RCM thoughts
 

I have owned a few Nitty Gritty RCMs and have been pleased with their abilities. My current model, MiniPro2, has been plagued with issues. It is currently 3 yrs old and has been back to NG for repairs 4X. The most current and repeated problem is when I switch on the vacuum the GFI in the outlet engages. The previous time this happened the seal around vacuum failed due to use of enzyme cleaner in the tank and allowed fluid to leak onto the vacuum motor and cause a short. The vacuum issue now appears to be the same except when not plugged into GFI circuit the vacuum continues to run, but I feel this is not a safe situation. This RCM has cleaned less than 100 LPs. Now when cleaning with enzyme cleaners I will clean by hand first, wipe with a MF towel and then clean with PURE2 fluid on the RCM and vacuum. I feel it is time to move on, although I love the dual side cleaning simultaneously. I am not prepared to pay >$2500 so an ultrasonic is not possible. I am asking for personal experience on other brands that members have used. I require reliability. Thanks in advance.

If you like to tinker then a ultrasonic tank from internet, can be used with various assembly options. I see a kit on eBay. Utube also has how too videos.
I think the ready made units are wonderful,but I have other equipment to buy with the cost savings.
Just a option and definitely not for everyone.

I had a basic Nitty Gritty many years ago, but have since converted to VPI. I had a 16.5 for several years which worked very well, and now use an HW-27 which I'm quite happy with. I have found the VPIs to be very reliable, and probably as good as anything else short of the ultrasonic machines. The 27 has been discontinued, but VPI now makes the MW-1, which looks to be a nice machine for around $1200.

My Nitty Gritty leaked from day one.

But I'd moved to a different country so I didn't manage to get it fixed under warranty.

A couple of years back, I was in a DIY phase so I opened it up to have a look. And it was easy to see where the leak was. From the water reservoir leading to the rubber hose that connected to the washer brushes.

Got some sealant. And some cable ties and it was back in business.

But eventually decided to spring for an ultrasonic cleaner. The AudioDesk which hopefully arrives next week.

I was initially more keen on the KL version because there was no need for brushes and liquid concentrates. But AudioDesk claimed they used a lower frequency and brushes vs a higher frequency US motor because they were concerned about potential damage to the records.

How many records would you clean in say an average week & average month?

Best sir,

Bob

My total LP collection is +450 not counting the individuals in my 25 box sets. I have slowed down on purchases so I would say 5 LPs per month. I wait until I get 10 ready to clean before I set all up to do the process.

I cleaned my 1000 record collection with a Klaudio. Sold the KL last year. Now, as I am collecting vinyl again, I keep thinking about getting another cleaner. I have a 16.5 in the garage but I don't see myself ever using that again. Painful process once you become spoiled by a drop-in-and-forget ultrasonic cleaner. If I spring for a new RCM, it will be the Clearaudio Double Matrix.

I am a fan of the double matrix but not the $5500 price. A member had all of the top RCMs and the double matrix was his preferred choice for his cleaning regime.

I am sure if/when I get an us I will re lean all LPs

The AudioDesk is now on sale for $3699 and is whispering to me.

I got mine for $300 less than that via fatwyre.com (subsidiary of the cable co). Like nearly everything these days, I looked for it on amazon and this deal revealed itself, with free shipping via prime.

And, I love it.

***CARE*** From personal experience I have doubts about ClearAudio & their quality control.

After a lot of research, I recently purchased the ClearAudio Smart Matrix Record Cleaning Machine , replacing a basic Nitty Gritty machine that after 28 years of use, finally couldn't suck anymore.

Unfortunately there are small design faults with the Clearaudio machine
(basically ergonomic) and I had problems with it from day one, see below.

The Good:

- The machine looks great & has a high quality finish- looks the business.
- The packaging is first rate.
- Powerful suction, & with reverse mode, excellent cleaning results. A massive improvement over the old Nitty Gritty.
- Not as noisy as the old Nitty Gritty, and its actually fun to use!
- Most parts of the machine seem to be of good quality, with qualification- see below.

