My new Toy, an RCM

[alphaGT]

I just received my new Record Cleaning Machine! It's the new Pro-Ject VC-S. I've been watching their website and the mail order stores waiting for this unit to come to market for a long while. Better than a year from when they said it would be available. I had a VPI 16.5, and loved it, but it developed a bad leak. And now that I've got my new Pro-Ject I'm very pleased! It's like they looked at the 16.5 and improved on it every way possible. The overall design, the smooth box makes it easier to keep clean. And any cleaning fluid that goes over the edge of a record is easily wiped up with a napkin. On the 16.5 fluid that went over the edge was down inside the box and would run under the platter, making it difficult to clean up, and If you left it then it would eventually warp the particle board. It doesn't have a platter, I was concerned that it wouldn't be firm enough to apply pressure to the record to scrub it. But even old flimsy records hold up fine under the scrubbing brush. And it has a bidirectional motor, so you can scrub in both directions. And because it has no platter, when you clean the second side of the record, you don't put the clean side down on a dirty cork mat. It has a clamp that covers the label completely so you won't get the label wet, and it gives the record ample support. The suction arm is solid aluminum, the arm on my old 16.5 was plastic and constantly slipping apart. It is far quieter than my old 16.5, has good torque, and has a larger tank so you can clean many records without worrying about having to stop and dump the tank. Instead of a hose hanging out of the back, you tip it up and pour the fluid out, or I believe I'll just use a siphon hose into a cup. And lastly, it was so easy to slip the vinyl sleeve over the edge of the record and get it into the sleeve without touching it. So needless to say I am very happy with this machine. At $499 US, that's $150 US cheaper than the 16.5, and is a superior machine in every respect. I can't really compare it to any other brands, as I've had no experience with them. Although my son in law has the Record Doctor from Audio Advisor that cost $199 US, which is a vacuum but completely manual operation, scrub your record on the desk and then place wet side down and spin manually. But he loves it, so depending on the size of your collection and pocketbook, it could be a fine solution. But this much I know, if you play records, once you own an RCM, you'll never want to be without one again! The difference in sound quality they bring is nothing short of amazing.


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[struth]

Looks a nice machine. Similar to the moth ones. Yup, you need one of these if you play vinyl.

[Simon_Nottingham]

At $499 US

Fab!

That's less than what most people would consider a decent cartridge and will probably improve the sound a hell of a lot more. I'm tempted...

[alphaGT]

I purchased an album online used, said to be in "Good" condition. And once I got it the album was completely unplayable. Skips in 9 places. Unusable. So it went in the far end where my least favorites are, until I got an RCM. After about two major scrubbings it played! And I mean, played well! Sure it has a few ticks in it still, but overall it made a spectacular recovery! Old albums they were given to me that were playable but noisy are now clean as new! With no surface noise at all, jaw dropping improvements.


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[Simon_Nottingham]

I purchased an album online used, said to be in "Good" condition. And once I got it the album was completely unplayable. Skips in 9 places. Unusable. So it went in the far end where my least favorites are, until I got an RCM. After about two major scrubbings it played! And I mean, played well! Sure it has a few ticks in it still, but overall it made a spectacular recovery! Old albums they were given to me that were playable but noisy are now clean as new! With no surface noise at all, jaw dropping improvements.

That's really funny. I just bought a record from an auction site that you will be aware of (BAD's 10 Upping Street), sold as VG I think, played it for the first time this evening and it's rank! I'm pretty sure it's not damaged, but it sounds like I've got cotton wool in my ears.

It was this experience that has made me think about one of these. £349 in the UK. That's about a quarter of a year's record spend... it's not that much really.

OK, I'm convinced!

[HackneyRF]

Nice review Russell.

Be thinking about one of these too. They seem to get generally favourable feedback and it's a good price to boot.

[alphaGT]

With all of your records Simon you definitely need one! And thanks Loz, the VPI 16.5 is probably the industry standard, and I had one and it didn't last. This new one from Pro-Ject is so well made, and heavy! This thing weighs 30 lbs, (12Kg ?) and feels solid. It's new so I can't say how long it will last, but it exudes quality. I would recommend it over the VPI every day.


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[Manicatel]

With the Pro-ject RCM, are the records dry enough after cleaning to put back into inner sleeves straight away or do you need to leave them to dry off for a while?
I've currently got a disco anti stat cleaner but with that I'm limited to cleaning only about 8 LP's at a time,as that's how many the drying rack takes. I'm getting decent results but still think a vacuum RCM could be even better.

[Simon_LDT]

With the Pro-ject RCM, are the records dry enough after cleaning to put back into inner sleeves straight away or do you need to leave them to dry off for a while?
I've currently got a disco anti stat cleaner but with that I'm limited to cleaning only about 8 LP's at a time,as that's how many the drying rack takes. I'm getting decent results but still think a vacuum RCM could be even better.

I've got one of these VC-S machines and it uses a strong vacuum so the record is 100% bone dry once removed. I usually do approx 2 rotations in both directions with the vac on and then either onto the TT to play or back into a poly sleeve.

I won't let any record on my TT any more before it is cleaned that's for sure!

[alphaGT]

Yes, one rotation and it is dry. But as Simon said, I let it go around twice or so. The idea is that spinning the record under the fuzzy lips on the vacuum creates static, so, the fewer rotations the less static you create, and with two turns there is nearly zero static created. Because it has no platter, I can slip the vinyl sleeve up over it and slide it right in without touching the record. Very well thought out. And old records do improve with successive cleanings. Lifting a bit of surface noise with every pass, even new records benefit from cleaning. They have mold release compound on them from the factory, and a new record fully washed has zero surface noise! Especially the new 180g records, they are generally superior to records made back in the 70's and 80's quality wise. Not referring to the music, just the durability and quality of the pressing.


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