Record Cleaning Machines - Differences?
Jun 5, 2005 at 5:16 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 4

Aman

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I have a real quick question about RCMs:

For me, who has a hard time coming across money now-a-days, is it worth the extra two-hundred dollars to get a VPI machine over one of the nitty-gritty ones, which aren't automatic?

I am not annoyed by having to do the extra work - I already find it easy enough to do manual cleaning - but will the quality of the clean be much more noticable if I pay the extra 200 dollars? If not, then I might as well put in a little more elbow grease to save a few hundred bucks!
 
Jun 5, 2005 at 1:48 PM Post #2 of 4
Hold out for the VPI. I just saw one go for $225 at AudiogoN.
I'm extremely happy with mine, much better than the Record Doctor machine (Made by Nitty Gritty) that I used to have.

The Vacuum is stronger and the table turns at a steady rate so you get consistent results.
Keep looking.
TR
biggrin.gif
 
Feb 22, 2008 at 7:30 PM Post #3 of 4
Hello !

As I have a lot of vinyl records that need cleaning, I decided to buy a record cleaning machine. I found out that many of those machines have a very high price. So the machine I can afford myself to buy is one of these:

1) Clearaudio Smart Matrix Record Cleaning Machine

2) VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine

3) VPI HW-17F Record Cleaning Machine


I need your advice - which one should I pick ?

I've read in the net that "Smart Matrix" is better than "VPI 16.5" because it's has a bi-directional motor, it's less noisy and its cooling system is better.

On the other hand "VPI HW-17F" is said to be better then "Smart Matrix", because it has an automatic washing fluid distribution & a cleaning brush.

In my region "Smart Matrix" & "VPI 16.5" have nearly the same price, while "VPI HW-17F" costs 2 times as much as "Smart Matrix".

So does "VPI HW-17F" cost its price ??? Does it really perform its cleaning job 2 times better then "Clearaudio Smart Matrix" ?

I would be very happy to hear the opinions from people, who have tried all of those machines.

If you can post the links to some comparison tests of those machines, I would be grateful.
 
Feb 23, 2008 at 4:30 AM Post #4 of 4
Quote:

Originally Posted by Aman /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I have a real quick question about RCMs:

For me, who has a hard time coming across money now-a-days, is it worth the extra two-hundred dollars to get a VPI machine over one of the nitty-gritty ones, which aren't automatic?

I am not annoyed by having to do the extra work - I already find it easy enough to do manual cleaning - but will the quality of the clean be much more noticable if I pay the extra 200 dollars? If not, then I might as well put in a little more elbow grease to save a few hundred bucks!



i have one of these for sale $75:KAB Electro Acoustics http://www.kabusa.com
you would also need to buy a small wet/dry 1.0 HP Shop-Vac $30 or so). i'm done with analog.

PACE
 

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