FullCircleHook Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 I've been wanting a record cleaning machine for a long time now. I had pretty much decided on the Okki Nokki, but it appears they are having distro problems to the US. I also heard that they moved manufacturing to China, which has caused some quality issues. I will probably break down and buy one when they get these issues sorted out and I can find the money again. Although, I might save up for a fully automated VPI or something. However in the mean time, I wanted a cheap vacuum solution to hold me over until I can get a higher end version. It came down to the Record Doctor and the EV-1. I ended up choosing the EV-1 just because I have a good, quiet vacuum that might allow me to use it more often without waking up my kid. Anbody have one? Thoughts? Or if you have another RCM, I'd like to hear your stories. I'll probably make a youtube review on this thing when it gets in. I could only find one video up there now and it doesn't provide much insight. David Loyd 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Requiescat Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 I swear by my VPI HW 16.5 (~$350-650 depending on new/used) along with a number of people who have owned one. I plan on upgrading to the newly released MW-1 Cyclone (~$1,000) this year and selling my 16.5. As far as I'm concerned, and I think many owners will agree, VPI makes some of the best cleaning machines in their price bracket. I would pick one of their machines over any other brand. I'll keep the MW-1 until I can afford the best record cleaning machine on the planet, the Audio Desk Systemme (~$3,500). My good friend owns the ADS cleaning machine and it is simply the best record cleaner I've ever come across. Even though the price-point is rather high, it's absolutely worth every penny. I have never seen another record cleaning machine come even close to what that machine can do. Utterly amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullCircleHook Posted February 21, 2014 Author Share Posted February 21, 2014 I was really considering the VPI 16.5 for a while. I think now that I'm getting the EV-1, I might hold off and save up for a more automatic version. However, let me know when you sell that 16.5 though, haha. I would probably be interested. In regards to that ADS, that machine sounds awesome. I had never heard about that one. I think I would have to win the lottery to afford it, but I imagine it's great. I've seen the results of ultrasonic cleaning of firearms and they have been amazing. If I had a friend with one, I think I'd just take my vinyl over there one DJ case at a time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 I might be selling my 16.5 eventually. Keep me in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullCircleHook Posted February 23, 2014 Author Share Posted February 23, 2014 Sure, let me know when you are wanting to sell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyfranciosa Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I like this. I pair it with my Dyson and it works wonderfully. Set-up is a bit of a pain as there are a lot of pieces with the unit, vacuum, and having a space to actually apply fluid to the record (I use a busted turntable). Would love an all-inclusive unit, but this will do in the meantime. Much better than the Spin Clean. FullCircleHook 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxmartinxx Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I'll keep the MW-1 until I can afford the best record cleaning machine on the planet, the Audio Desk Systemme (~$3,500). My good friend owns the ADS cleaning machine and it is simply the best record cleaner I've ever come across. Even though the price-point is rather high, it's absolutely worth every penny. I have never seen another record cleaning machine come even close to what that machine can do. Utterly amazing. VPI is supposed to be releasing their version of the Audio Desk, hopefully at a cheaper price point and more dependable. I've heard horror stories about the Audio Desk's build quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kannibal Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 VPI is supposed to be releasing their version of the Audio Desk, hopefully at a cheaper price point and more dependable. I've heard horror stories about the Audio Desk's build quality. LOL at anything VPI being cheap (price wise). I would guess their version of the ADS will be MORE expensive. aflycon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Requiescat Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 LOL at anything VPI being cheap (price wise). I would guess their version of the ADS will be MORE expensive. You get what you pay for and I hardly consider their products overpriced in that regard. It's not cheap to design and manufacture things within the USA and VPI has been doing this since it was founded. They're not a huge operation and their personalized customer service is easily one of the best I've ever dealt with, period. If you have to pay a little more to get a solid product by a company that absolutely stands by them, why wouldn't you? I've gotten a replacement part for my almost 40 year old VPI HW-19 turntable as recently as last month for free, including shipping to me, just by asking them if they had it or knew where I could find it. That kind of care is priceless to me. I'm not trying to come off biased, even though I know I am, I just believe in their products and them as a company due to my personal experience alone. You all should decide on your own. anthemforadoomed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 You get what you pay for and I hardly consider their products overpriced in that regard. It's not cheap to design and manufacture things within the USA and VPI has been doing