Good that you're covering this--it deserves a full review. It may be absurd to drop $3K on a record cleaner, but I love mine. Where ultrasonic excels is the inner groove surfaces that other technologies cannot reach. It makes a large number of records sound significantly better, and on a $/LP basis, it's almost rational ;-)
Degritter Mark II Ultrasonic Record Cleaning Machine
If it’s post-Super Bowl Monday, then it must be time for a good cleaning. (Work with me here.) Regardless of how you watched (or avoided!) the spectacle that was Super Bowl LIX, it’s always a good idea to begin with a clean slate the day afterward — especially if you choose to spin some cherished LPs, old and/or new, to shake off that final-game grit and get the post-NFL listening season underway (just as I’m doing right now, in fact). To that end, we turn our collective AP eye to the Degritter Mark II ultrasonic record cleaning machine to help with that prospective cleaning.
We said we’d be covering more RCMs here on AP, and the Degritter Mark II fits that bill quite handily — plus, it has also recently garnered a number of EOY “best of” accolades to boot. The Mark II RCM is an upgrade of the Estonian company’s rightly vaunted 2020 Degritter model. With the Mark II, the company has added what they call Pulse Mode, which replaces a steady-state ultrasonic frequency with short, higher-energy pulses. According to Degritter, this leads to, quote, “better cleaning effect, [and] low power consumption.”
Available in either a polished black or gray finish, the Mark II RCM sports a tank that has two ultrasonic transducers on either side (i.e., four in total), and the driving frequency of the Power Drive’s ultrasonic generator sweeps is given as being between 120-125kHz in order to “evenly distribut[e] the cleaning energy across the record’s surface.” The average power output of the unit’s washing programs is given as 300W.
Active filtering is achieved by cleaning water that is pumped through a replaceable filter during the washing cycles. Using distilled water plus 1-2ml of cleaning fluid per cycle is recommended. High temperatures are managed by automatic cooling cycles. Records are dried by a flow of filtered air. Both drying time and fan speed can be adjusted to “keep noise levels in check” — with said noise levels given as being between 50-70dB — and to “prevent static electricity build-up.”
Included with the Degritter Mark II RCM are two removable water tanks with lids — with each tank’s capacity given as 0.37gal (1.4l) — a water tank replacement valve, AC power cable, 100ml bottle of cleaning fluid, eye dropper, SD card for machine software, a water-level measurement strip, a pack of replacement filters, a microfiber cloth, replacement O-rings, and an owner’s manual.
Additional specs for the Mark II RCM include supported voltage given as 100-240V AC, and cleaning time per LP as being between 5-10min. The RCM’s dimensions are 14.6 x 11 x 8.3 in, w/h/d (37 x 28 x 21cm, w/h/d), and its weight is 20lb (9kg).
Finally, the SRP for the Degritter Mark II ultrasonic record cleaning machine is $3,300. So, should we get a Mark II RCM in hand for a proper test? Chime in with your thoughts in the Comments section below.
For more about Degritter, go here.
To find an authorized Degritter dealer, go here.
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COMMENTS
IMO It is rational
Submitted by Happy Will on Tue, 2025-02-11 11:42
If you have a collection of say 1,000 lp's and clean with a Degritter, then write off the cost, you will have spent $3 and a little bit, per record to get a worthwhile sonic improvement from each of them. The question is whether you think the sonic benefits aren't important, or you would prefer to buy more records and not realise their full potential of your collection with the system you have.
No review
Submitted by palasr on Wed, 2025-02-12 07:44
This reads as a paid advertisement. Anyone in the market for a $3K record cleaning machine will already be familiar with the options available. I'd like to know how it stacks up against other ultrasonic cleaning machines at a similar price.
Kind of like your "review" of the Grimm Audio phono preamp.
Respectfully. . .
Submitted by Mike Mettler on Wed, 2025-02-12 09:10
This is not a paid advertisement - nor was the Grimm post, for that matter. If you bothered to actually pay attention to where this post resides on the site, it appears under the Analog Gear News category -- as was the Grimm post -- which is where we always post news-oriented items about new products we feel are interesting to the audience -- which is comprised of many readers new to our analog-loving world in addition to hardcore audiophiles. All are welcome.
You cannot assume "everyone" knows about this RCM -- or any other product we cover, for that matter -- because "everyone" does not know what's out there, period. Will we review either/both products may in the future? Possibly. That decision is made solely by editorial. Full stop.
Finally, and quite frankly, I quite resent your troll-ish implication regarding what we choose to cover here on AP, and why. #trolloff
Ultrasonic vs. vacuum
Submitted by Don Roderick on Thu, 2025-02-13 06:47
Spending $3300 for "only" an ultrasonic cleaner seems on the surface to be ridiculous. I would bet my life that my $1000 VPI 16.5 vacuum record cleaner would blow away any and every ultrasonic cleaner.
(Obviously only extensive testing with microscopes could prove or disprove this.)
