Spin Clean Record Washer

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Spin Clean Record Washer

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When I started getting into vinyl I noticed that the majority of pre-owned LP's I was buying were absolutely filthy. More importantly, this caused a lot of pops, hisses, etc during playback. I started looking for a record cleaning system that would be effective and not break the bank.

I found the Spin Clean Record Washer and went down to my local high end audio store and picked one up. The basic version is only $80 and comes with enough cleaning solution to clean at least 500 records (if not more, depending on how dirty the records are). You have to buy some distilled water as well, but otherwise your all set to go. One thing I did notice is that when I am cleaning batches of records I will run a space heater next to me so that I can quickly air dry the cleaning towels. You can of course buy extra's, but using this method allows one towel to dry while I'm using the other to clean, and then vice versa. Also, you can really see how well it works by looking at the basin water when your all done. It's incredible how much dirt and grime comes of these used records (other than audiophiles, most people never clean their records and decades of neglect can really be seen AND HEARD). I have seen others like the vacuum systems, but of course those costs many times as much as the Spin Clean system.

For anyone who doesn't already have a record cleaning system (and does not want to spend $100's) this is a worthwhile investment.
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Re: Spin Clean Record Washer

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Towel dry??? I guess it depends on what kind of towel you are using. For that setup I would think that air drying would be much better. That towel, though fresh out of the dryer, or even brand new, has fibers that will get right back into the records. Yes I have to admit I own one of the vacuum cleaners, yes new it was obscenely priced as with much other VPI gear, but I have seen(read heard) an AMAZING difference in a record that was just dirty, even ones that were brand new and still had gunk in the grooves. Im not trying to dis the spin clean, I would probably have something similar if I didnt get my VPI used from an avid collector that was getting out of vinyl.....heh, I also got his Jazz at the Pawnshop record as well as a few other choice LPs, including a mint Charlie Byrd in white vinyl. Yes the audio gods were smiling down upon me that day. Anyway, here's a thought, spin clean a really dirty record that isnt your favorite, and try some sort of hand held vac, heat might be an issue, but I would ditch the towels IMO.
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Re: Spin Clean Record Washer

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When I first read about the Spin Clean I was also a little hesitant as the gold standard is the vacuum units. I had fears that the towel drying would leave a bunch of lint in the grooves which would cause it's own problems. However, I have not found that to be the case. I hand wash the towels every so often but they don't really get dirty even after washing 100's of records as by the time the LP comes out of the basin, it is essentially clean. What I usually do is pull the record up from the basin, let most of the water drain off with gravity, do a quick wipe down with the towel, and then place the records to air dry for 15 minutes. They are perfectly dry at this point.

As for the comparison of the Spin Clean to a top of the line LP vacuum unit. Well, I certainly am not going to argue that it is better. I think it should be taken in context. I think the spin clean probably gets you to 90% of what a vacuum will get, at 10% of the price. This is not to say that a nice VPI cleaner is not worth it. :) I think there is a "huge" difference between a cleaned record and non-cleaned. I think there is a "moderate" difference between a Spin Clean'ed and vacuumed record. I bought my spin clean when I started to get a little more into vinyl. For somebody with a very expensive setup that mostly listens to vinyl, yeah, definitely go with a high end vacuum unit. For somebody that listens to digital audio as well as spins a record on a modest analog setup here and there, the Spin Clean is a really good and inexpensive investment that gives you a lot of "bang for your buck". IMHO.

I have also heard some people with both the spin clean and vacuum cleaners that will run their disks first through spin clean for their initial cleaning, and then run them on the vacuum based cleaners after for the "final clean." How good at cleaning these methods are: Spin Clean vs Vacuum vs Spin Clean then Vacuum,... who knows? Probably depends on how dirty and what kind of dirt is on the record.
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Main stereo: ART Amplifier and ET7s2. 2nd stereo: PV-14L and MV-55. Previously Owned: PF2 preamp, Evolution 2000 Amp, PV-12AL preamp, D/A-2b Vacuum-Tube Digital Processor.
camusmuse
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Re: Spin Clean Record Washer

Post by camusmuse »

admin wrote:When I first read about the Spin Clean I was also a little hesitant as the gold standard is the vacuum units. I had fears that the towel drying would leave a bunch of lint in the grooves which would cause it's own problems. However, I have not found that to be the case. I hand wash the towels every so often but they don't really get dirty even after washing 100's of records as by the time the LP comes out of the basin, it is essentially clean. What I usually do is pull the record up from the basin, let most of the water drain off with gravity, do a quick wipe down with the towel, and then place the records to air dry for 15 minutes. They are perfectly dry at this point.

As for the comparison of the Spin Clean to a top of the line LP vacuum unit. Well, I certainly am not going to argue that it is better. I think it should be taken in context. I think the spin clean probably gets you to 90% of what a vacuum will get, at 10% of the price. This is not to say that a nice VPI cleaner is not worth it. :) I think there is a "huge" difference between a cleaned record and non-cleaned. I think there is a "moderate" difference between a Spin Clean'ed and vacuumed record. I bought my spin clean when I started to get a little more into vinyl. For somebody with a very expensive setup that mostly listens to vinyl, yeah, definitely go with a high end vacuum unit. For somebody that listens to digital audio as well as spins a record on a modest analog setup here and there, the Spin Clean is a really good and inexpensive investment that gives you a lot of "bang for your buck". IMHO.

I have also heard some people with both the spin clean and vacuum cleaners that will run their disks first through spin clean for their initial cleaning, and then run them on the vacuum based cleaners after for the "final clean." How good at cleaning these methods are: Spin Clean vs Vacuum vs Spin Clean then Vacuum,... who knows? Probably depends on how dirty and what kind of dirt is on the record.
Once I get the dough, I will probably will get a SpinClean, as not to wear out the ever so "precious"(insert sarcasm here...lol) VPI, plus it does make quite a racket and takes considerably more effort.
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