What are the Best Classic Turntables for Serious Record Listening? A Comparison Guide.

Top 5 Vintage Turntables: A Comparison Guide

Vintage turntables are becoming increasingly popular among music lovers and audiophiles who want to enjoy their records in the traditional way. With so many options available, choosing the right vintage turntable can be a bit overwhelming. While it is difficult to really come up with a list of the "5 Best Turntables" these 5 vintage turntables definitely belong on any 'best ever' turntables list:

Technics SL-1200: The Technics SL-1200 is one of the most popular vintage turntables of all time. It's a direct drive turntable that was first introduced in 1972 and is still widely used today by DJ's. The SL-1200 is known for its reliability and accuracy, and it offers a great balance of affordability and quality.

Thorens TD 124: The Thorens TD 124 is a classic belt-driven turntable that was first introduced in the 1950s. It's known for its smooth and silent operation, and it's often considered one of the best vintage turntables for playing classical music. The TD 124 also features a unique tonearm that provides excellent tracking, making it ideal for serious listeners.

Pioneer PL-12D: The Pioneer PL-12D is another direct drive turntable that was popular in the 1970s and 1980s. It's known for its clean sound, fast start-up time, and ease of use. The PL-12D is an excellent choice for those who want a reliable and affordable vintage turntable that offers good performance.

Dual 1219: The Dual 1219 is a classic belt-driven turntable that was first introduced in the 1960s. It's known for its high-quality sound and its ability to play a wide range of records. The 1219 also features a sturdy and well-designed tonearm that makes it ideal for serious listeners.

Garrard 401: The Garrard 401 is a classic belt-driven turntable that was first introduced in the 1950s. It's considered one of the best vintage turntables for playing music, and it's often referred to as "the connoisseur's turntable." The 401 features a unique tonearm that provides excellent tracking and is widely regarded as one of the best tonearms ever made.

In conclusion, there are many great vintage turntables to choose from, and the best one for you will depend on your specific needs and preferences. Whether you're a DJ, a serious music lover, or just looking to enjoy your records in the traditional way, there's sure to be a vintage turntable that will meet your needs. Definitely consider the Technics SL-1200, Thorens TD 124, Pioneer PL-12D, Dual 1219, or Garrard 401 if you are looking into getting a vintage turntable!

The Advantages of Ultrasonic Record Cleaning

Ultrasonic vinyl record cleaning is a highly effective method for removing dirt, dust, and other contaminants from your records. The process involves using high frequency sound waves to agitate the surface of the record, causing dirt and debris to loosen and be easily removed.

The major advantages of ultrasonic record cleaning are:

• Ultrasonic vinyl record cleaning uses high frequency sound waves to remove dirt, dust, and other contaminants from records.
• The ultrasonic waves cause tiny bubbles to form in the cleaning solution, a process called cavitation.
• These bubbles rapidly collapse in front of the surface of the record, creating a powerful cleaning action that dislodges dirt and debris from the surface of the record.
• The process is highly effective and reaches deep into the grooves of the record.
• Quick and efficient, can clean a record in just a matter of minutes.
• Removes even stubborn dirt and grime.
• Removes static charge on the record due to the immersion in water.
• The process is very gentle on records, no risk of physical damage.
• Conventional brush and cloth based methods can cause micro-scratching, which can lead to deterioration of the sound quality.
• A major supplier of professional ultrasonic record cleaning equipment is CleanerVinyl.

Customer Video Demonstrates the CleanerVinyl Easy6 System on a 132 kHz High-Frequency Ultrasonic Cleaner

Check out this nice video posted by one of our customers in Canada. It demonstrates the Easy6 System together with one of our new 132 kHz high frequency ultrasonic cleaners. They run much more quietly than the standard 40 kHz types.
Check out our store at www.cleanervinyl.com
FYI: We currently offer a $50 rebate on pur high-frequency cleaners, just use code "132KHZ" during checkout!

A Massive New Ultrasonic Vinyl Record Cleaner! CleanerVinyl ProXL has been released!

