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Project VC-S record cleaner


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Hi gang

 

Is anyone using one of these newish Project cleaners and has anything to report?

 

Of particular interest; does the spindle get hot after longer usage sessions - cleaning 5-10 records, do you find the smaller platter a bother or drawback and does the wand move well and do the pads come away from the arm?

 

 

Read lots of reviews from the US with people comparing it to the Okki Nokki which is the same price here (initially a little more than the Project in the US) so for me it's down to these two machines.

 

Opinions welcome :)

 

Drew

 

 

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I'm not convinced about the way you pour and spread the cleaning fluid. And how that could spill all over. Is the Okki Nokki the same way?

I have a Nitty Gritty which uses a manual pump to spread the cleaning fluid consistently. And I've never had a spill.

I've just ordered an AudioDesk ultrasonic

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3 hours ago, astormsau said:

 

Hi gang

 

Is anyone using one of these newish Project cleaners and has anything to report?

 

Of particular interest; does the spindle get hot after longer usage sessions - cleaning 5-10 records, do you find the smaller platter a bother or drawback and does the wand move well and do the pads come away from the arm?

 

 

Read lots of reviews from the US with people comparing it to the Okki Nokki which is the same price here (initially a little more than the Project in the US) so for me it's down to these two machines.

 

Opinions welcome :)

 

Drew

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

My VC-S arrived last week and I singled out a couple of good quality secondhand vinyl as guinea pigs.

 

The Good:

This thing exceeded my expectations and both records had very large pops that both the Knosti and Record Revirginizer couldn't eliminate. With the VC-S, pops are gone!

This thing really is excellent and has improved all of the 30+ I've cleaned so far.

I have no issue with the odd spillage of liquid over the side, no big deal in the scheme of things and after a while you get the amount just right that it doesn't happen. It also does a much better job of eliminating static compared to the other two methods.

Build quality is good for the money and the unit is solid, BUT...

 

The Bad:

I believe the record clamp that comes with this is a second generation as the first one was badly designed. Well I can say that this V2 clamp is an absolute POS. I read reviews where people said to be very weary of the clamp, as the threaded socket is half plastic and half metal and it doesn't take much for it to mis-thread and no longer screw onto the spindle, so armed with this knowledge I took EXTRA care and time each time putting the clamp on. Anyways, I reckon the clamps ability to actually screw onto the spindle lasted all of 6 records. Fortunately I used my heavy duty record clamp from my ProJect RPM10.1 which just sits on the spindle, and despite being heavier doesn't seem to impede the motor and movement at all. In fact, using my own clamp speeds up the cleaning process dramatically. However this is not ideal for those users without a spare record puck lying around, so I will hit the distributor up for a replacement clamp.

 

OVERALL

Very happy with the actual results and it is a no regrets purchase but as I am also hoping to stock these with a view to sell to my clients with decent-sized collections, I fear the supplied clamp will cause more headaches than its worth. ProJect need to supply a better solution otherwise InterDyn will be getting these returned from all over the country, and as they're heavy, that won't be a cheap cost to absorb on every return!

Have purchased some Melody Mate fluid to try.

 

 

Edited by Hydrology
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Oh nice thanks for the info. Perhaps the Okki may be a more proven product. The Project appears to have a strong vacuum which was a plus but dealing with a dodgy clamp would be frustrating.

Hydrology did the spindle get warm during cleaning?

Drew


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So I went and looked at the Okki Nokki, Project VC-S and the Consonance.

I ended up buying the project. I REALLY liked the Okki Nokki however two things about the Project really interested me. Firstly not having the platter means no having to clean junk off the platter when I get a really dirty album and have to put one dirty side down on the platter to start cleaning. Secondly the vacuum on the Project is phenomenal, huge amount of suction which i feel contributes to the positive results people are seeing with this machine.

The Okki was a close second however the store I visited had no new stock and basically said supply can be a little erratic.

Project has three interesting attitudes; the clamp is not threaded when you get it and when you first screw it down it threads the clamp. You must be careful not to cross thread it. Secondly the bottom platter screw I had to affix has come loose and I need to tighten it which means lifting the rubber adhesive seal. Third the project spindle does get warm after some use which can warm up the discs a little but not bad. Sure I'll be looking for a solution for the clamp cross threading at some stage but now I'm being very careful.

