Audiodesk Systeme RCM

[losenotaminute]

I really liked the look of this RCM and the reviews have been consistently good.



It's a lot of money to spend on a record cleaner so I'm seeking feedback from anyone who has tried or owns one. Are there any issues that I should be aware of?

If I'm honest, I like cleaning things and having them nice and shiny .
Having said that I could try and justify the acquisition by the sonic improvement to my charity shop vinyl collection.
Plus I assume the RCM will hold some value - they don't seem to come up for sale 2nd hand very often....

So please talk me out of it because I'm very close to spending more on an RCM than I have on my entire vinyl collection or my turntable!

Lawrence

[Audio Al]

Have you seen the price of these

[losenotaminute]

It's less than a third of the price of a certain USB cable....

[Audioman]

Unless you have a vast vinyl collection I suggest you buy an Okki Nokki RCM. Spend the rest on records or a better record deck. The Audiodesk will likely be slightly better at cleaning but it appears to be the ultimate if you have everything else in place. A more modest RCM that requires a bit of manual skill as well will give you nice clean quiet disks and you will likely achieve at least 90% of what reviews claim of the Audiodesk. Michael Fremer reviewed it here-

http://www.analogplanet.com/category...achine-reviews

BTW these have not been available long in all but limited numbers and I can't see many second hand ones ever being available. I also doubt there is a member on this forum that owns one. There are plenty however who can testify to superb results from Okki Nokki, Moth, Clearaudio etc. Even the expensive Loricraft is cheap compared to the Audiodesk.

[losenotaminute]

Hi Paul,

That review is one of the reasons I want one

To quote : "So how well does the Audio Desk Systeme work? It’s the most effective, easy to use record cleaning machine I’ve ever tried. I bought the review sample. I cleaned already vacuum cleaned records that were still noisy and the noise went away. "

Lawrence

[The Grand Wazoo]

I don't know anything about this except the price, but I'd agree with Paul and I reckon an extra £1300 or so is a lot to pay for ease of use and convenience.
As for this bit:

I cleaned already vacuum cleaned records that were still noisy and the noise went away.

...what's to say that cleaning those same records one more time on a vacuum cleaner wouldn't have done the same? And what's to say that they wouldn't have needed another whizz on the £1700 machine too?
I shan't be trading in my Moth just yet, but if you feel you can spare the cash, then who are we to stop you going for it?

[Audioman]

Hi Paul,

That review is one of the reasons I want one

To quote : "So how well does the Audio Desk Systeme work? It’s the most effective, easy to use record cleaning machine I’ve ever tried. I bought the review sample. I cleaned already vacuum cleaned records that were still noisy and the noise went away. "

Lawrence

Please note Fremer has a Continuum Caliburn (£110K) and a record collection of far greater value. Have you got an ordinary RCM? If not try one first so you have a basis of experience to work from. Also no RCM will convert worn or damaged records to minty dead quietness. This machine will likely put a gloss onto already mint / new well cared for vinyl. It is not intended as a saver of Charity Shop fodder. Buy a stack of decent vinyl first such as 45rpm Analogue Productions releases. A decent RCM is almost a must have if you buy used vinyl but no need to spend this amount to get them as clean / playable as near possible.

Also worth looking at the comments on Audiogon - reviewers tend to wax lyrical about relatively minor improvements. The machine is complicated and there have been some reliability issues.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr...enflup&39&4#39

[Ammonite Audio]

How does the price compare to the posher Clearaudios, Loricraft etc?

[losenotaminute]

Please not Fremer has a Continuum Caliburn (£110K) and a record collection of far greater value. Have you got an ordinary RCM? If not try one first so you have a basis of experience to work from. Also no RCM will convert worn or damaged records to minty dead quietness. This machine will likely put a gloss onto already mint / new well cared for vinyl. It is not intended as a saver of Charity Shop fodder. Buy a stack of decent vinyl first such as 45rpm Analogue Productions releases. A decent RCM is almost a must have if you buy used vinyl but no need to spend this amount to get them as clean / playable as near possible.

Paul,

Thanks - that's good advice. I need someone to talk some sense into me!

No, I don't have an RCM at the moment. I also don't have a huge LP collection, although it's growing by a couple of LPs a week. For very dirty LPs I wash them in the sink with a soft sponge and washing-up liquid. To remove dust I vacuum them with a PC cleaning adaptor which has a soft brush. This technique works quite well but it is a huge faff. For example, I bought the Sir George Solti Decca recording of Wagner's Das Rheingold on Saturday from Oxfam, it's not scratched at all but there are a lot of LPs and they all need a good clean and I really can't be bothered to do it manually.

Lawrence

[losenotaminute]

How does the price compare to the posher Clearaudios, Loricraft etc?

The Audiodesk is £2,090. The other RCM that has been recommended to me is the VPI, of which there are three models ranging in price, but they look like children's toys compared to the Audiodesk .

Lawrence