Audiodesk Systeme Vinyl Cleaner Pro
We’re pleased to offer the Audiodesk Systeme’s Vinyl Cleaner Pro record cleaner, along with all accessories and fluids.
Special offer: every new Vinyl Cleaner Pro comes with one Headwaters Power Cable (a $675 value). Optionally, pay the difference and upgrade to a Wind River power or speaker cable.
We’re very proud of these cables. They may not result in cleaner records but we think that once you plug them into your electronics, you’ll be back for more.
Not only does the Vinyl Cleaner Pro do a great job, but takes away all of the drudgery.
All you have to do is feed it a record, start it up, and come back a few minutes later to a record that’s ready to play. No fuss. No muss.
How does it get better than that? Contact us for details.
The past 5 years have been witness to a dizzying array of ultrasonic record cleaning solutions, with all of them having an involved cleaning process. Many work quite well, and we survey them in the “About Cleaners” section (below).
Media
Demonstration Video and Images
Manuals
Manuals:
- 2021 Vinylcleaner Pro-X
- 2018 Vinylcleaner Pro v1.2 (includes 7″ Disk Kit instructions)
- 2017 Vinylcleaner Pro
- 2016 Vinylcleaner Supplementary Notes
Notes:
- Files are in standard, .pdf format.
- The 7″ Disk Kit is only compatible with Vinylcleaner Pro versions manufactured since 2018.
Pricing
Prices below are effective Janary 15, 2022:
Vinyl Cleaner PRO X (black): $4,699.
- Other colors (gray, red, white – see photos): add $99
- Upgrade your unit to the current model: see below.
Refresher Kit: $199.00 (normal retail price $254.00) – contains the following:
- 4-pack of fluid concentrate (each pack requires 1.2 gallons of distilled water)
- Set of Microfiber Barrels
- Set of Wet Wipers (wiper blades)
- Rectangular Replacement Filter
The following 4 Items (included in the Refresher Kit) can be purchased separately:
- Fluid Concentrate (cleans 75 used, 150 new LPs) – add 1.2 gallons distilled water:
- 1-pack: $33.33
- 4-Pack: $99.95
- Microfiber Barrels (replace after 500 cleanings): $99.95
- Wet Wiper Blades: $29.95
- Rectangular Replacement Filter (normally not required – filters can be rinsed): $24.95
Contact us if you require the following adapters:
- 7″ Disk Kit (only for Vinyl Cleaner Pro shipped beginning 2018): $399.95
- 7″ & 10″ adapter ring set (Ultrasystems,US Distributor designed) : $125.00
Other Items:
Pair of fan covers (top rack dishwasher safe): $85.00
Upgrade to Current Version PRO X:
Out of warranty machines can be exchanged for a new PRO X model. The US importer will work with you directly to eliminate dual shipping fees being charged to you.
For exchanges of machines 5 years old or less, the US importer offers a $3k retail credit against MSRP ($4699) toward an upgrade to a gray/black machine. The net out of pocket price to upgrade is:
- Units 1-5 years old: $1,699
- Older units: add $100 for each year of additional age
About Cleaners
With apologies to Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky was quoted as saying: “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”
After going through countless cleaning machines, we’ve arrived at a key guiding principle: the best cleaning protocol is irrelevant if you don’t clean your records.
In our experience, there are two key “impediments” to cleaning your records: noise and labor.
I’m reminded of cameras, where a similar rule applies: it doesn’t matter how good your camera is if your rig is so heavy that you rarely carry it.
So you purchased that great, full frame DSLR, along with the “holy trinity” of zoom lenses (12-24, 24-70, & 70-200), weighing in at some 25 pounds.
How often will you carry that camera bag around?
Noise
Noise is subjective, and I won’t name names, but many of the wand type based vacuum cleaners are beyond my noise tolerance level – especially when the urge strikes to clean a record for late night listening.
Everyone is different in this regard, and unfortunately, this annoyance only becomes apparent in the long term – after the purchase.
Labor (Time and Interaction)
After the first few cleaning “sessions”, when the thrill of a new product wears off, it may be a very long time before you clean any more records if the process is too complicated.
Two examples of labor intensive cleaning come to mind.
The 3 Step Vacuum Process
One highly regarded mechanical vacuum cleaner requires 15 minutes to clean two LP sides, with a total of 6 manual interactions to clean one record!
The drying step for this arm wand and thread vacuum machine takes about 80 seconds. That’s a total of 8 minutes of drying time for both sides of an LP!
You’re captive for the entire 15 minute process. You can’t walk away.
Cleaning each side involves:
- Enzyme application (scrub) / vacuum
- Cleaning fluid application (scrub) / vacuum
- Distilled water rinse / vacuum
Invariably, we’d get distracted, walk away after (for example) the enzyme step, only to return a few minutes later to find the solution mostly evaporated. Time to repeat a step.
We found the process quickly became as desirable as cleaning the bathroom. After one marathon cleaning session in preparation for a show, it was nearly a year before we “wanted” to clean another record.
Does this describe you?
DIY Ultrasonic Systems
The second broad category involves the DIY ultrasonic tank systems you read about in various forums – with the skewered racking system and the manual drying method employing a towel you lay down to wipe your records dry with a micro fiber cloth. Alternatively, people have made blower/driers.
These systems can to an excellent job, especially if you source a good tank like an Elmasonic (coincidentally, also made in Germany).
The only drawback to these systems is setup time. You’re not likely to clean a record or two in the middle of a listening session with this system.
If you just came back from a garage sale/record store with 100 records, this process can be very efficient. You need to be willing to set time and space aside, however. Here's the process:
- Set aside an hour
- Lay out a drying area
- Clean 10 to 30 records
- Put everything away