Audio Desk Systeme Vinyl Cleaner PRO X (Record Cleaning Machine)

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If you have a serious collection of vinyl records then you want to keep them in pristine condition. This ultrasonic record cleaner is the RollsRoyce of record cleaners. Extremely easy to set up and use. Adjustable wash time for very dirty discs. Even new discs will benefit from a clean which removes all traces of pressing plant release agent. Now comes with dust cover when not in use. Consider this piece of kit as essential as your turntable/cartridge.

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I was originally hesitant to spend this much money on a RCM but having cleaned and listened to vinyl old and new, from classical to metal, I now see this as just an important upgrade to a vinyl playback system as any other phono audio equipment in the system. It even made a difference on a brand new record, straight out of the cellophane, which had never been played before.

Surface noise is eliminated or at least greatly reduced, depending on the physical condition of the record itself. It should go without saying that it can’t repair surface scratches but even on old/second-hand records which may not have been looked after particularly well, the difference in sound quality before and after cleaning is significant. Depth, detail and clarity of playback is improved and I’ve heard things on records I’ve not noticed before in 30+ years of playing.

Pros
- Simplicity and ease of use.
- Speed – Yes, the cleaning / drying cycle takes about 5 to 8 minutes (depending on which programme selected) but that is still quicker, more effective and less messy than my old cleaning regime.
- No static.
- Genuine improvement in sound quality.
- Stylus stays clean on my turntable – I’m always nervous about damage to my cartridge stylus when cleaning, so the fact that I no longer need to do this as often is a big plus for me.
- Number of records cleaned in a relatively short space of time - I’ve had this machine about 3 weeks and I’ve already cleaned about 350 records. Put a record in, press the button and come back to a revitalised and ready to play disk – that’s it.
- Warning light comes on if the water in the reservoir drops below a certain level (as it evaporates over time as you clean more records) - one practical point to consider is that the machine holds about 4.5 litres of water. Rather than fill the tank and adding the bottle of the cleaning fluid to the machine, I add the cleaning fluid to a 5 litre container of purified/ deioninsed water and then fill the machine with that, meaning I have ready mixed solution to top-up as necessary. It seems that 5 litres will be enough for about 140 – 160 cleaning cycles, at which point it’s probably worthwhile changing the water anyway.

Cons...
- A counter would be a ‘nice to have’ but not essential as I tend to keep track of how many records have been cleaned by the number of new inner sleeves I’ve got through (If you’re going to spend this amount of money on a cleaning machine, then it’s a no-brainer to put the clean disk in a new sleeve).
- One of the cleaning rollers keeps popping up from its mounting, but it seems to be a manufacturing defect with the locating hole on that particular (replaceable) roller itself, rather than the machine. Easily replaced.
- The cleaning rollers don’t quite reach all the way to the record label, meaning that some manual cleaning might be needed in the run off area on each side (depending on how fussy I’m feeling). However, as there is usually nothing recorded on the run off groove, this is not a major point. It’s normally only an issue for the 2nd hand LPs I’ve bought, where there might be some fingerprints / dust which cannot be ignored.

Overall – a great bit of kit and I don’t regret a single penny of the outlay. Well worth the investment.

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All I can say is all round A++++++++++++++

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In regards cleaning, my experience echoes that of most other reviews:
- very good job (and I don't get any static remaining)
- easy to use: certainly easier than my VPI was

A few negatives
i) For a device that makes a big play on being level (even has built in spirit level) the lack of adjustable feet is not really acceptable.
ii) As seems the norm with hi-fi. the manual appears written by a 5 year old and produced on a 2nd hand photo-copier.
iii) No dust cover?

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Most of my LPs are classical with a few rock and more jazz. Many of the classical ones were bought in pre-CD days and have been looked after but never got a professional clean. I continue to buy new full price LPs (and CDs) as well as charity shop bargains, also a good source of deleted issues. While it is possible to get by with playing new records just as they come the charity ones certainly need a clean to be worth playing and give the stylus a longer life. Having tried a cheap method (the Knosti disco antistat) I decided it was time to get serious. Lots of research led me to this machine as the one that will deliver truly outstanding results (thanks to reviews from various sources including those on this site).

