Alright folks, buckle up. Wanted to talk cleaning today. Real cleaning. For those sweet, sweet vinyl grooves. Over the years? Man, I tried everything. The carbon fiber brush dance. Those fluid sprays and velvet pads you rub until your arm wants to fall off. Half the time I swore I heard more clicks after. Frustrating? Heck yeah. Finally decided, heck with it, I need proper gear.

The Hunt Begins (And Almost Ended Quickly)

Jumped online, obviously. You know how it is. Punch in "best record cleaners," bam. Prices hit me like a ton of bricks. Some of these machines? Looked like fancy espresso makers cost more than my turntable! Almost tapped out right there. Then I remembered that one record I found at the flea market – pure gold, but crackled like a campfire. Needed saving. Took a deep breath and dove back in.

Started reading. Oh boy. Audiophile forums, review sites... folks arguing about ultrasonic frequencies, vacuums stronger than a Dyson, anti-static this, zero-residue that. Felt like prepping for a NASA mission, not spinning Dusty Springfield.

My Practical Spin Zone

Took a step back. Yeah, sure, maybe those $2000 titans are magic. But me? I don’t live in a hermetically sealed chamber. I needed something that:

• Actually cleaned better than me crying onto the record
• Wouldn’t require a second mortgage
• Wasn’t gonna take up half the living room
• Ideally didn’t sound like a jet engine

Narrowed it down to a few "experts" were buzzing about in the "real world" price bracket for 2024. Looked at three seriously:

• The Spin-Clean Jr.: Basically a big plastic tub you spin manually. Cheap. Old school.
• The Project VC-S2: Vacuum-powered, looked solid, decent price.
• The Humminguru: Weird name. All the rage right now. Ultrasonic tank thing. Supposedly dead quiet.

Testing... Testing... Messing Up!

Didn't have money for all three, obviously. Went hands-on with the Project VC-S2 at a buddy's place first. He swore by it. Watched him do the ritual: fluid on the record, scrubbing brush attachment, then slowly turn it while the vacuum sucks the gunk away. It worked! Record looked wet but the vacuum left it dry right after. Sounded much better than before. But man, that thing was loud. Like, really loud. Watching the spinning arm? Tense. Felt like I could screw it up easy.

Then saw the Humminguru buzz online (pun intended). Finally got a look at one at this little audio shop. They plugged it in, put a record inside this water tank, closed the lid. Pushed a button. It... just hummed softly. Like a little robot dreaming. Two minutes later, record comes out, spotless. Mind slightly blown. You just dunk it? No manual labor? Sign me up! Well... until the price tag surfaced again. Ouch. Bigger ouch than the Project.

The Spin-Clean? Almost grabbed one cheap online. Videos made it look easy. Then read a bunch of folks complaining about water spots if you don't dry perfectly. And it seemed messy. Like, towel-on-the-floor messy. Did I mention I hate mess?

My Choice & The Reality Check

Here’s where I landed. The Humminguru tech seemed awesome. Super quiet, foolproof cleaning. But that price? Hurt. Hurt real bad. That tax return money wasn’t supposed to vanish on a record cleaner! The Project VC-S2 did the job well, just noisy and needing focus. Almost felt like precision engineering. Nearly got it.

Ended up getting the Project VC-S2. Why? Found a scratch-and-dent deal online, saved a chunk. Yeah, it's still loud. I wear headphones while it runs. Yeah, I still carefully guide that arm like it’s surgery sometimes. But you know what? Seeing black filth come out of a record I thought was clean? Hearing those background instruments pop out like they’re hiding in the groove? Worth the noise and the elbow grease. Feels like I’m actually doing something.

Do I still eye the Humminguru? Yeah, sometimes. Maybe someday if I find cash under the couch. But for now, this noisy little Project workhorse? Getting the job done. Records sound happier. I’m happier. Even with sore ears and concentration face on.