Drew


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I heave an Okki Nokki 6-7 years in use .

i sometimes wash up to 20 records at a time.

i have never noticed s heated spindle and could imagine it happening even if I left it on for 24 hours.

In all that time I've not needed to replace any part or accessory.

 

Have you considered a want to buy in classifieds there are a few no longer used RCM from the ultra sonic crew not being used.

 

previously I used a KAB EV 1 with a smaller platter it was not a problem 

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17 hours ago, astormsau said:

So I went and looked at the Okki Nokki, Project VC-S and the Consonance.

I ended up buying the project. I REALLY liked the Okki Nokki however two things about the Project really interested me. Firstly not having the platter means no having to clean junk off the platter when I get a really dirty album and have to put one dirty side down on the platter to start cleaning. Secondly the vacuum on the Project is phenomenal, huge amount of suction which i feel contributes to the positive results people are seeing with this machine.

The Okki was a close second however the store I visited had no new stock and basically said supply can be a little erratic.

Project has three interesting attitudes; the clamp is not threaded when you get it and when you first screw it down it threads the clamp. You must be careful not to cross thread it. Secondly the bottom platter screw I had to affix has come loose and I need to tighten it which means lifting the rubber adhesive seal. Third the project spindle does get warm after some use which can warm up the discs a little but not bad. Sure I'll be looking for a solution for the clamp cross threading at some stage but now I'm being very careful.

Drew


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It doesn't matter how careful you are, that clamp is going to cross thread. I was SUPER careful having read this is as the biggest complaint of the ProJect, and yet it still happened. 

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It doesn't matter how careful you are, that clamp is going to cross thread. I was SUPER careful having read this is as the biggest complaint of the ProJect, and yet it still happened. 


I think I have resigned myself to a warranty claim on the claim. I actually like it and think the seals work well but I can feel it chewing away at the plastic. Hopefully my Mitchell clamp will work as an intermediate solution. Gee it cleans well though. The vacuum is crazy strong.

Drew


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3 minutes ago, astormsau said:

 


I think I have resigned myself to a warranty claim on the claim. I actually like it and think the seals work well but I can feel it chewing away at the plastic. Hopefully my Mitchell clamp will work as an intermediate solution. Gee it cleans well though. The vacuum is crazy strong.

Drew


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Gotta agree, the thing is powerful.

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  • 2 weeks later...

So I thought I would post an update a few weeks on.

So far loving the machine. I've re-cleaned about 50 albums. I started with the project fluid and my AIVS formula #15 and was happy with the results although having to do a two step clean and rinse was slightly time consuming.

I got a bottle of Melody Mate extra strength and have been using it as a single wash solution with great results. This has vastly improved the speed at which I can work through my collection with each album taking less than two minutes to process. I leave them to dry on my Knosti rack so that all the fluid is fully dried before putting them away - usually a minute or two.

The good sides of the machine are its vacuum is very powerful and not having a full platter means I can turn the Record over straight away after cleaning and not worry about any cross contamination.

The average is the clamp. Mine is okay but it's slow to screw it down due to the number of turns required and other users have reported how easily it cross threads. I've been subbing the supplied clamp with my Mitchell (Rega) record clamp which I rarely use, it sits nicely on the spindle and with half a turn is nice and tight.

The little platter is also held in place by a small screw which has come loose on my machine so I need to remove the adhesive mat which is stuck over it to retighten. Perhaps a drop of loctite would help when I get around to this.

Otherwise very happy with the machine it's been great to use.

Drew


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Quick update. I went to my chemist and purchased a 5ml eye dropper for $6.

I use the eye dropper to draw the fluid from the Melody Mate bottle, usually 4ml and then I disperse it on the record as it turns. I've found the eye dropper to be the least wasteful and least messy method to get the fluid on to the album.

I am still using the Mitchell clamp because it's much quicker to get records on and off the platter.

The records are coming out very clean and very shiny and sound great with the Melody Mate. I'm finding a sonic improvement over my old home made fluid in Knosti and then Record Doctor v5 vac method. A session of 25 records took about an hour on the weekend which is quick for me. The eye dropper I'm using looks like the pic below.

Drew
0f02790c0d8dd01b0bc06367ad590f2c.jpg


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