New records or used ones in good condition, once cleaned, deliver wonderfully full sound and a background that is either silent or with hardly any crackle. I tried a copy of Grant Green’s “Idle Moments” (Blue Note remaster) bought from eBay. It always sounded good but now it sounds astonishing. I then tried a Janet Baker song recital (EMI,1968) bought from a charity shop. The original owner must have looked after it well but the years had left their mark with regular pops and the vocal sounding a bit harsh. After an extended clean there was no harshness and only occasional minor crackle. On to a full orchestral sound with the classic Suprafon recording of Janáček’s Sinfonietta conducted by Karel Ančerl. This was another charity shop purchase with a horrible steely edge to the sound, hard to enjoy. After a prolonged clean (keep the button pressed for 5 beeps) I heard a full blown orchestra and a mass of brass at their majestic best in the opening. It was a similar story with Bartók’s second piano concerto played by Alexis Weissenberg and conducted by Eugene Ormandy. The woodwind and brass combination with the piano and percussion of the first movement now delivering the proper punch. The strings in the calm other worldly opening of the middle movement now sounded full with the bases coming through as a healthy musical sound rather than a generalised rumble. The dialogue involving the strings, piano and drums leading to the lightning fast middle section was again delivered with full and convincing sound. I then tried a box set of Don Giovanni conducted by Teodor Arentzis bought new last year (Sony Classical). This sounded great from the start (a bargain at £30 for 5 180g discs); standard cleaning gave more incisiveness to the instruments in the overture and the subsequent vocals. Next, a standard commercial release of Beethoven’s violin concerto played by Henryk Szeryng and conducted by Bernard Haitink (Philips) bought in the early 1980s came out of its cover after far too long. I played it as it was with the result of quite a bit of crackle and a somewhat muted sound. After a clean it was transformed to a joyous experience. I could discuss many more examples but the point is made. I cleaned around 40 records in the first two and a half days and could have done more but wanted time to enjoy at least some of the results as well!

For charity shop records I first clean them with the Knosti disco antistatic just to get the surface rubbish off them. They can have a lot of dust or even hair and by getting rid of it I keep the Audio Desk machine fluid cleaner and give the filter a longer life. This isn’t necessary or recommended in the manual but as I’ve got the Knosti this seems a good use of it.

I agree with the other reviewer (Christopher) that it would have been good to have an integrated counter. After all you don’t buy a machine like this and then clean records in a solution past its best. I downloaded a free tally counter app on my phone but found it to be a bit hap-hazard as the phone is not always by me. So I have ordered a cheap mechanical tally counter from eBay which will stay next to the machine (there are many suppliers, I chose one with 100% rating). I would also prefer the control panel to feature a function selector with visual confirmation and a separate start button, not a big point and maybe others prefer the current set up. Placing the record so it starts rotating unaided takes a bit of practice but you soon get used to when the record has engaged the transport mechanism (it needs a bit more force than feels comfortable but the record is fine) . If it doesn’t start rotating when the motor fires up (soon after the rollers release it from the first temporary holding while the fluid fills up) it just needs a gentle quarter turn anticlockwise and all is fine.

The only negative aspect of the purchase was that the first machine sent to me had a panel with many minor scratches and one serious one on the edge. I do not see any way in which an inspector could have passed this and it seems very likely that it was a refurbished machine packed and shipped by mistake as new. I must stress that no blame at all attaches to analogueseduction.net since they were shipping on what they thought was a brand new machine in good order. Simon at analogueseduction.net took immediate action after I called, he inspected a replacement machine and shipped it to me the next day. I imagine this is a one off event but when purchasing it would be a good idea to ask that the machine be inspected first.

