Playback Accessory Reviews

Did the AcousTech with the ground wire make any difference in removing static?

The brushes look good but I'd like to know about the light you have over your table.

I've had much better success with the Audioquest brush by holding it at an angle as so that the dust gets wedged in between the bristles where it stays when I slide the brush off.

In 1985 from Bryn Mawr Stereo in Philadelphia. It doesn't say Audioquest but has Bryn Mawr's logo on it instead. Still in good shape and taking casual dust off of my records 29 years later. It cost $5.00 in 1985.

I've been using the AcousTec brush for several years without feeling the need to try something else. I recently had the the opportunity to try a brush that looked a lot like the audio quest, a flip open style with two rows of bristles. It may well have been audio quest or there may be a generic version of this that is branded. In any case it did seem to work maybe better than mine. It may be that the bristles are shorter thus stiffer than the longer more flexible AcousTech. But since I was used to having to apply a harder downward sweeping force,
when I did that with this other brand at the audio store, it actually scratched the hell out of the complete track of A Whole Lotta Love. Yes, my new Classic! Just at the attachment point there is a sharp aluminum frame that can do serious damage !!
Be warned. I'll try to confirm the offending device.

Have you noticed any of the brushes creating light surface scratches? I used a different technique previously and after using the technique you demonstrated, I noticed very light surface scratches.

Ok, this is gonna sound really out there, but what I do before playing a side is zap it with my zero stat to neutralize the charge, then I use a plastic ketchup dispenser that I got at target for a buck in the kitchen wares (devoid of ketchup, of course) to blow several quick bursts of air which blow all the dust off the record, kind of like a camera blower brush, but bigger so it can make more air. Works great, and better than my carbon fiber brush. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

I use it. Very happy. Haven't noticed anything remotely resembling scratches but i don't have an electron microscope to verify.

Love it! Glad to have some validation.

...if your sound room is as quiet as mine, you can hear a slight whispering humming when using the carbon fibre brush. That's even with the amp turned off. I think the carbon fibre bristles are so fine that they're tracking and "playing" all the grooves simultaneously just loud enough to hear. (Of course one can hear an unamplified stylus doing the same thing.) I didn't believe it at first until I lifted the brush and reapplied it. I even takes a moment for the humming to fade in and out so I think the bristles are resonating in a type of white noise.

...one hasn't got to shell big bucks just to get a record ready to play!

Mike: I have been using various types of dry brushes since the early 70's and have never found them 100% satisfactory. The old Hunt EDA or whatever it was called- two lines of bruehes separated by a felt pad between- did an absolutely spectacular job of sweeping all the surface detritus into a perfect line, but 'scooping' it up off the record was another matter, and an angle to the side to nudge it off seemed to defeat the purpose- transporting all the 'stuff' across the grooves didn't seem to be a good way to 'clean.' Chad's big brush- use it to dust off my platter. The carbon fiber brushes like the Audioquest- always have a fresh one around and that's a decent option to clean milld lint off an otherwise clean record. (I've been resleeving everything after AVIS/Lab Water pre-clean and Audio Desk Ultrasonic with Chad's QRP 'rice paper' sleeves and those still leave lint sometimes on an otherwise pristine record). Remember the StaticMaster- the brush with polonium? Nice brush action that is adjustable but too heavy a charge. Ditto, the Zerostat or whatever that thing is called these days. I used to reverse charge the brush with the Zerostat, but it still didn't help lift the lint or whatever off the surface.
So, I have a love/hate relationship with record brushes and other devices meant to address the surface of a(n otherwise cleaned) record.
I've also found that the spectrum of light affects what you see. I don't know the science concerning color temps and filters as it affects the visibility of this stuff, but my TT light is actually an old brass ship's surgeon's lamp, mounted in the ceiling, with a weird green cast/filter. I can see stuff under that light- before I put the record on the turntable- that isn't revealed under far brighter modern high tech lighting.

My favorite is still the Discwasher after having tried a bunch of them. Vintage one only, not the newer one with the dreadful corduroy. And I don't use the Discwasher fluid (yuck), I clean it occasionally with a paper towel lightly sprayed with a mixture of water and isopropyl.

In my experience the carbon fiber brush leaves behind small parts of the brush these are so tiny they get stuck in the groove. Use the audioquest brush and use a good light and you will see what I'm talking about.

According to Speakers Corner you should never ever use any brush. The brush push down the dirt into the groves making the vinyl record more noisy over time. The best cleaner is the cartridge itself.

Before I play a record and after its first initial cleaning with VPI vacuum cleaner. I use the AcousTech The Big Record Brush to remove dust first. Then I use Premier cleaner with the Osage Brush. Then finally I use the Hunt Brush.

