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Keeping Records Clean
Vinyl Maintenance
How to Properly Maintain Your Records:
Vinyl enthusiasts will tell you how crucial it is to maintain and protect your records. Although vinyl records are considered by many to produce the best quality sound, they certainly won’t do so forever unless you take care of them properly.
Records are particularly susceptible to scratches, heat, and sunlight. To help you take better care of your record collection, here are a few easy tips.
Storage:
- The first part of your maintenance routine is proper storage. As your records will spend the majority of their time not being played, this is especially important.
- First, you should store your records vertically, never horizontally. When stored horizontally (i.e., stacked on top of each other) for a long time, your records can warp. Make sure that you store them away from extreme heat, sunlight, or humidity.
- Second, be on the lookout for dust and dirt, as these are two of the most damaging substances for records. The best way to fight dirt is by preventing it from touching the record.
- Always keep your records in a protective sleeve and inside the cover. If you want an extra layer of protection, consider purchasing plastic outer sleeves for all your records.
Cleaning Your Records
Even if you follow every guideline for maintaining your records, they could still use a good cleaning every now and then. There are a few ways you can go about cleaning the records in your collection, though no one way is better than any other. Here are a few techniques that you can use to clear off any dust, dirt, and oil that may have gathered.
Simply Analog brush: This sort of brush is especially effective because its bristles can easily find the grooves of the record, removing any debris.
The brush can also reduce any static electricity that ma be y be attracting dust to the record. You should brush your records before and after each listen.
Simply spin the record while you are holding the brush. Just be sure to clean out the brush after every use.
Avoid using a towel or T-shirt to clean off your records, as these materials can damage the record further.+more on Simply Analog
Two great options to keep and protect your precious vinyl records are the kit from Simply Analog or Last Factory fluids.
The Dutch name for "thumbs-up": Okki Nokki
Okki Nokki Cleaner:
Sucking-up to vinyl!
The true test of a record cleaner is how well it achieves its aim and how much effort is required to do so. But that's not all, there is also the question of reliability.
One very useful feature of the Okki Nokki is that it has a float mechanism, that stops it operating when the fluid needs to be drained, so there's never any danger of water getting into the motor. Which given its electrical nature, has got to be a good thing.
Operation is via two switches: one for forward/reverse and the other for suction, but first you need to dilute the cleaning fluid in a Litre of condensed water and then pour a little back into the bottle which has small spout for ease of use. Inconveniently, this bottle has no lid so needs taping-up. The fluid itself is soap rather than alcohol-based and doesn't require rinsing.
The vacuum motor isn't excessively noisy and does the job quickly.
Scrubber
The cleaning process is pretty straightforward and once you've done it a couple of times, it's not too slow either; you can do what it suggests in the manual in about a minute per side.
The result is that vinyl sounds relatively 'fresh' because the highs are clearer, which not only adds sparkle to the treble but brings greater definition across the range. It also gets rid of some sources of noise such as pops and clicks, not the ones caused by actual damage of course, but by larger deposits of detritus.
Keep it clean
There is no such thing as a record cleaning machine where you put a dirty record in at one end and get a clean one out at the other, they all require a fair amount of elbow grease.
The Okki Nokki works as well as any we have tried, but costs less and has a safety feature that should stop users from inadvertently damaging it. Record-cleaning is not the most fun you can have with your clothes on, so an affordable machine that makes it painless is very welcome indeed!
Your Records:
- In order to keep your records clean, touch them as little as possible. When you must handle your records, try to only touch the edges and inner label. By keeping your hands off as much as possible, you can prevent any excess grease and dirt on your fingers from getting on your records.
- When playing, you should also consider closing the lid of the turntable. This will help prevent any airborne dirt from landing on your record.
Playing Your Records:
- When listening to your records, there are also steps you can take to extend their playable life. When cueing your record, use a steady hand. This is especially important if you have a manual turntable that requires you to lift the arm and put the needle on the record. If you are not careful, you could easily scratch your records.
- Try to keep your hands as steady as possible
- You should be equally as careful when removing the needle. Wait until the record stops spinning before you move the needle. Doing so will reduce the risk of scratching.
Ultrasonic Record Cleaner:
Ultrasonic vinyl record cleaners are becoming ever more popular for audiophiles and are threatening to become the de-facto standard for any serious vinyl fan wanting to maintain a shiny, clean record collection.
In simple terms, such machines hold and rotate records that are partly submerged in a bath of liquid. That type of liquid can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer but the bulk tends to be distilled water. Once the record is wet (the label is always left untouched, incidentally), the ultrasonic action known as cavitation begins in the bath container via an active transducer, producing compression waves that produces millions of tiny bubbles that break up, creating millions of tiny bubble explosions, directed liquid that is fired and forced into the moving grooves. The agitation effect displaces gunk, grease, muck and other contaminants, cleaning the grooves like never before.
Turntables & Accessories represented by One Good Ear
Acoustic Solid
An old proverb says: music is the language of passion! That’s why we put not only experience and expertise into the development of our record players, but a dose of passion as well. This is reflected in the premium sound quality of our luxury turntables: it meets the absolute highest demands, yet it is distinguished by its unique simplicity. Acoustic Solid’s exclusive vinyl turntables produce a magnificent audio performance. Furthermore we provide our customers with pick-up cartridges, tonearms, belt drives, phono amplifiers and of course the necessary turntable accessories for a perfected listening experience.