Despite some of the critical points made I am still giving the machine 5 stars because it delivers where it matters most: well cleaned records delivered with little fuss. As is often said a system is only as good as its weakest part and playing uncleaned records introduces a serious weakness from the very start. This machine is certainly pricey and will not win any beauty contests against some others but it is well worth the cost. Like other reviewers on this site I have yet find a record, new or old, that has not benefitted from being cleaned by this machine. To sum up, this is perhaps the most effective upgrade to an analogue system for the money.

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I have collected records over 5 decades now (apart from a brief lull when we all thought CD's were great and records went into storage). Up until now I have used a Knosti disco antistat, cheap and cheerful and reasonably effective. I dabbled with spreading PVA glue, waiting a day or two for it to dry and then the fiddly process of removing it. Soooo time consuming and not great results. Once I decided I wanted to buy a RCM I spent ages trawling through reviews and forums and after speaking to the nice people at Analogue Seduction I decided to blow the budget on the Audiodesk. I've now cleaned about 60 LP's and I am not disappointed. It's easy to use (sometimes it needs a nudge to get the record turning) and I have not had to repeat the drying cycle once. The acid test was my much loved pre owned copy of King Crimson's In the Court of the Crimson King...the surface noise on Moonchild was very noticeable and the reduction after cleaning is quite dramatic, same for a 'noisy' copy of Tom Waits Swordfishtrombones. Not only that but on everything I have cleaned with this machine there is a noticeable sonic improvement, better bass response and a richness and clarity which is a delight. If I had to think of a negative it can't clean 45's.
This really is a fantastic bit of kit, add up what you have invested in audio equipment and what your collection is worth, this should be your next upgrade.

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15 years ago, I started cleaning records with a Nitty Gritty basic model. 5 years ago, I upgraded to the Okki Nokki record cleaner. Both were labor intensive and I enjoyed the records because it took so much time to clean them. I didn't believe the rave reviews of the Audio Desk Systeme because my vinyl was sparkling clean. How could they be any cleaner?

Eventually, I decided to ignore my ego and buy one. First, cleaning records on the Audio Desk is so easy that it feels illegal. I hold the start button down until the second beep (which adds 1 min extra cleaning time) and set my iPhone timer to 6m 30s. Then, I walk away to do other things. I'm writing this review while cleaning records!

About 10% of the records have a 2-3 small drops of water after the drying cycle and those drops are removed with a Q-Tip cotton bud instead of the extra drying cycle option.

An ultrasonically cleaned record sounds shockingly better than a vacuum cleaned record. It draws you into the music because it sounds so real. I smiled for hours as I listened to old favorites. Sometimes, it sounded like a completely different record but in a good way. I am a believer.

My turntable is fully upgraded LP12 with Kandid cartridge.

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The best part of this machine is the ease of use. Load the record, press start & walk away, only to return to a cleaner record. At first, I noticed a significant difference. Now that I am towards the 100 records cleaned mark, I seem to have to put the record through the system a couple times to get that same reaction for the dirtier records in my collection.
I still see a slight bit of static after the record goes through the cleaning process which keeps the machine from a 5 star rating.
Nothing has happened that the accompanying pamphlet didn't warn me off. That being said, a little more information on how to maintain the machine through the period of time of use would be helpful.
One thing that would be useful to put on the machine would be a built in counter system so you can see how many records are being cleaned without keeping a notebook next to the machine.

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This cleaner is so easy to use and so versatile, up to 5 cleaning cycles at a time and very simple to run extra drying cycles ,but the basic package is put disk in ,press go and come back in about 6 minuets and put the cleaned, dry disk in the record sleeves. Another great thing about this cleaner is the static has all gone so put into an anti static sleeve. So easy you will clean after every play. Thank you Audio Disc.

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It was a lot of money but the results on new, previously cleaned, and dirty second hand LP's are vastly better than I have achieved with a variety of fluids on a decent brush and suck RCM.

Far less effort so I have cleaned a couple of hundred LP's in about 3 weeks including many pre-loved ones from charity shops. Less hassle, more cleaned LP's, and more listening time.