Check out our latest ultrasonic vinyl record cleaner! ProXL has all the awesome features of the recently redesigned Pro, but is much more massive:

ProXL fits on 15 liter ultrasonic cleaners. This results in ample room for the to be cleaned vinyl records. Clean 8 records at a full 1 inch spacing, or 14 at 0.5 inch. This guarantees audiophile-grade cleaning results, even if the records are very dirty. Add the new Micron 15 Liter fluid filtration system and clean many batches in the same fluid:

Go sleeve-to-sleeve in about 35 min and never touch a wet record!

Watch our ProXL video for an introduction:

Exciting News: CleanerVinyl now works with Made in Germany Elmasonic Dual-Frequency Ultrasonic Cleaners

Give your vinyl records the state-of-the-art clean they deserve! The Elmasonic P60H dual frequency cleaner is the perfect ultrasonic cleaning engine for the CleanerVinyl Pro system. The P60H can operate at 37 and 80 kHz, which enables a dual frequency clean. Do an initial clean at 37 kHz to remove coarse dirt and dust, and then follow up with a finishing run at 80 kHz, that removes the finest particles from the bottom of the grooves as well as chemical contaminants like pressing release agents or oily residues. Audiophile-quality vinyl record cleaning in one well-designed package! Read more about our collaboration on the Tovatech blog (Tovatech is the official Elmasonic US distributor).

CleanerVinyl Pro Ultimate Kit mounted to Elmasonic P60H Dual-Frequency ultrasonic cleaner. The P60H can be operated at 37 and 80 kHz, perfect for coarse dirt removal at 37 kHz and precision clean at 80 kHz all the way down into the grooves of vinyl records.

132 kHz High Frequency Ultrasonic Cleaners Now Available at CleanerVinyl

Exciting news! Our new 132 kHz high-frequency ultrasonic cleaners are now available!

Give your vinyl records a deeper clean at a higher frequency. How does this work? The size of the cavitation bubbles generated by the ultrasonic waves directly depends on the frequency. Higher frequency = shorter wavelength = smaller bubbles. And smaller bubbles can penetrate smaller features, which means they can get deeper down into the grooves of records. 

And this is not the only advantage. Smaller cavitation bubbles also are superior when it comes to removal of chemical contamination, such as release agents left behind after the pressing process.

Check out our new UC-8180L 132 kHz cleaners here.

132 kHz high frequency ultrasonic cleaner

A great way to integrate a high-frequency cleaner into your vinyl record cleaning recipe is to use it in a dual-frequency cleaning set-up. Since low frequencies are better for the removal of more coarse contamination such as dust and dirt particles, a dual-frequency setup gives you the best of both worlds.

First do a low-frequency pre-clean that removes most of the coarse stuff, and then do a finishing run at 132 kHz to remove all contamination even from the finest features in your grooves.

The CleanerVinyl Pro System has been designed for two-bath recipes, since the Pro motor unit can be placed directly on the rim of a cleaner. Put the Lift-Pro and Micron filtration system on the 132 kHz cleaner, and use a 40 kHz cleaner as the low-frequency pre-clean station:

Pro Motor Unit on 40 kHz low-frequency cleaner during pre-clean.

Once the low-frequency pre-clean on the 40 kHz unit is done, simply move the motor unit over to the 132 kHz set-up and do the final cleaning step. Then lift the records into the drying position and plug in the fan. That way you can clean up to 12 records within 35-45 min and never touch a wet record.

Pro motor unit on 132 kHz cleaner in drying position after completion of final high-frequency cleaning step on 132 kHz ultrasonic cleaner.

CleanerVinyl Max in Custom Colors!

We recently received an order for five CleanerVinyl Max vinyl record cleaning attachments for 10 liter ultrasonic cleaners. A vinyl record store in Denmark uses them for cleaning their vinyl intake before offering them to their customers in renewed condition. We offered to do custom colors and this is what we were asked to do. Pretty!:

CleanerVinyl Max is our high throughput solution for vinyl record professionals and serious collectors. Clean up to 24 records per batch in a 10 liter ultrasonic cleaner.:

CleanerVinyl Max (shown with Dry-Max fan and Micron 10 liter filtration system)