Review Pro-Ject VC-S2 record cleaner: One man's view

[Symples]

It has been 40 years since I have been hifi recording and just before I started. I used to buy my vinyl.
Well within the last few years. I am back to purchasing vinyl again and playing those old LPs from the 80s.

Some are in better condition than others. so it was time to buy a record cleaner at last (I have been thinking about this for decades.)

I originally wanted a Keith Monks record cleaner. They were expensive then and even more so now.

In the end, I decided on a Pro-Ject VC-S2 record cleaning machine.
See link:

VC-S2 ALU – Pro-Ject Audio Systems (project-audio.com)

There are a few videos on YouTube, so I will not bother on pictures or a demo of it, but on my experience of using it.

First of all. It is bigger than I thought it would be.
It is an aluminium construction and pretty sturdy.

Now the cost is £450.
I managed to purchase this for £429 plus another 10% discount. So with postage (£5 nextr day) it was around £391
Not an insignificant amount.

For that amount of money. I expected a completely automated process.
Read on.

There is a spindle and clamp on which the 12" single or LP is placed
There is a 7" adapter available), Expect to pay another £110+
Project VC-S 7 Inch Arm and Clamp for 7 Inch Vinyl Records (hifix.co.uk)

The record is placed on a spindle and screw clamped.
The cleaning fluid is manually added.
The motor is turned on spinning the record and then the fluid is spread over the surface with a brush (supplied)
Leave for awhile and then the vacuum arm is moved in to position and the fluid is sucked off.
All done manually.

Now that is just a quick description and what I wanted to concentrate on, was the cleaning ability.

Pulling out one of my LPs from the 80s. I played a track before cleaning.
Yes the typical pops and clicks were there.

A clean with the record cleaner.
First impressions is that the record looked brand new.
All dust and marks had been removed.
So first of all. That was a plus point.
However, looks are not everything. So how was the sound quality?

Playing the cleaned record and the first thing I noticed was the reduced surface noise.
Now do not expect it to be noise free, because there is noise, but reduced. Reduced a lot
It made listening to my records a new experience.
Like the very first time it had been played.
It was a dream to play my records again.
If a record is in fairly good condition. It will sound better (noise wise)
If it is in a poor condition. It will sound a lot better.

So what to do with your cleaned record?
To complete my purchase. I have record inner and outer sleeves.
I have paper inner sleeves with an antistatic lining.

Do not expect miracle cure from record cleaners.
If you have a scratch. Then that scratch is there.
It's the same with certain clicks.
But is your record is dirty/dusty and there is noise because of this. Then a clean is a great idea.

I do have a carbon fibre brush (Originally a Hunt Eda) but it is no way as good as my cleaner. Though it costs a lot less!

£400+ is a lot of money
It comes with 100ml of cleaning fluid. Enough for 135 records.
Then there is the extra costs of buying a 7 adapter. Which I think should be included.
The cleaning fluid is not cheap.
I bought a litre for £50 (Amazon)
Plus 5 litres of distilled water for another tenner.

So for me. That is £450 of record cleaning stuff.
Do I think it was worth it?
Yes... and if you can afford it. Get one.

Sure I would like a completely automated process, but the one I found (Keith Monks) was over £2K

Overall. I am very happy with it.
Now my problem is where to place the damn thing

 

[Clarkey_71]

I have the little brother. The VC E.
I've listened to vinyl seriously since the late 80s, but only purchased the VC E last year.
I couldn't ever really justify the price previously.
Having now purchased one, I can safely say it's worth every penny.

 

[nopiano]

Completely automated would be quite a thing! Glad the results are good though. I recall the Ortofon cartridge road show a few years ago, and the LPs were so quiet. Now you know how and why!

 

[nads]

Sounds just like my OKKI NOKKI RCM.

 

[Symples]

I have the little brother. The VC E.
I've listened to vinyl seriously since the late 80s, but only purchased the VC E last year.
I couldn't ever really justify the price previously.
Having now purchased one, I can safely say it's worth every penny.

Exactly.
Originally, I felt the same about the cost.

 

[Rui]

i do not want miracles but if i´m going to spend money on a good record cleaner they must be cleaned not only half cleaned, this project cleaners are my friends must have but in my opinion there´s a lot to say of them, ultrasound cleaning in laboratory works maybe that´s the way for cleaning vinil

 

[camcroft]

i do not want miracles but if i´m going to spend money on a good record cleaner they must be cleaned not only half cleaned, this project cleaners are my friends must have but in my opinion there´s a lot to say of them, ultrasound cleaning in laboratory works maybe that´s the way for cleaning vinil

A friend of mine has the Project cleaner and the ultrasonic cleaner.I asked him which he prefers and he said they work well together and he is keeping both.

 

[Rui]

A friend of mine has the Project cleaner and the ultrasonic cleaner.I asked him which he prefers and he said they work well together and he is keeping both.

Maybe that´s the option buy two diferent types , one completes other ,i had a problem when buying a new (40´s)house ,the records i had close to my turntable around 50 ,they caught a white mould that dryed off and now perfect records have that dry mould but before they sounded as new , I showed to a friend of mine a record from Peter Gabriel , a late 70´s one and when showing him the sound filled with noises he said to me that the record is ok. well ,he buys a lot of second hand records and in Portugal , my country, i remenber most of the people had those early 70´s standart size compact systems and the turntables had those old stylus that one could turn them to one side to play 33 rpm records and in the other 45 rpm records, those that if one plays there a new record ,the sound is destroyd forever(no diamond tip) those not even cleaned with the best cleaner will return to half good , that´s why when listening to a record of mine that was full of dirt he said that it was good because the sound itself was as it´s suposed to be. this to say that a lot of people have record cleaning machines and say they are not good because they do clean but don´t restore the destroyed grooves, i have bought some records coming from germany and they do sound perfect in second hand after being cleaned, i remenber having friends there and all had diamond tip stylus no matter if it were cheap or expensive turntables( 80´s the plastic turntables era ), the needles were proper ,normally upgraded to shure cartridge and needle , so i guees that i´m starting with a cheaper model and if not enough i will buy a ultrasonic record cleaner, regards