Pro-Ject VC-S2 Vacuum Record Cleaning Machine

Description

MY TAKE: The Pro-Ject CV-S2 is a well-built machine that offers excellent cleaning at an attractive price. - Galen Carol

Premium record cleaning machine for vinyl & 78rpm shellac records -
 

The VC-S2 ALU takes record cleaning to new levels. There are features which are new for record cleaning machines in this price range:

• The aluminum surface of the VC-S2 ALU is able to withstand excessive fluid spill without compromising the chassis.
• The VC-S2 ALU is super powerful and cleans records in as little as one or two rotations. The very best results are achieved with one Rotation forward followed by one backward.
• It turns the record superfast within 2 seconds per rotation, which is about 3 times faster than comparable cleaning machines. The result is a much faster and more effective cleaning process. The improved motor will last for a long and extended lifetime.
• A new aluminum clamp seals the record label from cleaning fluid and avoids damage on the label.
• The robust metal arm is easy to use, mechanically stable and focuses all suction power directly onto the record surface.
• A large internal container (2,5 liters) collects used fluid and is effortlessly easy to empty. When using Wash-IT cleaning solution, the fluid will also evaporate in the container, meaning the container will almost never need to be emptied even after cleaning thousands of records. It shows fill-up capacity and guarantees no spillage of used cleaning fluid.
• Our eco-friendly and non-alcoholic vinyl cleaning concentrate, Wash-IT, offers very good cleaning results and reduces static charge, so record wear and stylus wear are significantly reduced.
• The aluminum enclosure of the VC-S2 ALU exemplifies the high-end build-quality and makes your new record cleaner a long-lasting investment. The increased size allows for quieter operation and improved handling of the record and cleaning liquid application processes. With many practical
• Features and excellent mechanical operation, the VC-S2 ALU effectively combines industrial design appeal with an easy solution to great sound from your vinyl records

REVIEWS:
 

Audio Appraisals: "This is one of the best investments you can make if you’re serious about vinyl. It’s lighter, better looking and quieter than before, and raises the performance bar even further. This is another evolution of Pro-Ject’s excellent vinyl cleaner line. Highly recommended."
Full Review

Sound Matters: "Pro-Ject’s best performing record cleaning machine to-date. Designing simple, high-quality products at a fair price is what Pro-Ject do best. Your ears (and your stylus) will thank you."
Full Review

Customer Review: "I also now have cleaned about 100 albums, including about a third of them using the 3-step Audio Intelligent solutions process.  So, I have put the machine through a number of spins.  Given I have never used any other machine, however, take the following comments for whatever they are worth —i.e. no baseline for comparison.

"The machine seems to be sturdy and of good build quality; the aluminum provides apparent durability.  In particular, I like the feel and heft of the all-metal vacuum tube wand; it is weighty and easy to manipulate and appears to create a tight seal with the records when turning on the vacuum.  I have read that some people consider vacuum machines quite noisy.  I do not find this specific machine to be particularly loud.  Yes it is a vacuum after all so there is noise but nothing I consider annoying or over the top.
 

"As far as design goes, there are three notable features for me.  First, there is no drain hose so if you need to get the water/fluid out of the machine one must tilt it on its side to let the water escape a drain located on the top of one side of the unit.  That might be cumbersome or a hassle for some.  I also read some just let the fluid evaporate.  But, because I have cleaned large numbers of records at one time I have poured warm water through the vacuum tube hole in order to “clean” it out after prolonged use.  This very well may be unnecessary but I do it out of an abundance of caution and in order to preserve the life of the unit.

"Second, and more significantly in my mind, is the fact that the platter you put the album on is only the size of the record label.  In other words, unlike the VPI machine for example, there is no base for the vinyl portion of the record itself.   I like this for a couple of reasons.  One, it means that once you clean one side of the record and flip it over to clean the second that the cleaned side is suspended in the air rather than being placed on a platform or base.  I am sure for those machines such as the VPI that have a base there is some way the cleaned side does not get dirty or compromised when you flip it over but, logically, it strikes me that you avoid this concern altogether with the Pro-Ject design where the underside of the vinyl portion of the record simply never touches anything at all.  

"The second reason surprised me.  In reading the Audio Intelligent instructions I learned you are not to scrub the record very hard, and instead lightly agitate it with the liquid by gently moving it back and forth.  For some, they probably have no problem doing this.  But for me, I fear I might have trouble drawing the line between gently agitating versus scrubbing so hard that it damages the vinyl.  When the vinyl portion of the album is suspended as in the Pro-ject rather than placed on a firm base, this prevents one (me at least) from scrubbing too hard because the suspended record cannot withstand a lot of downward pressure.  So the design prevents any tendency to over scrub.  On the other hand, lightly agitating/moving the brush back and forth manually (as opposed to power spinning) is easily accomplished and if one needs more stability to perform this function you can simply put the tip of your finger at the edge of the album to stabilize it while brushing.

"Third, the Pro-Ject spinning function operates in two directions as you probably know.  There probably is no empirical support for this notion but somehow spinning the record in one direction and then the opposite one while brushing just makes me feel like I am getting the record more clean — because the bristles are going in both directions of the grooves while being driven by the power of the spinning function.  Yes, of course, one can accomplish this by simply having any machine turned off and just brushing in both directions/agitating as Audio Intelligent advises.  Nonetheless, having the power of a spinning machine doing this is comforting to me.  Doing it in two directions also has the added benefit for my weird way of counting time that adds more time to the process — which I view as a good thing because it allows the fluid/solvent more time to do its “chemical thing” on the vinyl.  (Actually, it is probably way over kill but after spinning it both directions, I then shut off the spinning function, agitate the liquid some more manually, i.e. brushing in both directions as AI instructs, and then let the liquid rest/saturate the vinyl for another minute or two, and then turn the spinning function back on and employ the vacuum function after that.)

"(A fourth and less noteworthy observation is the top clamp used to secure the album in place.  Consistent with the rest of the machine, it is made of metal and quite solid.  It is easy to use and because of its substantial weight seems to securely hold the albums in place during the entire process.)
Well, those are my preliminary observations in a nutshell.  Again, for whatever they are worth.  I’ll let you know if I think of anything else." - David M.
 

Technical Specifications:
 

Cleaning speed: 30 r.p.m.
Included accessories: Brush, Vacuum Arm, Self-Adhesive Arm Strip, Aluminium clamp, Wash it (100ml), 500ml mixing bottle, Power cable
Power consumption230 V / 800 W, 120 V / 650 W
Dimensions: (W x H x D) 415 x 325 x 272 mm (fully assembled)
Weight: 8,0 kg (net)

VC-E vs. VC-S2 Comparison - The VC-S2 is a full-sized record cleaner that improves on the previous VC-S model. Compared to the VC-E, the increased size allows the use of a larger, more powerful motor and the implementation of extra noise reduction techniques to be applied for an overall quieter cleaning process. Of course, the larger format also allows a much bigger vacuumed liquid reservoir which is now 2.5L. The same label-protecting design has been applied to the record clamp which is now built from aluminum as opposed to the VC-E’s plastic clamp. Again, the VC-S2’s chassis is constructed from a high strength aluminum composite material.