The Disposable/Nonfixable $4K Audio Desk Cleaner

The motor in my KLAUDIO unit died last year. I was out of warranty too. It cost me $250 to replace it.

 

You the man.
I certainly didn't mean to imply that the KL wouldn't break. I think they all will at some point- the question then becomes how costly to repair v replace. I was somewhat disappointed that Elma wouldn't provide field replaceable parts for the bench sized ones, according to the US distributor.

 

Hey Bill

I know you meant to imply that the KL wouldn’t break. I bought the KL 2005 and chose it because of its build and the complaints at the time regarding the Audio Desk machine.

I’ve come to the same conclusion as you, that something else is needed for older and dirtier LPs, in addition to the KL. That’s why I bought the Kirmuss cleaner. I start with the Kirmuss and use the KL as the finisher.

One day, I’ll buy a Monks machine. Until then, this will have to do.

 

I am a big fan of Cleaner Vinyl - you supply the ultrasonic bath and the "level" of cleaning you want - 2-12 records, filter, drying riser/rack. Can be as cheap as $350 for a basic setup.

 

If you are in the US, you can call the importer, Ultra Systems, and they will often take your call immediately - (800) 724-3305.

I have had a couple small issues and they have always been almost instant in response, only delayed when the owner was away for an audio show.

 

I can attest to that. About 3 months ago, mine needed repair under warranty and the only thing slow about getting it done was me, packing it up and sending it to Ultra Systems. Robert scheduled a call with me to discuss the symptoms, quickly arrived at a diagnosis, and had the thing back to me in two days.

 

You guys are the lucky ones since Ultra Systems appear to be one of very few distributors carrying this product that is that responsive. Even AudioDesk isn’t keen to fix their own machines often not responding to emails or very vague replies.

 

After only 6 years in use, and numerous problems with it (most under warranty), the "level coin" stopped to elevate when water is put in it. Solution: buy a new one at a discounted price. For such an expensive unit, this is a shame. I would not recommend the AD to anyone anymore. Made in Germany??! China does better!

 

What is the "level coin," and is it possible someone that is handy/clever may be able to fix this for you?

 

The white disc that is supposed to go up when you are pouring water in it. And yes, I ll ask someone to open it and fix it and see if we can.

 

Glad I oped for the Degritter. Rumor is those Estonians are keeping the quality and service high.

 

Finally problem solved, like a miracle AD started working again, without me actually doing anything exept moving a bit the unit. And they wanted me to buy a new one, only 1800 buchs!! All cool then.

 

How would any owners describe the improvements a cavitation machine makes if used in addition to an RCM. Does it actually remove more embedded material and reduce pops/noise further as claimed? Is this a marginal or significant improvement if so? Or are improvements dependent on the particular issue? It does seem that a good RCM is doing most of the work from this thread - and you don't need something fancy like Keith Monks (been using an Okki Nokki for about 12/13 years without any issues).

 

I had an Okki Nokki along side my AudioDesk for a brief period. My conclusion was that aside from heavy grunge, best attacked by a brush and scrubbing (i.e. Okki-Nokki, or similar), it wasn't worth the time of using both. Since I don't normally acquire really dirty records, I gave the Okki-Nokki to a friend. Since then there have been just a few instances where I regretted getting rid of it, and I dealt with it through old-fashioned scrubbing and rinsing before ultra-sonic cleaning.

It seemed a waste of time and energy to use both machines every time. If I were just a hair more OCD (I think we all fall on the spectrum somewhere...), I probably would have kept both in the workflow. I cannot fault those who do.

 

I have an AudioDesk Pro and a VPI 16.5 vacuum machine. While the VPI does a really great job of cleaning most records, in my opinion ultrasonically-cleaned LPs have noticeable sonic improvements. This is true even after an LP is vacuum-cleaned - the ultrasonic treatment makes things even better. I concur with the opinion that doing both is not necessary unless the record is really grungy - in that case, keeping that dirt out of the ultrasonic tank is a good idea...

And - alas I am currently sans Audiodesk as well, as the LPs stopped spinning the other week (after less than 2 years of use & several thousand LPs cleaned). That is why I stumbled upon this thread...

 

Someone needs to start a depot repair business for these things.

 

I've had that type of setup for quite awhile at far reduced cost than $4K

 

US cleans much much better - before the AD and now my current unit, I used a Spin Clean and a RD vacuum and the differences were startling!!!

 

Do not expect ultra sonic cleaners to be magic miracle machines that will make used problematic LPs sound like new.

I had several LPs cleaned at a local audio shop that had the Audio Desk cleaner after they proved hard to rid of crackles and pops on my own RCM and multi-step cleaning (these crackles and pops were NOT IGD because they occurred in quiet passages or in between tracks).

I even had one used LP, ZZ Top Fandango, run thru their AD cleaner twice and it had the same crackles and pops in the exact same spots.

I went even further and used a service that specialized in LP cleaning and archiving using a multi-step cleaning regime that included ultra sonics. Sent the ZZ Top record, too, for yet *another* run.

Same crackles, same pops, exact same spots.

My point - do not expect miracles for some LPs just because you use ultra sonic cleaning. Some LPs are beyond hope - temper your expectations. I was curious, tried it, tried it again and would say it was worth the experience as I now know better.