Turntables from Acoustic Solid: Highest quality, optimized acoustics
Is your vinyl record collection the centre-piece of your living room? Then you should treat yourself to the appropriate technology and acoustics to enjoy it! With a refined hi-fi turntable from Acoustic Solid, you will get absolute top quality and crystal clear acoustics for your home.
By the way, all Acoustic Solid turntables are produced by hand during the manufacturing process.
Brinkmann Audio
Some say that perfect music playback is an illusion. Helmut Brinkmann however, leaves nothing to chance as he works on perfecting this illusion, thus making music playback as real as possible.
Mechanical engineering by Brinkmann, or the art of extracting colorful soundscapes from black vinyl.
Despite continued advances in digital playback, the vinyl record (in spite of it’s limitations) remains the foremost important music format in the world. This is also especially true for Brinkmann.
Vinyl record playback is an exceedingly delicate and massively complex undertaking.
Brinkmann offers a complete lineup of analog playback equipment consisting of three turntables, two tonearms and one phono cartridge. Alternatively, you can use components from other manufacturers. Consider, however, that at Brinkmann, each and every component is optimized to work in synergy, hence your mileage with other components may vary. Put differently, at Brinkmann, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
GoldNote
Phono Pre-Amplifiers
Phono Pre-Amplifiers
"The spirit of our audio equipment stems from the fusion of past and future. This means that we don’t see a contradiction in combining avant-garde technological innovations with a design that seeks ties with tradition.
The Renaissance of our city Florence is a role model to be inspired by every day, a period of great technological innovation and new ideas, and this is the tradition we are interested in – it is our mission to reread it with deference and respect to obtain a direct connection with that innovative spirit of six centuries ago.
Today Gold Note presents a line of unique, perfectly coherent, and elegant products that allow you to set up an entire quality stereo system with turntables, electronics, and loudspeakers. A philosophy that has allowed us to represent Italy, the most beautiful country in the world, as I have always dreamed of doing."
-Maurizio Aterini
FOUNDER & CEO
Phono Pre-Amplifiers
Phono Pre-Amplifiers
Phono Pre-Amplifiers
aPHONO STAGES
What is a phono stage?
A phono stage (also known as a phono pre-amp) provides the connection between the record player and an amplifier. When vinyl was the defacto standard for audio recording, the phono stage was built-in to receivers and amps, allowing direct connection of a turntable.
However, as new formats like CDs were introduced and begun to replace vinyl, manufacturers of amplifiers removed or reduced the quality of their in-built phono stages and inputs as they were no longer being used.
A lot of hi-fi amplifiers now won’t let you plug in a turntable directly. You need to connect via a phono stage to make the very small signal from the turntable powerful enough for your main amp to work with.
If your system/receiver has an input labeled “phono,” there’s a good chance this input has a built-in phono pre-amp stage.
Phono Stage Brands represented by One Good Ear:
Acoustic Solid
Dynavector
Fezz
GoldNote
Michael Fremer setting up a cartridge on a GoldNote turntable
Vinyl Cleaning Solutions
Record Maintenance (the Basics)
To fully enjoy vinyl, you must keep your records clean. Dirty records don’t just sound bad, they’re also bad for your turntable, as the increased stress on your stylus will significantly shorten its life. This, in turn, will also lead to increased record wear.
You can read more about complete record care in our previous post, but we’re going to focus specifically to keeping records clean. Fortunately for record collectors, there are plenty of tried and tested methods for keeping your precious collection clean and clear for many years you come.
As best practice, you should always use a record brush to clean your records before and after each play-back. This will help reduce build up of dust that can shorten your stylus life and contaminate records.
Record Cleaning Machines:
First up, the easiest and most effective method – using a cleaning machine.
They’re a little expensive; but the fact remains, record cleaning machines are the most effective way to clean vinyl records. The reason they’re so effective is because unlike manual cleaning, record cleaning machines work by sucking up the applied cleaning solution, which in-turn takes all the dirt and grime away with it. Cleaning machines have the added benefit of saving you a ton of time when bulk cleaning large collections.
Vacuum Record Cleaning Machines
Devices like the Okki Nokki and Rekkord Audio are vacuum-based, which essentially sucks up the cleaning solution, taking away dirt and grime in the process.
The benefits of a vacuum cleaner made specifically for cleaning vinyl records is that it sucks up the dirt and dust that has settled into the grooves of the vinyl while simultaneously minimizing pressure and physical contact with the delicate record itself.
If you have an extensive record collection, or just want to save time, investing up front in a record cleaning machine is well worth the expense.
https://www.rekkord-audio.com/en/accessories/rcm/
Simply Vinyl:
If you want to enjoy records of the best possible quality, you need to take regular care of them. The Greek specialist Simply Analog Audiophile Products has combined all the utensils needed for this in everyday life into the Simply Analog Vinyl Cleaning Boxset.
https://www.hifi.blog/simply-analog-vinyl-cleaning-boxset-review-almost-everything-you-need/
- Natural goat hair record brush
- Handmade oak wood velvet record brush
- Stylus cleaner 30ml
- Vinyl cleaner 80ml
- Microfiber cloth
LAST but not least!
Clean and Preserve Records, Needles / Styli, Magnetic Tape and CDs/DVDs
The most trusted maker of cleaners and preservatives for audio media.
The LAST Factory products clean and preserve records, styli, magnetic tape and CDs/DVDs. LAST preservation fluids provide protection from damage both by wear and deterioration. Combined with LAST Factory cleaners they provide a complete audio treatment family. The LAST Factory is unique in the industry in providing scientifically-developed record, stylus and tape preservatives.
Treat them and keep them forever.
"Very Groovy"!
