Audiodesk Ultrasonic Vinyl Record Cleaner

$4,700.00

The Audio Desk is fully automatic and, unlike any other record-cleaning machines I know of, it uses ultrasound and a process called cavitation (ie, the forming of bubbles) to clean records, much as an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner does for jewels. If you've ever seen a tarnished piece of ornate silverwork go into such a machine and come out gleaming, even in its tiniest nooks and crannies, you know how well it works.
Meanwhile, the ultrasonic condenser fires up, producing soundwaves whose amplitude is high enough to break the liquid's surface tension, causing it to tear apart and leave behind millions of microscopic vacuum bubbles that compress or implode, creating tiny liquid jets small enough to clean inside even the narrowest LP groove (think of the jewelry cleaner).

This micro-agitation process washes any contaminants on the record surface into the cleaning fluid. The fluid then drains off through a filter, and the rotation of the LP slows almost to a stop as two powerful fans completely dry the disc. Remove the disc by carefully lifting it vertically, to keep it from rubbing against the rollers, or you'll end up with wet spots. (That happened only a few times.) Your LP is clean and dry and ready to play. The entire process, monitored by front-panel LEDs, takes six minutes.

The designer, Reiner Gläss, contends that record-cleaning machines that use surface suction (Nitty Gritty, VPI, Clearaudio) or point suction (Keith Monks, Loricraft) rely on brushes to loosen dirt and contaminants buried in the groove, and that brushes simply can't do the job. Worse, he contends, they often press dirt deeper into the groove. Surface-suction vacuuming, he contends, often smears dirt across the record surface, while the friction caused by rubbing builds up static electricity. Although point suction is somewhat less prone to static buildup, such devices can clean only one side at a time, and still rely on brushing to loosen particles embedded in the groove.

The Audio Desk Systeme was the most effective, easy-to-use record-cleaning machine I've ever tried. I cleaned records that I'd already vacuum-cleaned but were still noisy, and the noise went away. Two examples: my original UK pressing of the Beatles' Let It Be and my most treasured classical album, an original pressing of Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony's recording of Strauss's Also sprach Zarathustra (RCA Living Stereo LSC-1806). The latter looked clean when I bought it but was hopelessly noisy. Repeated cleanings over the decades since, using more sophisticated fluids and machines, have made it quieter—but finally, after treatment with the Audio Desk, it's just about completely silent. The machine is, too.

We will do our best to meet or beat our Canadian competitor’s prices for new and current products.
Please phone 604-569-2883 and talk to Pat.