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I have been comparing the AudioTop Vinyl, the L'art du Son record cleaner, and the Walker Prelude record cleaner.

Posted by Norm (R) on March 20, 2007 at 13:15:57

For about the last 30 years I have used just about every fluid, brush, and vacuum made. I actually started with the Keith Monks vacuum but sold it as a pain in the ass. I have had a noted chemist and audiophile "design" a cleaning fluid, which was largely pure water and a surface tension breaker. Some of the fluids are volatile which is a problem using the Loricraft or other string vacuums. Some have odors that suggest alcohol. Some systems include a final lubricant.

My one observation is that while all of this seems rather straight-forward, in reality one can hear great differences. First a string machine is far superior to other machines as the material in contact with the vinyl is changed every cleaning. Also the vacuum area is quite small allowing greater vacuum.

Fluids also make a difference. With some I have static electricity induced on the record after cleaning which of course attracts dust; just what you want after cleaning! While I love one step cleaners, such as the excellent L'art du Son, even with a good vacuum, I find a final rinse does improve the cleaning.

I had tried various enzyme treatments with no benefit, but the Walker does seem to add. I must say that I don't exactly know how much, however, nor why. I have used only his cleaner and rinse as compared with all three steps. All three is clearly superior. I have also used the enzyme on previously well cleaned records and found improvement. I don't really understand what is being removed in this use after many previous cleanings.

Presently I have three competing fluids: AudioTop, L'art du Son, and Walker Prelude. I have cleaned previously cleaned records with Prelude and found improvements. I have cleaned records cleaned with Prelude with AudioTop and found no improvement, and I have cleaned records previously cleaned with L'art du Son and found a slight but worthwhile improvement.

I have found the three fluids mentioned above to be superior to Disk Doctor, my chemist's formula, and RRL. L'art du Son's one step is clearly the easiest to use. While DIY solutions may be effective and cheap, they are not the best in terms of sound.

Where I live the city water has high sodium. We use a reverse osmosis filter on the water we drink. I had been told by a chemist that the reverse osmosis filter yields water as pure as distilled water (I have since learned that this is not true). I have used this water versus the Walker Ultra Pure water and heard no difference.

One final comment. I have several times heard the Laser turntable which reacts violently to dust or other materials in the tracks it scans. At CES years ago, they had purchased several well used records in Las Vegas and cleaned them with L'art du Son on the Loricraft string machine. I still remember how free of pops and clicks the sound was and how true the sound was. I have never taken the final plunge and bought one of these tables, but I suspect it is the one real test of record cleaning.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Kimber Kable

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