CLEANING - THE PROCESS.
ULTRASONIC cleaning is considered by many to be the pinnacle of both preserving your record collection and unleashing its true performance. We are very proud to be able to offer the KLAudio KD-CLN-LP200 Ultrasonic Cleaning Machine as our prime cleaning solution for your precious records. The KLAudio machine uses distilled water only, ensuring no residues are left either on or in the record.
So, how does Ultrasonic cleaning work? In a nutshell, Ultrasonic cleaning is a process whereby high-frequency sound waves create cavitation bubbles in a liquid bath of water or cleaning agent. The cavitation bubbles produce high pressure forces that help clean items in a powerful, but minimally abrasive manner while also penetrating cracks and recesses. Removable contaminants include dust, dirt, oil, grease, fungus, and more.
Ultrasonic cleaning is ideal for vinyl because a) it requires no contact with the record (the cavitation process does the heavy lifting), and b) Ultrasonic gets deep into the grooves; many other cleaning methods are much less effective at cleaning those hard to reach deep groove cavities…
You can see some of the BEFORE and AFTER images below of the KLAudio Ultrasonic cleaning process:-
But we don’t skimp on the initial cleaning step either! We use the Clearaudio Double Matrix Professional SONIC Cleaner as our first step in the two-step cleaning process. Most hi-fi enthusiasts would consider owning one of the two machines we use, rarely both!
Watch our full cleaning video below
FLATTENING - THE PROCESS
The Orb DF-01iA Record Flattener uses a heating technique which is applied with two semiconductor heater films, one on the top and one on the bottom. By thermally controlling the heating-up phase and cooling-down phase, the warped record is allowed to properly relax and return to its original flat state. The machine heats only the outer edge and centre of the record. The grooves are not heated and therefore their sonic shape is preserved.
Please be aware however that while the Orb can flatten most records, any records that have been damaged due to heat cannot be salvaged - the damage has already been done and groove deformation cannot be undone. An easy way to confirm this is to check how light bounces off the surface of your record. If it spreads radially, it “should” be fine. However, if the reflection of light is “bent”, this would indicate the record has been heat damaged and cannot be fixed. There are also some records which cannot be flattened. These are:-
Flexidiscs.
Picture Discs.
Records under 115gram.
Records 200gram or over.
Some Sheffield Labs and BMG records.
Finally, Perth Vinyl does not accept responsibility or liability for any record damaged during flattening attempt. You embark on this service at your own risk!