this since it was founded. They're not a huge operation and their personalized customer service is easily one of the best I've ever dealt with, period. If you have to pay a little more to get a solid product by a company that absolutely stands by them, why wouldn't you? I've gotten a replacement part for my almost 40 year old VPI HW-19 turntable as recently as last month for free, including shipping to me, just by asking them if they had it or knew where I could find it. That kind of care is priceless to me. I'm not trying to come off biased, even though I know I am, I just believe in their products and them as a company due to my personal experience alone. You all should decide on your own. There are small hifi manufacturers over here like that and they are the ones who also keep a very loyal following, good service does that but unfortunately it's the bread and butter type trade that they don't get that means the cashflow is eratic and they run the risk of being swallowed up by much larger companies that drop that customer service pretty quick Requiescat 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Requiescat Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Agreed. It's the price of not being a large company. Cost is higher but fortunately when it comes to VPI and many other companies like them, attention to detail and quality is also kept at a similar high standard. I'd rather buy from a company like that any day of the week. Their 16.5 RCM is pretty fairly priced and you can always find clean used ones for ~$250-350 on various sites like eBay and Audiogon. I think for the price compared to other options that's not bad. I found mine in near pristine used condition for only $225, for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kannibal Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 You get what you pay for and I hardly consider their products overpriced in that regard. It's not cheap to design and manufacture things within the USA and VPI has been doing this since it was founded. They're not a huge operation and their personalized customer service is easily one of the best I've ever dealt with, period. If you have to pay a little more to get a solid product by a company that absolutely stands by them, why wouldn't you? I've gotten a replacement part for my almost 40 year old VPI HW-19 turntable as recently as last month for free, including shipping to me, just by asking them if they had it or knew where I could find it. That kind of care is priceless to me. I'm not trying to come off biased, even though I know I am, I just believe in their products and them as a company due to my personal experience alone. You all should decide on your own. You may have misunderstood me. I am a fan of VPI and their business practices, products, and service, and I own the turntable in my avatar. But to say or hope that anything VPI makes will be cheaper in price than a competing product by another brand is setting yourself up for disappointment. I think a general comparison would be Apple. I like Apple products and I buy and support them for various quality and service reasons, but to hope that a new Apple product is going to be cheaper than a similar Windows or Android product is laughable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Great analogy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bossdj26 Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 anybody have any experience with this guy? http://www.amazon.com/Record-Doctor-Cleaning-Machine/dp/B00BEIC3DO I've been doing some research and it seems like a great buy at $200 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullCircleHook Posted March 6, 2014 Author Share Posted March 6, 2014 I've read some good reviews on it. I strongly considered it. Let me know your thoughts on it if u decide to purchase it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Loyd Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 I've been wanting a record cleaning machine for a long time now. I had pretty much decided on the Okki Nokki, but it appears they are having distro problems to the US. I also heard that they moved manufacturing to China, which has caused some quality issues. I will probably break down and buy one when they get these issues sorted out and I can find the money again. Although, I might save up for a fully automated VPI or something. However in the mean time, I wanted a cheap vacuum solution to hold me over until I can get a higher end version. It came down to the Record Doctor and the EV-1. I ended up choosing the EV-1 just because I have a good, quiet vacuum that might allow me to use it more often without waking up my kid. Anbody have one? Thoughts? Or if you have another RCM, I'd like to hear your stories. I'll probably make a youtube review on this thing when it gets in. I could only find one video up there now and it doesn't provide much insight. Did you finally get it? How do you like it? I just ordered one today. Also a choice between this and the record doctor. The pros for the KAB outweighed the cons IMO compared to the record doctor (build, space saving) so I decided to take a chance. FullCircleHook 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullCircleHook Posted March 12, 2014 Author Share Posted March 12, 2014 Man, I just got it in and used it for the first time today. It took a while for me to receive it. I called them up while I was waiting and he said that they were in the production process, so you should get yours a lot sooner. So far I like it a lot. It's obviously a little more tedious since you have to hook up the vacuum and stuff, but it is performing excellently for me. I had a Bad Religion repress that had forward skips straight out of the packaging. Gave it a run through, and it plays flawlessly now. Right now, I'm using a separate turntable to apply the