Is it advisable to wet-clean brand new, well-made LPs before the first play, like the Music Matters 33 1/3 series?

That AcousTech brush looks strikingly similar to an Alvin drafting brush I had to buy for my first year of architecture school in 2002. I think it was $10 or so.

our brush was developed with a brush-making master. The dust is pulled and not pushed. It is anti-static because 100% natural hair. A user video can be seen on our homepage :-)

http://en.levindesign.de/index.php?option=com_djcatalog2&view=itemstable...

My Audioquest brush does an amazing job cleaning the many used records that I buy. If a record is very dirty, I spin it for 30 seconds or so while pressing the brush lightly to the surface, eventually pushing the debris off the edge. It also seems to kill the static charge that attracts more dust.

I have 2 of the 3 (actually the small version of the Big Brush) but I like the Mobile Fidelity one where you can change the pad. It seems to pickup better than the other 2 I have(Audioquest and Acous Tech). It can be used wet or dry. I made my own ground wire for my Little Big Brush.

This topic always brings out the loopy audiodweeb side of an otherwise sane group. It's always a little like listening to a highschool phys-ed teacher telling a class of scholars about cleaning their ears or something. At times it gets toward classic internet-dense, as in Audiophile Dealers Hate This Connecticut Mom And Her Moneysaving Record Cleaning Trick.

We always get the standards in the field, like the Linn nonsense about how records don't need cleaning; great advice for those who live in laboratory clean-rooms, otherwise ... A well-respected side route includes "my secret formula for lp cleaning fluid", invariably containing ingredients that makes the crowd grumble in the balcony. Eventually it gets to yet another daft discussion of wet-playing records, a pile-on, maybe a reference to Santa, Gandhi, Hitler, Punxsutawney Phil, and often enough one's patient / unreasonable wife.
Everything that makes for a silly hifi-nut web experience.
Hey, anyone up for a round of "dustcover up or down?"
Come on!

So I use a carbon fiber brush to take off excess dust before I clean them on my VPI 16.5. Even after they're cleaned I still use a carbon fiber brush before playing. I also use a small vacuum to remove the dust from the carbon fiber brush. Works for me!

It's worth pointing out that the AudioQuest brush isn't exclusive to AudioQuest. Bags Unlimited has the same brush with a different logo, and I'm sure some others do as well. At retail price, it costs less than the AudioQuest, though there's less of a street price disparity than there used to be.

With all due respect to others (and my own pocketbook), I have another solution. I have a couple scrap pieces of corduroy about 3 1/2 inches wide and a couple feet long I got from a fabric store for a couple of bucks that I roll up, spray with my homemade cleaner (a recipe I got from the Internet), and wipe my records down with. I use a different spot on the cloth each time and wash it with my jeans when I think it has been long enough. It cleans up some pretty banged up used records and gives me glorious sonic results. Just a thought.

Why brush your LP? It's likely for one of three reasons: 1) to rid it of contaminates adhered to the vinyl 2) remove accumulated dust or 3) quell any static charge. I say a brush does none of these well.
For #1, give your record a bath when you first get it, new or used, put it in a fresh MoFi sleeve. It should not need to be washed again unless your find the kids using to play with the dog or it winds up under the sofa for a few months. (I use a Spin-Clean) A brush is actually bad for this because a dirty record makes the brush dirty instantly and you then spread that grunge from record to record.
For #2, buy a case of compressed air cans at Lowes in the electronics isle. Dry dust blows right off without fail. Even a big static charge cannot resist the force of the (perfectly clean) air stream.
For #3 get a ZeroStat. It emits both + and - ions ... the clever trick being that only the ions needs to neutralize the charge on the record stick, the others are repelled.
Finally, keep your stylus clean (Mr. Clean Magic Eraser) and blow the dust off of the record one more time before putting it back in its sleeve.

How would you suggest one washes the disc? I've heard lukewarm water and a tiny bit of very simple light dishwashing detergent is fine, dried of with clean microfibre cloth....

Micro fiber cloths (buy them bulk at Home Depot or Costco) absolutely CRUSH all record brushes I've tried (lots including the ones mentioned here). Just don't EVER use them if you drop them and keep them in a Zip Loc bag!

I do appreciate all the advice and comments here about the subject of cleaning records, but the subject that sticks in my mind is that of washing a brand new record before playing it for the first time.

While I don't necessarily dispute this as being a good idea, I'd seriously like to know if any LP in the history of recorded music has actually come with manufacturer's advice/warning to 'wash before playing for optimal results'.

I've owned quite a few records in my time and I've never seen such a thing - not even so-called audiophile pressings. That said, a lot of you guys and girls would have seen a helluva lot more records than me...

