Degritter

More Examples

The next duo we tried was Sade’s “Promise”, never a great-sounding album and certainly not in the Dutch pressing as is the case for JW’s version as well as mine, but somehow, the music never gets old. Both our records were already Emmi’d. Again, JW’s album is from the first owner, and again, it outperforms my version. The transients are more immediate, the music is more expressive, and the treble seems to be more extended. As before, we decided to Degritter my record first to see if it could achieve the performance of JW’s version. Well, that, it did, and then some! Again, my previously inferior record was now better than JW’s pristine copy. It portrayed the same level of expression and dynamic instantaneousness, but also more majorly improved treble that was at the same time more highly resolving and detailed as well as more fluid and refined. Oh, and I found that I could further reduce the drying time. Apparently, 3 minutes was still plenty. This reduced the entire process to 6:45 minutes.

After also treating JW’s record to a Degrittering, our expectation was that his copy would again beat my own copy but this time that did not happen. It certainly improved significantly but right up to the point of sounding uncannily similar to my own record. Our theory is that my copy is a second/third/fourth-hand sample that likely was more used and dirtier and as a result had more to benefit from the ultrasonic process. And apparently, the Emmi’s first-round had been less efficient on my record than on JW’s. On that note, for the best efficiency, Degritter recommends that very dirty records with thick layers of gunk are first cleaned prior to Degrittering them. Otherwise, a lot of energy is wasted first removing the dirt before the bubbles reach the actual groove walls. By the time this happens, the machine may have reached the end of the cleaning cycle and the record may need another cycle. That’s just not very efficient, nor desirable, as all that dirt ends up in the water and the filter.

The next duo that we washed was Pieces of a Dream’s “Pieces of a Dream”. This is one of those rare examples where the German pressing sounds more ballsy and dynamic than the USA version. Wouter and I both tried it with two different USA pressings but both sound as if they were made from a tape that was recorded with noise reduction and then played with it engaged. Anyway, both our records had been Emmi’d.

In the first comparison pre-Degrittering, JW’s record was slightly fuller in the bass and a little richer and more free-flowing in the midrange. Apart from this, both records sounded very much alike, right down to the dryness and bluntness and lack of soundstaging that we have become used to from this album.

By now, a pattern had emerged, for after Degrittering my previously less-performing record, again, it outperformed JW’s version. It still wasn’t any more layered but there was now a larger soundstage bubble and the music was much more emotionally involving. The treble had become more fluid and silky and now we noticed that the hi-hat hits did not only consist of a rough hiss but an actual hit and complex reverb with lots of air surrounding it. Amazingly, the bass that was already very punchy had become incisive and the same was true for other percussive sounds. In comparison, JW’s original record, as pristine as it was, sounded lackluster and, honestly, relatively boring.

After also Degrittering JW’s record, sure enough, again, it improved in all the aforementioned areas, right up to the point of performing very similar to my own used copy. Here, our theory is that perhaps JW’s copy has seen so much use as a reference in countless of our listening tests that it has lost some of its initial sparkle, or my used copy was not used very much. Or maybe it was a bit of both. But by now, the unavoidable conclusion came in sight: that records simply do not give their best until they have been Degrittered. And here it doesn’t matter if they are new, used, pre-washed, or even cleaned ultrasonically using a less advanced method.

I’ve noted several more examples but the pattern is simply repeated time and again. Sometimes, JW’s pristine version would turn out slightly better than my used samples, but oftentimes, both records performed very similarly after being Degrittered.

I’ll throw in one final report regarding JW’s Grover Washington jr’s “A Secret Place”. Not a great sounding album but if you forgive the overdamped and filtered delivery, its inherent magic can really pull you into the performance. After Degrittering, there was now much-improved resolution and instead of incurring a rosy/sleepy feeling, the performance was now propulsive and engaging. Somehow, the musicians’ intent came out more clearly while the complex harmonic structures of the various instruments were also more completely filled out. Before the Degritter treatment, various instruments would sound narrow-banded, as if they were clipped in the bass as well as the treble. After the treatment, they not only sounded more full-range but also more organic and mature.

I don’t yet have this album but having heard it after Degrittering, the title went straight to my Discogs Wantlist! JW also added something to his personal wishlist, and I’m sure you guessed it: a Degritter!

