Analog Gear News

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.