Audio Desk Ultrasonic Vinyl Cleaner

Thanks. I'll give it a try.

 

My Audio Desk Systeme Vinyl Cleaner broke down after about 1 1/2 years. The cleaning barrels will not clamp on the record or rotate. The other functions of the machine seem fine.

I contacted Mr. Robert Stein of Ultra System the distributor. I was told to check the output voltage of the power supply (24.72V) and to adjust the two bolts on the left of the chamber (this did not help). So I shipped it back with insurance by FedEx this week.

The 1-year warranty has expired but Robert said he will try to be flexible within reason. I hope that I can get it back in working condition soon.

 

For $4,000. they should fix it free, especially if you're paying for shipping and insurance. A year and a half is way too early for any kind of defect.

 

We'll see. From what I have read here and my email exchanges with Robert Stein of Ultra System, he is a man of good will. I am hoping for the best.

 

Paul, how many records did you clean with this machine?

 

Less than 500 I think based on the number of new inner sleeves I have consumed but I don't have the exact count. I should have got a mechanical counter to keep track. Maybe I will get a counter after my Vinyl Cleaner has been repaired.

When it worked, it saved me a lot of time. The only other issue is like many other owners have experienced that it would sometimes leave a few droplets of water on the record after the drying cycle. Even after the cleaning barrels stopped working, it could still function like other ultrasonic machines that do not have the rollers which are essential for cleaning the record's surface.

I will never go back to using other RCMs. I just wish it were more reliable.

 

Reliability is the problem, I have been using it for 2 years now, around 3000 cleans, all perfect.
But... A friend has got it broken 4 times, yes 4 times, on the same period of time and a bit more cleans.
They don't know how to repair their machine. Good news is it seems he will get a replacement.
Great machine but poor reliability and poor service (Germany).
I hope they will have a better service in a near future. I couldn't do without this machine. Once you use it you can't use anything else.

 

Update on my out of warranty Vinyl Cleaner:

I shipped it insured back to Ultra Systems by FedEx, which cost me $40.81 ($21.81 + $19 insurance).

They tested on the bench and determined that it has a mechanical problem.

I was given two options:

1. Have the unit shipped back to Germany ($300 round trip freight) for rebuild (unknown repair cost for "disassembling the glued up chassis, replacing the internal hardware, and then rebuilding the machine").
2. Pay $1495 for a new machine (currently priced at $4450; has "a whole range of running upgrades for better performance and reliability") with a new warranty and free shipping. Robert at Ultra Systems likens this to retipping a moving coil phono cartridge.

The original unit will be either sent back to Germany for "forensic analysis" or disposed as junk. Other than the mechanical problem with the cleaning barrels, it was still functional.

I took option #2. The consolation is that I will have a brand new and supposedly better Vinyl Cleaner in about a week.

 

That actually is pretty good of them I have to say (though the fact it did not last long is obviously not). It's interesting that the amount you will be out of pocket on the new machine is a little bit less than what my record store would charge me to clean 500 records on their Audio Desk cleaner.

 

You didn't hear me complain, did you? I took the best option available. But my wife did not like it a bit and pointed to my VPI HW-16.5 which is still working after a quarter of century.

It is not a fair comparison. You wouldn't have to do it like I did. So I actually lose out on my time.

 

Jeez, calm down. I wasn't trying to denigrate anyone or anything. I was just stating that I thought getting a new machine for such a low price is still a good deal even considering everything. I was just stating my opinion on the matter. Sorry I even said anything. Honestly, if you bite at things like that it sounds to me like you are a difficult person to deal with and live with.

 

Two friends and myself all bought Audio Desk cleaners 3-4 years ago. All three had to be sent back for service at one time or another. Non of us had to pay for repairs or shipping other than back to them in the US.
All the returned units have functioned flawless since they were returned.

 

Sometimes this hobby can be a money pit. I feel your pain. Good luck with the new unit.

 

It would also appear that the failure rate is high for first generation, thus eliminating the benefit of anyone trying to get a deal on the used market.

 

One other thought for those of you on the fence given the expense; there is a semi-DIY kit that supplies the rotisserie/frame with a recommendation for a generic commercial ultrasonic bath that gets you in the ultrasonic 'door' pretty cheaply. I can post the link (I saw it posted from somebody I know on another forum). If you really wanted to do a killer cleaning system on the relative cheap, I'd combine that with a factory 2nd/refurbished point nozzle machine from Loricraft. This would give you a number of advantages, in my estimation: pre-cleaning capability using just the Loricraft (for nasty records, see below); drying the ultrasonically cleaned record using the Loricraft rather than the blow dryers that are typically associated with the commercial ultrasonic machines; and a more costly friendly upgrade path into the ultrasonic realm, i.e. you could defer the purchase of the point nozzle machine initially. I'm not sure i'd want to go back to a wand vacuum machine for drying after using a DIY type ultrasonic for washing, for all the reasons that have been discussed at length here and on other fora. But the point nozzle machines are a different critter. And if you are buying old vinyl, you may find that ultrasonic alone is not enough. At least that's been my experience, having owned the Audio Desk, the KL, a Monks and VPI.

 

I can be difficult, and expensive, too.

By the same token, if you react to others' replies such as mine, what does that make you? A little oversensitive?

 

I wonder if your friends' units were still in warranty, and how long it took to repair them. I was told that mine could not be repaired at Ultra Systems. It requires rebuild which will have to be done in Germany. But they have fixed other units for which rebuild were not required.

 

All three had to go to Germany, one was out of warranty

 

I think if you contact German company direct(bypass the local dealer), you may get the same deal as TommyTunes did.

 

I dealt with the local distributor, I think they will make things right

 

I guess that was then when the newer model was not available and this is now that customers with out of warranty unit are offered the "retip"-like deal, which is authorized by the manufacturer Audio Desk Systeme, I was told by Robert Stein at Ultra Systems, the U.S. distributer.

 

I almost bit on the Audio Desk, but after doing some research and reading numerous posts about the machine breaking down, I chose the KL Audio cleaner. So far, so good. Built like a tank too.

 

Even with the newer model, wait and see if the reliability problem has been fixed.

 

I find the KL is pretty good with old vinyl. With some older records, I have obsessive compulsively wood glued, cleaned with the AI number 15 cleaner, with the ultra pure rinse on my VPI 16.5 and then run through the KL as the last step.

The KL is impressive, but it's not the be all that ends all. It won't remove certain fingerprints from vinyl, nor will it remove some of those marks/patterns that end up on records as a result of old inner sleeves. A good enzyme cleaner is needed for those issues.

 

One of the functions of ADS Vinyl Cleaner's cleaning barrels is removing finger prints. Sadly those were exactly where my unit failed.