The Bad:

- as delivered, the cleaning platter was very badly warped & needed replacement as it made cleaning & vacuuming the record properly difficult.
- Replacement platter took over 2 weeks!!! to be shipped from Germany; the excuse given was that Clear Audio was busy preparing for the Munich Show- a terrible excuse, lets spend a fortune to get new clients, while p*ssing off our existing clients- makes no sense to me?
- New platter is also slightly warped. Reason (excuse) given was that the platters are made out of an anti-static plastic which tends to warp during manufacture- I have my doubts, but at least the warp is minor & I can clean records properly.
- After fitting of new platter- a day later the platter became loose & wobbled all over the place. Back to the serviceman- a lock nut had not been tightened correctly- an easy fix. Basic errors like this shouldn't happen- or am I being too tough?

Ergonomic Issues:

- Dust cover just sits on top of the machine- really there should be some way of making sure the dust cover is secure. Even a groove around the machine top would be better than nothing- as you quickly find that the dust cover damages the finish of the top of the machine- I fixed that by adding plastic stick down pads to protect the machine surface.
- Nowhere to place the screw down weight when you turn the record over or when placing or removing the record- placing the weight on the machine top has the potential to damage the surface- I fixed that by adding a stick down pad used to protect wooden flooring from damage from furniture feet.


Summary: As far as cleaning records- the machine does a great job, adding a few pads or a groove to secure the dust cover is a no-brainer. (for a machine that costs almost $2000 NZD, I feel they should have been provided).

The warped platter calls into question their quality control & the delay in providing a replacement is terrible customer service.

On the top of my list for a new turntable was a Clearaudio Innovation Compact turntable black acrylic w/ Magnify carbon tonearm.

Sadly given my experience above, I'm very reluctant to purchase another piece of equipment from this company.

Maybe I'm being too tough & just had some bad luck & purchased the one machine that slipped past their quality controllers?

NZ
Thank you for sharing your personal experience with the CA RCM. I will be doing a hefty due diligence prior to making my next choice. I am hoping Gayle with Nitty Gritty will step up and do the right thing. I have been having a healthy streak of bad luck lately with my gear.

I have the Clear Audio Innovation (started out looking at the Compact, but upgradeitis got me), and it is perfect. Let's hope your experience was the exception rather than the rule. All I can say is that my experience with CA was just what one would have expected.

I also own the Audio Desk RCM, and while I had one minor minor hick-up with it, it's also as expected at this price point.

Maybe you should offer J3brow some cash for his 16.5 and call it a day.

Best sir,

Bob

I have owned all 3 of the current top RCM's (Clearaudio DM Sonic, Klaudio and the AudioDesk). I kept the first 2 and ditched the AudioDesk. Both the CA and the Klaudio do a great job, but the edge goes to the CA. I had an early machine from CA and do to issues it was replaced with a updated/tweaked (rev'd) model. I have had this for close to a year now and no issues at all.


B

I have never felt the velvet lipped machines could get deep into the grooves. As good of a review as the 16.5 gets the overall 'quality' of the MDF shell and jar tank has me wondering if, at best, I would be making a lateral move with the 16.5.

In the VPI the velvet lips are just to cushion the vacuum tube for the vacuum drying process, not intended to clean. The cleaning is done by brushes, in the case of the 16.5 you hold the brush yourself and can use different brushes if you like.

^ Thank you for that bit of insight and information

IMO to spend 4 figures on a RCM that would see 5 LPs' a month (60 a year) is like killing a fly with a .410 shot gun at 1 inch range when a fly swatter would do the job from a few feet.

You see it differently obviously.

Best sir,

Bob

I love really dead flies.

I am sure I would reclean my previously cleaned LPs - maybe a consortium of 4 users to have 3 mons per year would be the correct way to do this.

There is so much wretched excess in this entire endeavor, I'm surprised anyone even questions this particular aspect of it!!

Seriously though, I can't stand the thought of all of the $$ I spent on the cartridge being put at additional risk by LPs that are dirtier than they have to be. On top of that, everything just sounds so much better (which is really all of the justification I need).

Well stated. Cable expenses, equipment racks, stillpoints, dedicated circuits....

I have had the same thought for some time. My Nitty Gritty has died and I am having a hard time justifying buying a KL or Clearaudio but I do want one.