In the same vein, I'd love to see an ultrasonic shootout between Spin Clean, Vevor, and Degritter. Bet the differences wouldn't be anywhere NEAR the price differences!
I really wanted the original model
Submitted by Rashers on Tue, 2025-02-11 09:30
but it is just too expensive for the amount of use that I would get. Instead, I bought a a HumminGuru for 1/5th of the price and am delighted with the results.
Good to know!
Submitted by Glotz on Tue, 2025-02-11 10:13
Thanks for the input on the HumminGuru. I just bought the stylus cleaner but I'm flirting with the Nova record cleaner.
Brief encounter?
Submitted by Tom L on Wed, 2025-02-12 11:07
"Hi...what's your name? Nova, huh...I like the sound of that. I'm Glotz, but you can call me Spinny. Can I buy you a drink? Distilled water, how very cool! Say, let's find a nice, quiet corner. Quiet is your favorite thing? Oh, we have a lot in common, except I like to play heavy metal every so often. Wait, where are you going? You think you're out of my price range? No way! I love your sleek exterior! Give me another chance!"
Ah... she's still flirting with me across the aisle...
Submitted by Glotz on Mon, 2025-02-17 09:09
lol. I think I may take her home this week!
Reinstating Some Lost Comments from volvic & Glotz
Submitted by Mike Mettler on Tue, 2025-02-18 14:39
Reinstating some lost comments from volvic & Glotz here since they oddly vanished. . . glad I could cut & paste from a screengrab, at least, so here they are again! --MM
No, I think the ultrasonic cleaner is better
Submitted by volvic on Fri, 2025-02-14 07:25
I can’t say I agree, although I’m not sure I would get one. I used to work in the watch and jewelry repair industry, and no amount of brushing and hand polishing could clean the debris out of watch movements, intricate necklaces, etc., the way the ultrasound machine could. So, as long as the frequency doesn’t harm the delicate vinyl, all things being equal, an ultrasound cleaning machine will be better. However, while I always wanted one, I am glad I didn’t buy one. Lately, I’ve been wondering, as I look at the tiny particles of debris that I flush out of my VPI cleaning machine, how much of that gets flushed out by the machine before the next record cleaning cycle. I can’t help but wonder that there still must be some residual debris left behind, hence why I have hesitated to take the plunge. But if I were, I would put the Degritter high on my list.
Volvic is quite right... conjecture doesn't cut it.
Submitted by Glotz on Mon, 2025-02-17 09:07
Hearing records cleaned on an ultrasonic after on a physical vacuum cleaner like a great VPI deck is always a slight improvement. I find that the ultrasonics out there are quite good. And expensive. If I had the dosh, I would buy this DeGritter. HummingGuru makes a sanely priced one though.
Also, the HummingGuru Ultrasonic Stylus Cleaner S-DUO Pro does wonders for styli cleaning. I've used the HiFi Plus fake-ultrasonic cleaner and while it is nice, it is outclassed by the new HummingGuru and after 5 cycles of cleaning it completely removed all baked on debris fully. For the price at $130, it's killer.
Ultrasonic
Submitted by Steelhead on Wed, 2025-02-12 09:51
I have a vevor (china) ultrasonic cleaner and am extremely happy with it. A friend actually bought it for me so Thank You Mr. Suskman. It has proved very effective as I use a SOTA lp cleaner, Mofi enzyme and wash cleaners followed by LAST and a mofi sleeve. My records from this process are normally excellent. When they are not and I encounter some pops or clicks I run them through the ultrasonic and a large majority of the time they either remove or reduce the noise issue. It is cumbersome and I have to dry the vinyl with a microfiber before hitting the lp cleaner process. That drying process with the Degritter sure seems to be upgrade.
This seems like a major upgrade to the vevor and I would seriously consider one if I was younger, and didn't already have much of my collection already cleaned, and am used to and pleased with my process.
I appreciate the post and information and this machine seems to be a serious consideration for those who are deep into vinyl and in it for the long term.
Happy Spinning
Vevors have also
Submitted by Tom L on Thu, 2025-02-13 14:12
been blowing up and melting all over the world. Buyer beware.
Would love a “shootout!”
Submitted by barfle on Sat, 2025-02-15 06:48
I’ve been in the market for a good record cleaner for the last few years, and all I am is confused. I see a handful of descriptions saying they work well (whatever that means) but are noisy (whatever that means). I know it would be difficult to do a full apples to apples comparison of several high-end (or medium-end) cleaners with microscope inspection (gotta get those records the same “dirty” after all), but a side-by-side comparison of RCMs would be very, very helpful.
I’ve had about half a dozen different record-cleaning methods over the years, and I’d really like something that’s easy to use, not particularly messy, and effective.
RCM-o-Rama
Submitted by Mike Mettler on Mon, 2025-02-17 08:10
I'm all for more RCM reviewing here -- and we'll cover as many as we can so we can get a proper baseline in terms of SRPs and basic to higher-end cleaning needs. To get things (re)rolling, a Degritter Mark II review is officially in the works, I can tell y'all that... :)
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