At Expressive Audio we understand and want to emphasise the importance of good record care, not just to promote the longevity of your vinyl collection, but also to protect your stylus from microscopic debris and allow you to listen to the record exactly as the artist intended. Given that the record itself is the very first step in any analogue system, it would be a shame for that to be hampering the performance of the rest of your kit, especially when it is so easily avoidable.
Enter the Okki Nokki One record cleaning machine. This is the newest iteration of Okki Nokki’s popular line of RCMs, designed as a stand alone unit dedicated to cleaning your records. The technology is remarkably simple - it is essentially a vacuum cleaner with an anti-static velvet brush to remove dirt, dust and grime from the grooves of your record.
The process of cleaning is also easy. Simply place the record on the machine and clamp it down with the supplied screw clamp - this also doubles as a label protector - drop some of the supplied cleaning fluid on the record and wipe with the supplied anti-static goat hair brush, and then turn the machine on. The platter turns like a regular turntable, and the vacuum arm cleans all residue from the record leaving it as good as the day it was pressed. We strongly recommend storing each record in an anti-static record sleeve after cleaning to ensure the record stays in optimum listening condition for as long as possible.
Cleaning your records after every two to three plays can have a dramatic impact on your listening experience, generating more space between the instruments, and increasing the overall size of the soundstage. By vacuuming out even the smallest particles of dust and other residue from the grooves, the stylus is then able to reach previously unheard detail in the recording.
Having compared multiple records before and after cleaning, we were struck by the improvement it made to the sound as a whole, and we were hearing elements of recordings that we had never heard before, even on records we thought we knew inside out.
Due to its ease of use, affordable price and the difference it will make to your listening experience, we think the Okki Nokki One is a must have for any vinyl enthusiast.
Check out our video below to see the Okki Nokki One RCM in action!
