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WHAT THE EYES CAN’T SEE, THE EARS STILL HEAR…
Whilst some prefer the simplicity of CDs, others the convenience of streaming, vinyl-lovers tend to be cut from a slightly different cloth.
For many, they appreciate that, as with most things in life, you get back what you put in, whether it’s attempting a marathon, building a business or getting to the top of your profession, this takes work and dedication; there are rarely shortcuts.
The same is true with vinyl. For many audiophiles, the journey is as important as the destination, chasing the perfect turntable and cartridge combination, the best-sounding cable, amplifier or loudspeaker. But, as the hardware improves, so must the source material.
Many of us have favourite records that did the rounds at parties and that still bear the scars. Sadly, until time travel becomes mainstream, physical damage is irreparable. However, too few consider the importance of really cleaning their prized and often irreplaceable records.
Cleaning is more than just a cursory wipe on a sleeve or a quick blow. Let’s be honest, we’ve all done it. No, cleaning means getting to the root of the problem, removing the nasties that hide within the grooves.
The grooves are, in effect, the business end of vinyl replay. This is where is all starts. Regardless of what follows, if the record is poorly pressed, damaged or dirty these imperfections will be highlighted, amplified and heard. A crackle or a pop is all part of the vinyl experience, but when they become all-encompassing that’s a very different matter.
A poorly pressed or damaged record must be lived with, or taken to the local charity shop, but a dirty record can be cleaned.
From a simple carbon brush to a £5k cleaning system, there is no shortage of options available, and whilst we would of course always recommend the Pristine Vinyl ViVac machine, the pros and cons of the various systems is for a another day.
Today is about the benefits of deep-cleaning your records. Before we dive in though, a moment’s reflection on what ‘dirt’ actually is.
Most dirt is formed by dust particles that are attracted to the record by a static charge (more on that later). Oily finger prints also count, as do more aggressive particles that have the ability to damage a record, or the microscopic and invariably expensive stylus that runs on them.
It is these contaminants that we need to remove, not only to achieve the best sound quality but also to protect and preserve your records and stylus.
What follows is a simple real world example.
A record was purchased from a charity shop, once a mainstay of vinyl collectors but now sadly reduced to largely stocking Leo Sayer and Richard Clayderman LPs (no disrespect to fans of either, of course).
The image below was taken using a digital microscope, which shows a fairly standard level of contamination found on a used and uncleaned record
The second image is interesting, as it was taken after the liberal use of a carbon-fibre brush. This is the sort of brush that everyone reaches for just before they cue up a record and, as can be seen, it has not removed the contaminants, it has simply spread them more evenly across the record’s surface. Pretty, but far from ideal.
The final image shows the same record after it has been cleaned once using the Pristine Vinyl ViVac cleaning machine.
Whilst further improvements could be made with a second clean, the visual results speak for themselves and, Leo Sayer or not, we’d argue that this record is now clean enough to grace even the most esoteric of HiFi system.
Finally, a word on static. Static is the bane of the vinyl-collector’s life. Whilst rubbing a balloon on your head and watching your hair stand up may be a great party trick, watching dust make a bee-line to your record the second you pull it out of its sleeve isn’t quite so funny.
Fortunately, the ViVac machine is proven to remove all static charge from the record once cleaned, so they won’t act like dust magnets.
The images speak for themselves. Some will not immediately see the benefit of playing clean records, or go to the trouble or expense of purchasing a cleaning machine but, as you progress on your vinyl journey, there is one old and somewhat crass saying to bear in mind, “Cr*p in, Cr*p out”. Fortunately, with cleaning systems like the ViVac, this is easily avoided.