liquid and run the brush. I then move it over to the KAB to run the vacuum. I have my vacuum at it's lowest setting and it still sucks up all of the fluid real nicely. I'm going to try using the KAB for the entire process and see how that goes as well. Time will tell, but I don't think that you will be disappointed for the money. I might try to do a youtube video this weekend. David Loyd and dethrock 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Loyd Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 nice! I just got an email saying they were just finishing up the newest shipment and that I should get mine shipped within the next 7 days. What kind of vac are you using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullCircleHook Posted March 12, 2014 Author Share Posted March 12, 2014 I'm using a Miele canister vacuum: http://www.amazon.com/Miele-S2121-Olympus-Canister-Cleaner/dp/B002YPUO5U Forgot to say, that's the one negative thing about my setup. My vacuum doesn't have a great place to connect the attachment. It works, but the connection is so tight that it kind of roughs up the attachment that came with the KAB. I'm sure that most vacuums wont have that problem though. I just have to be careful, because my wife loves that vacuum. If I were to mess it up, that would be my ass! haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxmartinxx Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 You may have misunderstood me. I am a fan of VPI and their business practices, products, and service, and I own the turntable in my avatar. But to say or hope that anything VPI makes will be cheaper in price than a competing product by another brand is setting yourself up for disappointment. I think a general comparison would be Apple. I like Apple products and I buy and support them for various quality and service reasons, but to hope that a new Apple product is going to be cheaper than a similar Windows or Android product is laughable. VPI could charge a lot more for their cleaners, but they don't. I can't imagine them selling their version of the cleaner just because they could. A big part of the cost of the ADS is import costs. Another cost is the lack of reliability. If they can even keep the price the same and fix reliability, it would be a big win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burntwolf Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 my manual nitty gritty seems to do me fine... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Loyd Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 i just posted some audio clips on youtube of before and after using this awesome cleaner if anyone is interested sorry about the editing (meaning there was none). 'Cleaned' dirty record audio using the regular solution with handheld corduroy looking record cleaning brush. Actual sound clip begins 18 seconds in. Audio after using the KAB EV-1. Huge difference. Actual Audio starts 12 seconds in . FullCircleHook 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullCircleHook Posted March 26, 2014 Author Share Posted March 26, 2014 Awesome man! Thanks for doing that. I'll check those videos out when I get off of work. I was going to post a before/after video of cleaning a record, but my cell phone couldn't capture enough detail of the dirty record to make it work. Sounds like you're liking it then. It's still been working great for me. I've found that the more practice I get with the actual cleaning process, the better the results. Are you using distilled water after the solution? I have been per advice from other boards, but I'd like to avoid it though cause it's just more work. I see some people are adamant that this is a necessary step, while others don't bother with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Loyd Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Awesome man! Thanks for doing that. I'll check those videos out when I get off of work. I was going to post a before/after video of cleaning a record, but my cell phone couldn't capture enough detail of the dirty record to make it work. Sounds like you're liking it then. It's still been working great for me. I've found that the more practice I get with the actual cleaning process, the better the results. Are you using distilled water after the solution? I have been per advice from other boards, but I'd like to avoid it though cause it's just more work. I see some people are adamant that this is a necessary step, while others don't bother with it. DEFINITELY loving the KAB. I've already cleaned about 30 records and can hear massive improvements on them all. haha I just wish I had the patience to edit them. You just have to watch them all the way through to get the difference I'm not sure what you mean, Are people saying it's best to rinse and repeat with distilled water after the initial first cleaning of a record? Is it supposed to sound even better? Is that the purpose? I'll look into that. I've just started looking around for the best home made solution. I figure it will definitely cut down costs in the long run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullCircleHook Posted March 26, 2014 Author Share Posted March 26, 2014 Yeah, I guess a lot of people recommend cleaning them again with distilled water to remove the cleaning solution. I think it's done to ensure that the solution does not impact the vinyl over the long term. Not sure if it's necessary though. Might just be paranoia. Yeah, I have definitely got to find a good solution recipe as well. I see that most people use a distilled water/alcohol combination. Some people use dish soap, but I'm not sure on that yet. I bought a larger bottle at the same time to keep me going for a while, but when it runs out I'm doing the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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