Quiet RCM

My old Vpi 16.5 is so loud. It was used and the insulation had been water damaged and so I threw it away. It never bothered me but now I can't clean records at night because it wakes up the baby and that's really the only time available. Any suggestions of vacuum machines that aren't so loud. It doesn't have to be whisper quite as it's in the basement and music doesn't seem to wake her up.

 

They're all very loud. Watch videos on YouTube to give you an idea. Somebody almost always says theirs is acceptably quiet but not by my standards. Not even close.

Clean some in advance before the little one goes to bed. Or adopt a soap & water method that won't create noise.

 

Loricraft you can listen to music or read when cleaning records
video shows the PRC3 this is the noisy version PRC4 & 6 are virtually silent


Loricraft PRC3 Record Cleaning Machine Review

 

I've always been perplexed by the ear-numbing noise. It's not difficult to design quiet vacuum systems, and almost all motors for spinning the platter would be silent. Why does the VPI make so much noise? Even the platter makes noise. Why make a device out of MDF as it holds and dispenses fluid? (really makes sense?)

 

A Spin Clean is virtually silent and gets nice results.

 

All thread type machines are silent like the Loricraft.

 

The Loricraft / Keith Monks machines are the quietest out there, but they're pricey. I have the Clearaudio Smart Matrix and while it's not the quietest it is possible to have a conversation over it.

 

Just re-insulate it. It will still be loud but insulation is cheap. Get a few pieces of Roxul.

 

How much of a difference could it possibly make? 1db lower?

 

Here's a video of the Loricraft PRC4. Skip to 8:42 to hear it in action.



It is silent but it does take a while to finish a side.

 

I like what @Shawn posted - get a SpinClean. Silent and effective, albeit entirely manual.

I'd bet real money that repeatedly waking up the baby while experimenting with attempts to quiet an RCM is a sure way to encourage your wife to rummage around in the closet for your old baseball bat. The upside is you won't hear any sounds at all after that (at least not until you regain consciousness).

SpinClean. Silent. Effective. Silent. RTFM. Use only as directed.

RCMs, tower speakers/floorstanders, top-heavy standmount speakers, easy to grab-and-chew cables, and all manner of other stuff (e.g., easy-to-open kitchen cupboards, stairs without baby gates top and bottom, etc.) all have to give way for babies who turn into rug rats who turn into toddlers (otherwise known as topplers).

 

I'm fine with the Okki Nokki, but back when I did the KAB with the BYO vac approach, I wore hearing protection while I vacuumed. It seems a bit much, but cleaning records is a ritual anyway, so you just add putting on the peltors to the ritual.

It removes some spontaneity when you select your evening records and pre-clean them before the baby's bedtime, but this can be fun. For whatever reason when I do this I tend to pick different albums I haven't listened to in a while vs. when I select them during the listening session.

Personally I feel suggesting a person with a VPI switch to a spin clean is like telling a modern society to devolve into bronze-age tribalism, but YMMV.

 

Nessie RCMs are relatively quiet.

 

The deafening sound of a jet engine taking off is how I know my Nitty Gritty RCM is doing its job effectively.

 

The reason that they are noisy (mine is noisy) is that they use the motor and vacuum system from a regular vacuum cleaner. I built mine from a kit, so I know this for a fact. Moth Record Cleaning Machine MK2 Kit