Also - does anyone violently disagree with the idea of washing a brand new and visibly pristine record?

I have the AQ and AcT brushes as well as others. None of them can touch my vintage Discwasher D4 brush for dust removal. The D4 can generate static but less so if you spritz the entire surface once or twice with a mister bottle (distilled).

I mostly us a Hunt brush, but in the winter when it is very dry indoors I find the Hunt brush (and other brushes that I have tried)just bush the dust around leaving a dust line on the record where I try to lift the brush off. I have started using a adhesive rubber roller that really picks up the dust. I do worry a little about it leaving adhesive on the record, however, I have seen no evidence of that. They recommend you do not clean the record on the TT platter since this may stress the TT bearing. The thing is made by Nagaoka and called Rolling 152. Does anyone here also used this?

I also wonder about using a microfiber cloth to dust of records. Has anyone tried this.

It's hard to believe that there's a market for a $300.00 + record brush. Since my purchase of an Audio Desk lp cleaner,(you can buy this cleaner for the cost of 12 of these brushes) I've found that I really don't need a brush any more. Also, If I use a carbon fiber brush on an AD cleaned lp, it actually introduces static. back onto the lp.

Love that brush way more than either of the others lesser expensive brushes... (I've owned both the AQ and the AT BB for years). I don't think the BB grounding cord helps much, and at it's price, I really felt ripped off, (esp. given it's claims of anti-static removal. I feel all brushes add static). The hairs simply aren't stiff enough, and I I believe brush stiffness is super important for dry dusting. You may think differently.

The one thing I don't think works well at all is the Discwasher brush. It simply is not as efficacious as the bristle brushes, carbon fiber or otherwise. Bringing any solution into the picture here is unfair on any level, as then you introduce the whole shebang of wet cleaning, which has hundreds of possibilities, and negates the whole point of the article's focus.

My only real takeaway point is I never use the platter spinning while brushing dust. I manually move the platter to control the amount of friction (while using the lightest of pressure). I feel spinning the record at speed adds static and misses a good deal of the dust. It's simply not necessary, and actually the cleaning is faster without it. I dunno if that's even possible with direct drive tables, but I wanted to mention it.

There is always a market for those that want the best, and there really should be. The state of the art will never be advanced without those striving for and designing the best products extant. Whether one sees value in that is entirely up to one's budget and fanaticism.

Trickle-down only exists in raindrops and high fidelity audio!

I was using the AudioQuest brush for a while and found a lot of dust went through the bristles. The other two brushes seem to do the same thing in Michael's test. The brush has to work while the platter is spinning, because it's a hassle to turn off the platter every time you put on a new record.

Hunt Eda catches all the dust and cleans much better. I have to use a de-stat gun to clear the static with each record.

I tried one of those Audioquest brushes thinking something newer would be better, and it is not as good as my old trusty Watts Disc Preener from the 70s. It is velvet wrapped around a spongy core. It is directional and a little rolling up after doing a couple laps and it picks up all the dirt. It allows for fluid in the core, but that is not needed at all.

The only way to use a Carbon Fibre brush is first to get the LP spinning, then put the brush at 90 degrees to the spindle and slowly bring the brush across the LP and on to the label. Then pick it up. The groove starts on the outside and works it way in.
So, follow the groove in and onto the label collecting all the dust and because the dust has adhered itself to the CarbonFibre bristles,it will lift off the label with the brush.You can then walk away from the LP site and clean the brush by rubbing it against its stand.Remember not to touch the brush with your fingers as you will contaminate the bristles with oil, rendering it useless. Surely this has been mentioned before and I somehow missed it.

Parallel to the spindle.

Its funny I had the opposite experience in my environment comparing the Audioquest, Mapleshade and Levin anti-static brushes. The Levin was the winner by a wide margin. It could win on build quality alone, with its washable natural bristles it will easily last a decade if not more. There's nothing flimsy or plastic about the Levin. Trust me the last thing I wanted to do was spend close to $200 on a brush but its that good. I'm not sure where you're getting $335? I opted for the birch model and it was $179. There is an optional case which is extra but that can always be purchased later as need and budget warrant. As someone who owns this brush and uses it on every side I spin I feel its unfair to relegate the Levin to essentially just a wow factor product or only for those with deep pockets. Keep in mind the one thing that touches your records as much as your stylus is your record cleaning brush. For my money I want the best tool for that. For me thats the Levin, it leaves my other brushes in the dust ;-)

I put the brush on the record for a few revolutions, then stop the platter. Now I have a little line of dust that I blow off with "canned air" dust off. Repeat until you have no line.

Does anyone have any experience with the 3" Staticmaster anti-static brush made originally for dusting photographic negatives etc?