A little surface noise is part and parcel and part of the charm of music on vinyl.
As John Peel once said, “Somebody was trying to tell me that CDs are better than vinyl because they don’t have any surface noise. I said, ‘Listen, mate, life has surface noise.”
But there’s a fine line between analog warmth and unlistenable noise.
The good news is, record cleaning doesn’t have to be difficult.
We’ve compiled the very best tips, trick, and professional advice to get your records sound at their best quickly so that you can get back to enjoying the music.
With the resurgence of vinyl records, understanding how to clean vinyl records is more crucial than ever to preserve their unique sound and tactile listening enjoyment, marking them as the epitome of musical ownership. Ensuring the longevity of your beloved vinyl collection hinges significantly on maintaining the cleanliness of each record. Clean vinyl records not only guarantee a superior listening
Keeping your vinyl records clean is one of the most important aspects of collecting music on wax. It not only ensures that your records will sound great, but it also affects how long they will last – and, how long your stylus will last. Like any process in life, you’ll need the right tools for the job. Below is a
The Estonian brand Degritter took the vinyl community by storm when it released its original Degritter record cleaning machine just a few short years ago. The Degritter record cleaner quickly built a reputation for being one of the best ultrasonic record cleaning machines for home use. Not wanting to rest on their laurels, the Degritter MARK II promises even better performance. Can
If you’re the proud owner of a large vinyl record collection, or you want to step up your record cleaning game, a record cleaning machine is one of the best investments you can make. Yes, they require some investment up-front, but in the name of priceless record preservation and the pursuit of audio nirvana, they are worth every penny. There
Similarly to the new Pro-Ject VC-E2, the larger VC-S3 promises several upgrades. But does the larger model have the edge over its more compact counterpart? Is it better at cleaning vinyl records? Pro-Ject’s flagship vacuum record cleaning machine has undergone several upgrades over the years, moving from a simple MDF construction to the much more durable aluminum chassis we know
The original Pro-Ject VC-E allowed record collectors with limited space to enjoy the benefits of owning a vacuum record cleaning machine. Living in a home where space comes at a premium, the VC-E was a breath of fresh air as I’d long been eyeing up how I could fit the original larger design (or an Okki Nokki equivalent) somewhere in
Ultrasonic cleaning for vinyl records has grown immensely in popularity over recent years. The practice is a mainstay of the jewelry industry, favored for its ability to clean intricate, small crevices at a microscopic level. Ultrasonic works by using high-frequency pressure sound waves to agitate a liquid, producing tiny cavitation bubbles. Lots of tiny bubbles produce forces that help to
The humble carbon fiber record brush is an essential accessory for any turntable. If you don’t already own one, you should change that pretty quickly and start incorporating one into your daily playback routine. It’s good practice to use one before and after each play, as this will help to prevent dust and dirt building up into a bigger problem
Great vinyl records are clean vinyl records, that much is well understood. But with so much advice available on the internet, how can you determine which cleaning methods lead to vinyl nirvana, and which ones lead to frustration and regret? We’ve covered plenty of tried and tested cleaning methods at Sound Matters, but this article is different. This time, we’ll be
Cleaning vinyl records is a necessary part of the vinyl hobby. For some, it puts them off record collecting entirely, while for others, it’s all part of the tactile nature of the format and a large part of its appeal. In essence, restoring an old record can be very rewarding. But how often should you clean vinyl records? Is there
I’ll cut right to the chase; don’t do it. You’ll find countless articles on how to clean vinyl records with soap and water online, and I’m here to explain why that might not be such a wise idea. Sure, we all want clean vinyl records, free of pesky pops and clicks – that much is a given. But what if
The relatively new HumminGuru record cleaner promises to deliver ultrasonic record cleaning power at an affordable price. Its compact size and all-in-one design will undoubtedly pique the interest of record collectors far and wide. To see how the unit performs, Sound Matters put the HumminGuru through its paces. Ultrasonic cleaning for vinyl records is an interesting concept. It works by
Keeping your vinyl records clean is essential if you want to enjoy the best possible sound from your collection. Even the most careful collectors will occasionally find they need to give their records a quick pass through a record cleaner to eliminate annoying pops and clicks. The best record cleaning kits get the job done quickly and safely without causing
GrooveWasher now has not just one but three different record cleaning pads. The two additional cleaning pads are said to have distinct advantages and serve very specific purposes. The topic of how to clean vinyl records is fairly contentious. After all, each record collector has their preferred method and products for maintaining clean records that sound great. As the saying
Ask ten people how to clean vinyl records, and you’ll undoubtedly get ten different answers. As the saying goes, “there’s more than one way to shine a penny”. Some methods of cleaning vinyl records are more widely excepted than others, of course, but if we take the pragmatic route, I think we can safely conclude that each approach has pros
It’s common knowledge that vinyl records need the occasional clean from time-to-time. Used record purchases, in particular, should always be cleaned before they go anywhere near your turntable and stylus. Dirty records not only sound bad, but they also exacerbate stylus wear and contaminate your turntable – spreading the muck across your precious vinyl collection. What most people don’t realise,
So you’ve hit the record store and come back with a hoard of classic old vinyl records. ….Or, perhaps you’ve inherited or recently received a box of records and you’re excited to dive in. You flick through the collection, select a record, and gently place it on your turntable. As the stylus lowers and makes contact with the groove, you’re
Does the VC-E compact record cleaning machine from Pro-Ject match up to its bigger brother, the VC-S2 ALU? Sound Matters put the device through its paces. When Pro-Ject upgraded its popular vacuum record cleaning machines with shiny new aluminum chassis, we quickly investigated the new VC-S2 ALU. As a direct replacement for Pro-Ject’s flagship VC-S, the new VC-S2 ALU brought
