Ultrasonic bath cleans records before playback on matching turntable
Sales of vinyl records have been steadily rising over the last few years, attracting new listeners to the format as well as prompting music lovers to dust off their collections again and start spinning. And the issue of dust can be a real problem.
Dislodging grime on the surface and in the grooves of vinyl records by slowly spinning them in a bath of water excited by ultrasound is by no means a new idea, but the VinylSonic solution that's currently raising production funds on Kickstarter is not only an attractive one but also offers cleaning/drying flexibility.
It accommodates one 12-inch record at a time – though 7- and 10-inch vinyl can also be cleaned using the supplied supports. The user pours distilled water into the slot up top and then pops the record in so that the edges come into contact with motorized rollers inside that gently turn the disc at 3 RPM.
There are two 40-kHz ultrasonic cleaning cycles available via illuminated buttons at the side (2 or 5 minutes) and two drying modes (5 or 10 minutes), but combined cleaning/drying sessions can also be set up for convenience.
The device comes with a water level marker to prevent overfilling, which could result in labels being submerged in the activated water bath and potentially causing damage. Confusingly though, animations on the campaign page do show the label being submerged as well.
Sales of vinyl records have been steadily rising over the last few years, attracting new listeners to the format as well as prompting music lovers to dust off their collections again and start spinning. And the issue of dust can be a real problem.
Dislodging grime on the surface and in the grooves of vinyl records by slowly spinning them in a bath of water excited by ultrasound is by no means a new idea, but the VinylSonic solution that's currently raising production funds on Kickstarter is not only an attractive one but also offers cleaning/drying flexibility.
It accommodates one 12-inch record at a time – though 7- and 10-inch vinyl can also be cleaned using the supplied supports. The user pours distilled water into the slot up top and then pops the record in so that the edges come into contact with motorized rollers inside that gently turn the disc at 3 RPM.
There are two 40-kHz ultrasonic cleaning cycles available via illuminated buttons at the side (2 or 5 minutes) and two drying modes (5 or 10 minutes), but combined cleaning/drying sessions can also be set up for convenience.
The device comes with a water level marker to prevent overfilling, which could result in labels being submerged in the activated water bath and potentially causing damage. Confusingly though, animations on the campaign page do show the label being submerged as well.