Why not a group to share the cost and expense? We have seen those who buy these ultra-pricey RCMs, clean their LP collection, then sell to the next buyer. In a case like that what do you do when you buy more LPs down the road after you sell the 'us' RCM? With a group buy-in at least you know the unit will be coming back to you for use later on - in another 4 mons (each user keeps for a month). Ideally, the consortium would be in the same regional area. In my case in 4 months I would probably have 30 - 40 new LPs to clean.

Actually that doesn't work well at all. I have sold more than one RCM to be shared among even just 2 or 3 people who are relatively close to one another. There are always complaints, and gripes. :dunno:

One person winds up buying the others out, after a fair amount of grief.

Thank you Ivan for that bit of first-hand experience; I could see that being an issue, possibly.

After contemplating a few days I am beginning to think maybe nothing is wrong with my current NG - does as design when plugged into a non-GFI circuit. But why did it start throwing the GFI trip after a round of cleanings? Vacuum motor pulling too many amperes, but why? My Breville 800 Espresso machine does not throw the GFI on the same circuit when the pump engages. Any electro-nerds care to take a guess?

Too great a current draw should trip a breaker. A GFCI should trip if there's a significant difference between the current going to the load and the neutral current coming from the load, typically caused by an inadvertent ground path. It's that ground path that could be dangerous to the user and that's what you'll need to isolate, imo.

Thank you Cleeds. So something as simple as a bad rocker switch on the RCM could cause this? Obviously the problem resides within the RCM and it is really not that complicated of a piece of machinery - I am just not sure where to start nor how to diagnose.

For my particularly dirty collection, cleaning with a good rcm resulted in at least a component level upgrade, for way less than the cost of a fancy new component (generally speaking). When you combine that with the lowered risk to/longer life of the cartridge, it's an easy decision for me. Of course, I may be deep into rationalization land here.

Yes, it could be the switch, or bad insulation on the wiring somewhere. If you have a multimeter, one thing you can check for is to see if you can locate continuity between hot and ground. You can check that with the unit unplugged by measuring resistance.

Well, I could not find any faults. I then I used a cheater plug to lift the ground on the RCM and plugged unit into GFI circuit. Turned on the vacuum switch and nothing tripped - WooHoo! I took off the cheater plug, plugged back into the circuit, turned on the vacuum and worked without any issue, no GFI trip. So, why did it trip originally? Vacuum motor overheated - Nitty Gritty did not think so. Anyway, back to cleaning but I am intrigued with the ADS and KL, or possibly a Loricraft PRC4

Thanks to all for their inputs and suggestions

After much thought, research, contemplation and a good trade-in offer for my MniPro2 I am moving on to the Audio Desk Syteme Pro. Even though I do not buy LPs like I did in the early stages, I will reclean my current collection plus when I take into account my somewhat expensive cartridge I feel I will get more life out of it with the new RCM. I may even go outside my comfort zone and begin to look ay used LPs.

Those who own an ADS please please share your cleaning regime or hints if you have found a system that works well for you. i.e. Pre-treating new LPs for mold release. I do have the AVIS 3 step fluids and brushes.

No great insight here - I've cleaned about 30 lps thus far. Be sure you watch it start turning - most of mine need a nudge. Keep some spare distilled H2o with the cleaning mixture as the water level will go down. Of the thirty or so I've cleaned, only one wasn't completely dry at end of the cycle. I use six "beeps" on my high school/college era stuff and 2 or 3 on others. I haven't tried the pre cleaner, but that's next.

Enjoy. Give us a report. Your cartridge and ears will thank you for it.

Enjoying the simplicity of this RCM - a true 'Ron Popeil' design; set it and forget it. Have cleaned a Django Reinhardt 'Djangologie' - 20 LPs and not one came out damp. So far about 40 LPs in (working through the 'A's now) and am pleased with results. First test was a Supertramp BIA that was full of noise - it is very playable now after a standard clean session. Never imagined I would spend this much on a RCM but cost was equivalent my cartridge cost so I know I am at least helping to extend the life of it. Now, on to more cleaning.

How loud is the ADS? I would like to be able to listen while I clean and my Clearaudio, while much better than the 16.5 it replaced, is still too loud.