DISCO ANTISTAT ULTRASONIC REVIEW COMPARED TO MANUAL DISCO ANTISTAT, VACUUM RCM AND DEGRITTER MK.II

[@TheAudiophileMan]

WARNING FROM KNOSTI: "For anyone looking to buy an Ultrasonic in the UK, it’s important they check whether they are purchasing the updated version or the older one, as the previous model is still available on the market (and it is not the same)!" So if you see any cheap examples out there, ask questions before you buy!

[@Vinylfromtheunderground]

The degritter is the best I ever used and that includes the loricraft, kirmus, audio desk and humunguru

[@net_news]

Great review!! You are the best reviewing vinyl stuff really. Could you review the Furutech DeStat 3? Super interested in one but it's pretty expensive and would love to know your opinion. Thanks!

[@TheAudiophileMan]

Destat III review: theaudiophileman.com/destat-iii-static-furutech-review/

[@stefaandecroo6774]

Dear Paul, Thank you so much for another brilliant and detailed review ( as always ) of a very interesting product. Kindest regards from Belgium. 🙂 🙂 🙂

[@bogdanisandu]

I bought the manual version after watching your review last year. I am very confortable with it. Thank you

[@jimsregaturntableshifijukebox]

I did too and it does the job.👍 Jim🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🙂

[@jimsregaturntableshifijukebox]

Another excellent video Paul. I wonder how the cheap VEVOR Ultrasonic Vinyl Record Cleaner stacks up against it? The Vevor sounds noisy on videos I've seen though! Jim🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🙂

[@secretsquirel5306]

Thank you for your very comprehensive review. I must admit I did chortle a bit (have you noticed nobody seems to chortle any more) when you talked about the sonic retrieval of one type of solution versus another. Perhaps you need a break from the exciting work of reviewing record cleaning machines 😅 Personally I haven't invested thus far in an Ultrasonic cleaner because up till now they've been quite expensive. I do however have a Project RCM which has its own foibles, so I'll carry on using that for now, not because I dont believe your findings but because I'm a cheapskate. Keep up the great work you do.

[@TheAudiophileMan]

I wonder if turntable fans appreciate just how sensitive the stylus is as a measuring instrument. It will play anything it ‘sees’. Anything. Which is why you can play dust. You can play grime and human skin flakes. Well, if any liquid leaves a deposit in the groove, it will play that. Some surfactants leave a filmic deposit. Try it yourself when you wash the dishes under soapy hot water. Think your plates are clean? Then why do they have that well-advertised “lemon freshness!” Because your washing up liquid leaves a sticky film on your plates. And that is also a surfactant. Just of a different stripe. Oh and think about what you might be taking into your body if you can smell perfume on your 'clean' plates (just a quick health alert for you ;) ).

[@joetotale6354]

@@TheAudiophileManYou are describing here specific trademark differences in sonic terms when using two different types of surfactant. This may be real but can you really trust your ears on this - how are the A/Bs performed and do you repeat the tests just to ‘be sure’ you’re hearing what you think you’re hearing? Just friendly questions. I enjoy your videos!

[@TheAudiophileMan]

@@joetotale6354 If I didn't trust my ears, I wouldn't be in this job. I also wouldn't waste my money on HiFi either. I'd be spinning a Crosley and listening to 128k MP3s. We all have to trust our ears. Because we all have bias that makes our judgement unique. So I offer you my opinion based on my ears. Mine. Not yours. Which is why I encourage you to check out surfactants for yourself. Testing? I am in the happy position of being able to test most tech and liquids on the market for free so testing took a few years: A-B, B-A, A-C, C-A, B-C and on and on. Testing often headed into the night, after my day work, past midnight/weekends using multiple surfactant liquids, multiple variations of system, different cleaning hardware, varying record types, HiFi types, etc. In fact, so many variations and so intense was the process at one point that I actually hit burn out at the end of the process. I actually don't know anyone who has tested vinyl cleaning variables for longer or more extensively than myself. And that's not a boast. It's just my own personal experience and imperfect survey after talking to many people in the industry about it plus vinyl fans. I'm a very sad man for even attempting it. Obviously in desperate need of a life ;) I've even had discussions with Degritter and Knosti about it all. If anyone else has done more work on the subject? I would love to talk and learn from them. Add to that, interviews with chemists, acetate disc makers, pressing plant managers, Abbey Road plus two UK companies who make actual vinyl pellets. All that. All that and more actually. So yes, I am content with my findings. But look, I'm not setting myself up as Mr Right or Mr Perfect here. I'm not saying that my system is the best either. There are 100s of cleaning systems and everyone has a favourite that works for them. And that's great. I won't argue with any of them. I'm just letting you know my system and how I got there. As I say, I'm not stating this is the right and only method. Down that pathway hubris waits in the darkness, ready to mug you. Also tech changes all the time so my findings are fine for now...and for me. Not necessarily you. Also, tomorrow might change everything.

[@joetotale6354]

@@TheAudiophileMan Fair do's. I appreciate your diligence and application in all this and am happy with the painstaking work you've done on this subject. You've evidently covered all the bases. I'm not a surfactant sceptic btw, quite the opposite, I have collected four different types (do you know BAC 50 at all? I can't remember how and why I bought it) and so I was v keen to hear which of them you favour. Just a quick devil's advocate question for you though: have you brought in any audiophile 'guinea pigs' to hear the results of these cleanings to see if they're getting the same or nearly the same improvements as you detect?

