myself the records sounded better but when my wife said they sounded better after spinning one of her favorites (Hall & Oates Abandoned Luncheonette) I knew I was going to spend a fair amount of time cleaning all the records.

    I even clean brand new records to be sure no crap is in the grooves from the pressing and the quate(sp) in my fluid helps eliminate the "clicks" esp in this indoor dry winter air.

    I also like to clean brand new records. For me, I knew the Spin Clean wasn't doing a great job. Did it provide an improvement?

    Sure, but it always seemed to leave a lot of surface noise making me think the records could still be a lot cleaner.

    Glad I decided to give this a go. It was a really inexpensive way of providing a really good improvement.
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  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,934
    What do you think of the version with the retro knobs instead of the digital look, less money.
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
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    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
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    Puritan PSM156
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  • Upstatemax
    Upstatemax Posts: 2,731
    marvda1 wrote: »
    What do you think of the version with the retro knobs instead of the digital look, less money.

    I decided on the one with digital look as it seems to have a better setup for the actual record cleaner. Can clean more records at once and has more adjustability.
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  • muncybob
    muncybob Posts: 3,227
    If cleaning more than 1 record at a time be sure to leave enough space between them for proper sonic cleaning.
    Yep, my name really is Bob.
    Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, Polk L600, Rythmik L12 sub.
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  • Upstatemax
    Upstatemax Posts: 2,731
    This one does come with spacers that go between each record, they also cover the labels to help keep them better protected.
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