The KLAUDIO KD-CLN-LP200T Cavitation-Based Ultrasonic Record Cleaning Machine Reviewed

Good stuff Michael. One thing I noticed with my Kirmuss. After “restoring” I get a “louder” record in general this also means surface noise too. When cleaning out the “release stuff” what you get left is the disk and virgin. What that means is by removing the “release stuff” it exposes the “true” surface of the disk. Micro pits where release agent was are now empty allowing the groove to traverse thru them. So, My point. When you get the supposed 1.5db bump in signal. You get a bump in surface noise. All ticks and pops gone…yes. But the true surface of the disk is revealed. Pretty easy to see what disks are pressed with high quality. Remember, lacquer is cut, then it is plated. Plating will never be perfect…so there are imperfections from plating that make their way into the produced pressings. DMM may reduce some of this problem. The plating process seems to be incredibly important to a “quiet”disk. All my MOVLP DMM cuts are silent. Non DMM cuts are unfortunately more subject to plating or stamping equipment anomalies.

"Cavitation is in fact clearly aided by the presence of a surfactant. The role of a surfactant is to reduce surface tension. When surface tension is reduced, cavitation levels increase. Cavitation involves the creation of bubbles which requires breaking of surface tension. So lower tension means more bubbles, and more cavitation. Distilled and deionized water have higher surface tensions making cavitation more difficult, making the use of a surfactant in fact more valuable." That quote is from Neil Antin, a man who used to be in charge of precision cleaning for the US navy

Thanks for the video Mr Fremmer. I’m very happy using a spin clean and then putting it on a record doctor. Using only distilled water

What a great video after 50 years as an audiophile I’m on exactly the same page

Michael, I was thinking of getting a cleaning machine. Then I see you here and you’re trying to burst my bubbles! 😳😂

Michael, Greetings from Russia.Great story.!I have an analogue of "Hummin Guru".I am very happy with the operation of the machine.I always watch your videos.I have my own experience in setting up vinyl players.The sound of vinyl is divine.!

You're awefully brave to put that tin foil in your machine. Hope it doesn't violate your warranty. I bought a Degritter Mk 2 and it works like a dream. The only thing I noticed was it doesn't get the dead wax area very well. So I'll do a preclean first and that takes care of it. I've cleaned some the filthiest records loaded up with record cleaning solution out of the 70's. And they come out spotless. Another thing I've found was the more times you run an old record through the machine, the better it's going to sound. I've done a lot of study into additives and you are right. Distilled water alone is the best way to go.

Excellent video. Patiently waiting for the next episode. I've had Nitty Gritty, Record Doctor, Okki Nokki, AudioDeske and now have Kirmuss. Hand drying records after a 2 minute cycle on the Kirmuss takes less than 15 seconds with microfiber towel. I can clean more Records Per Hour (RPH) with Kirmuss than any other method used in the past 25 years. Has anyone looked at what happens when unfiltered air is blown into record grooves for 5 minutes? If the Klaudio had a HEPA air filter on the blower, then blowing air into the grooves would be acceptable. BUT, blowing unfiltered room air into record grooves definitely adds dust to a wet record. Look at the blades of ANY fan after it has been used for 100+ hours. The leading edge of the fan blades are coated with a fine white dust. I saw that fine dust on the AudioDeske fan blades and vacuumed it off frequently. That is one of the reasons that I sold my AudioDeske and bought Kirmuss. It doesn't make sense to blow unfiltered (or minimally filtered) air onto recently cleaned records.

I bought the larger self contained KLaudio machine in late 2003. It has cleaned over 4,000 records flawlessly. I had to replace a pump which was done quickly. Wonderful - quiet, no static, minimal pops, micro detail and resolution. I have never had any grey gunk in the machine, only a greenish black residue that is not in suspension and wipes clean with a cloth from within the tank (change out at 50-100 lps).

Great review. I have the previous generation of the same machine you reviewed. I always use a spin clean first just to take off all the surface dirt and then use the KLAudio. It is a great machine. So far I have replaced the pump once, and it was probably my fault for replacing the water often enough. Lesson learned. The KLAudio seems to build like a tank. If it broke tomorrow I would buy another one. It is that good.

HI Michael, Just want to add a note that I believe that the Transducers fitted to the KLaudio LP200T URCM are fitted to the sides of the unit (two per side - like the Degritter) and not fitted to the bottom of the unit (like majority of the commercial Ultrasonic Cleaning Baths are that are designed to clean objects put into a suspended basket in the units bath). This is so that the KLaudio and Degritter unit's Transducers are firing directly at the sides of the records being cleaned and not from the bottom up. I also believe that the KLaudio unit also operates at an ultrasonic frequency of 40kHz.

As always Michael, this is very informative & helpful. I think the idea of user replacement parts is excellent. If I could afford this machine it would be my number one choice. I am waiting on the Degritter II & chose a the optional second tank, so it will be good to try it. As virtually all of the LPs I buy are secondhand & I see & read about some of the crazy dumbass solutions & methods that people inflict on their LPs, I would never dream of just playing one of these purchases, without having cleaned it. If a person owns a turntable that is cheap & nasty or only spends $20-$30 on a cartridge, then they will never benefit from proper cleaning. The last thing I want to happen is my $2000.00 cartridge tracking through remenents of wood glue or window cleaning solution.

I use a homemade machine made by a Polish guy. It works really well. It is a bit more work unscrewing the discs from the spindle, and manual drying and such. But boy, I am so happy with it. 6 records at a time. 3 x 10 mins on 35 Celcius. Using bit of alcohol and few drops of photoflow on a 6 liter tank. But you say it is not needed? I will try next time with distilled water only and measure. Although I use a rinse bath after with a spin clean with water only. I inspect the record before and after with a microscope connected to my laptop. Then play it for the hearing test. Cost around 250 Euro only ... maybe add such a solution to the test in comparison with expensive solutions. Greetings, love what you do and share on youtube everytime. Ray

Great, thank you for doing this, this really helps.

It seems the more I hear from other people about the Kirmuss restoring system, the more I gravitate towards purchasing one. I've been listening to records all my life and continue to accumulate more and more. I'm over 4K in my library. I've owned a VPI vacuum for over two of decades and it has served me well. Naturally, I don't use their solution. I use a distilled water and a cap of 70% alcohol per gallon. But as ultrasonics have gained popularity, and I see the rigorus testing results, it's time to retire the VPI.

Still happy with my AudioDesk after 5 years with no issues, great video Michael...cheers...✌

Thanks for the detailed video. It answered a lot of questions I've had on the cleaning topic myself. Is the foil disc only usable with the cleaner unit you were using? I haven't heard of the foil test and wonder if there's a way to do that on other reported cavitation cleaners? Brian in Fort Worth 🎶

Thanks for this very thorough, educational review, Michael! I have one question though: how well do proper cavitation machines like the KL Audio remove things like fingerprint oil, given the lack of soap, etc.? I know that one should never touch the groove so this isn't likely be much of an issue, but it might be for used records.

And, in reference to my post below, I now own a Klaudio. It's far better than anything I've used and that includes both the Kirmuss and the Degritter. I still clean truly dirty records on my vacuum machine first, then into the Klaudio. I'm convinced this is the best way to go. I really miss the Nitty Gritty First product for really challenging cleaning

I have owned the whole unit machine for 5 years. That’s the one with the tank and cleaner in a single housing. It has never had a hiccup. Works every time and I have not found records to need re-cleaning more than every few years. The only drawback to it is that it’s very heavy with the water in the tank. Otherwise it is built like a the proverbial brick hit house.