[@TheAudiophileMan]

Never used BAC 50 although I have heard it's not friendly to the environment (toxic to marine life, etc.). Also not sure about the safety side outside of the medical profession. Hence, I still view it with caution. I stopped using Triton, for example, because of its harmful effects against nature in general. As for blind listening tests or similar? Not a chance! Hehe. I've sat on too many sofas with friends that I know inside out, listened to a piece of music on my or their HiFi systems, heard their opinions and thought, "Are we listening to the same vinyl here?" I've even been in a room of half a dozen people where every single one of us had different opinions. I've also heard of other blind test set ups that have been rigged! So no. That would be a nightmare. I offer my opinion. If it tallies with yours? Great. Use that as a guide. Otherwise? Find a critic that dovetails with your own bias, tastes and views. I don't say that with any malice, of course. It just saves time. I produced a How to Buy HiFi video on the channel somewhere which discusses that point. Have a search.

[@l_f_berg]

Thorough and helpful as usual, Paul. Regarding the air drying, would you recommend (or condone) a manual dry with a microfiber or a quick run on a vacuum RCM as an optional step?

[@TheAudiophileMan]

An RCM dry would be better. It would further improve sound too because loose particles would be sucked up by the vacuum nozzle.

[@matthewtaylor7355]

It would b interesting to do a blind test on a Vevor then Knosti and Degritter. To avoid price expectation bias. Would ur comments change in the direction of the 200GBP Vevor?

[@worksrider6812]

I've been using the manual Disco-Antistat for some years now. I started with the Mk1 and moved onto the Mk2 (with the vital massive improvement of the Crank Handle) on first release a few years ago. I always do the manual clean in both directions and for about 60 turns (about a 3minute CD track on the kitchen portable). The manual Antistat is very effective and very good value but is the new ultrasonic version worth an extra approx £1150 ( i could get a decent 2nd hand car for that!). As a buyer of mainly 2nd hand Vinyl I'm most interested in how effective it is in getting rid of pops clicks and background crackle, you don't really address that point but slightly miss the point by saying that the ultrasonic version is better than the manual at improving 'sound quality' - yes but is it any better at getting rid of surface noise (pops crackles and background crackle) ? Incidentally i've followed your manual cleaning guide with interest and entirely agree that the earlier versions of the Antistat's cleaning fluid used to load up the needle with gunge on playback _ though i also noticed that after 2 or 3 playbacks and needle cleans not only did the gunge disappear but also any remaining crackle usually did too. So i followed your prescription for do-it-yourself cleaning fluid with the manual Antistat but found it didn't remove much pop click &crackle. The i went back to the current/improved Antistat cleaning fluid which did remove pop click and crackle AND no longer leaves any gunge on the needle.

[@TheAudiophileMan]

Happy to hear that the Disco is working for you. I should have mentioned the pops and clicks in passing, sure. I probably didn’t because all decent vinyl cleaners will do that. That’s almost a given. A basic task. If it doesn’t then either the cleaner is substandard or there is a user issue. So I probably moved too fast in my review, eager to get to the ‘meat’ as it were :) The real challenge is to remove the caked release agent. That’s what separates the men from the boys, as it were. Anyway, as I say, glad you found a system that works for you. That’s the aim of my guide. Not to tell you what to do but to provide thoughts, ideas and options so you can work it out for yourself.

[@chrism2552]

Have you reviewed the HumminGuru ultrasonic cleaner? I'm more interested in that, thanks!

[@TheAudiophileMan]

I have plans...

[@HugAFreak]

Have you reviewed the Kirmus system?

[@TheAudiophileMan]

Yes and over 2 parts on my website. Here's Pt.1: theaudiophileman.com/kirmuss-ka-rc-1-ultrasonic-review-part1/ Part 2 follows from that via a link.

[@HugAFreak]

@@TheAudiophileMan And you’d rate the Knosti higher?

[@TheAudiophileMan]

@@HugAFreak Yes.

[@michaelbrady9364]

I wonder how it would stack up against the new humminguru nova us cleaner.

[@TheAudiophileMan]

I hope to look at one in the future

[@michaelbrady9364]

I’ll be waiting for that one. Keep up the great reviews

[@mikewest1542]

I bought the manual version , be lazy and pay another £1100 for the privilege of a motor 😂

[@TheAudiophileMan]

The point of this product is the ultrasonic system. Cleaning by cavitation. The motor is only there to allow that to happen. Nothing more.

[@bocrux]

This takes way too much time and effort when you're just trying to listen to your records. A Record Doctor or Pro-Ject vacuum cleaner makes more sense if you just want to take out your record, clean both sides with surfactant and/or distilled water which takes just a few minutes to get dry and spotless, treat it with the antistatic gun, and place it on your turntable to play. My method probably does the job 85-90% as well Paul and this complicated device but I get to listen to more music in the same duration.

[@TheAudiophileMan]

If you follow Knosti's recommendations, you put the record in the bath and in 60 seconds...you're done. Is that too long? For those who are looking for more then, sure, there is my more convoluted system.

[@flyergowest]

🇨🇦👍

[@705johnnyboy]

save your money get a vevor ive had one for ages best thing ive bought ....

[@pierremartinez297]

I have been inclined to get the Vevor. I have the Spin It and the Record Doctor vacuum (manual), so getting the Vevor would be a good addition. But I always wonder if 120Hz vs 40Hz makes a big different in cleaning... hmmmm

[@TheAudiophileMan]

120 is far better for vinyl cleaning as the attendant cavitation produces smaller bubbles which have a better chance of entering the grooves. The Degritter uses 120. Of course, though, it's more expensive but then its bespoke design is aimed at vinyl cleaning. Bepoke designs are still quite rare.

[@roig8578]

@@TheAudiophileMan Thank you for the reply and the confirmation about 120Hz.