Filter Replacement

After one and a half weeks of use and having washed an estimated 40 records (and replaced the water once), the Degritter indicated that the filter needed to be replaced. Pending this, its operation was halted. Upon unscrewing the little filter holder on the side, I had to admit that the machine was not exaggerating. On top of what was once a pristine white piece of foam now sat a layer of grey goo that looked a lot like the end of a burned cigarette. While the filtering system is convenient and works super-reliably, I wish that they would have used square foam pieces so that the user could cut them from large sheets. But better still would be if they had priced the foam pieces more friendly. I mean, 22 euros for 5 phalange-sized pieces of what looks like ordinary foam just seems excessive. On the other hand, the manual mentions that you can also wash the foam piece and re-use it. If you can do that a couple of times per piece, then that does help.

Caveats

Apart from common sense and principle-induced aspects, the Degritter doesn’t have any limitations. But of course, it would not be wise to put extremely dirty records in the Degritter. It’s perfectly possible but that way, the process will be less effective, requiring longer washing or a second treatment, the water will get dirty soon and before long you’ll need to replace not only the water but also the filter. And that gets expensive quickly.

Of course, like any record cleaner, the Degritter can’t repair scratched records. What it can do is to make the music on damaged albums clearer so that the scratches become less prominent. This effect also shouldn’t be underestimated.

Epilog

When Wouter came over a couple of days later and I told him about the overwhelming success that JW and I had witnessed with the Degritter, he immediately said: “Ok, so that’s it for the Emmi”. He added that he had already feared that this would be the case so he was mentally prepared. Earlier, he had also ordered a cheap and cheerful Humminguru Ultrasonic cleaner that took forever to be delivered. To this day, it’s not been received, but Wouter doesn’t care. Knowing that it uses 40kHz transducers without sweeping (just like the Emmi 40), has no sensors, and no active filtering, it can’t possibly achieve the same results as the Degritter.

What’s more, after hearing the results for himself, Wouter wholly agreed that the success of his Emmi’s crude ultrasonic treatment, while spectacular in its moment, was not only matched by the Degritter but actually so far surpassed that there was only one possible outcome: he would also have to get a Degritter!

While discussing the Degritter’s superlative results even when compared to the 40kHz Emmi ultrasonic cleaner, it dawned on me that if 120kHz creates smaller bubbles, perhaps this would explain why records cleaned with the Degritter consistently illustrated airier and more fluid treble whereas the Emmi’s benefits were mostly present in the bass and midrange while having the effect of making the treble dry and relatively coarse. Smaller bubbles not only protrude deeper into the grooves, all the way, actually, but they may also be more effective at cleaning debris from very high frequencies.

Earlier, I mentioned that, although JW was as enthusiastic as I was about Wouter’s Emmi treatment, he had reservations regarding the post-washing treble performance. It was basically the same counter-argument that he used against the Clearaudio Matrix, which is that some records will sound less romantic and more analytical after a cleaning. Until using the Degritter, Wouter and I figured that the process has simply unveiled the true nature of the recording whereas the previously unwashed state covered up a level of detail, making the treble appear smoother, or rather, smoothed-over. The Degritter firmly debunked that assumption. There is no question that it cleans very deeply but it never produces hard, brittle, dry, or rough treble. And neither does it make records sound analytical or non-romantic.

Conclusion

Rarely has a review sample turned in such a convincing performance. The Degritter not only cleans records very deeply, but it also makes them sound leaps and bounds better. Invariably, it unveils newfound robustness, incisiveness, expression, dynamics, soundstage layering, resolution, refinement, fluidity, and more. Moreover, it doesn’t only do this for old or dirty records, it does exactly the same for new or lightly used records!

The long and short of it is that the Degritter is a must-have for everyone who values their vinyl collection. Granted, it is not cheap, but it is an investment that pays off with every record that you play. Seriously, the effect is so immense that you won’t want to play unwashed albums ever again!

As it follows, the Degritter is not only Highly Recommended, effective immediately, it is an HFA Favorite!

External Links

Manufacturer: Degritter

Available from: A Tube High Fidelity

Argonweg 23
1362 AA Almere

info@atube-highfidelity.nl
phone +31 (0)36 – 3333041
mobile +31 (0)6 – 22393789

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