Degritter • Mk II Record-Cleaning Machine

by Marc Mickelson | October 6, 2025

Over the decades that I've been playing records, my view of record cleaning has evolved -- from being a task that is a necessary evil to one that is necessary, period. And it has changed in direct proportion to the kind of records I have bought and also to the effectiveness of the cleaners I've used. Back in the 1970s, when I was a teenage wanna-be audiophile, I bought only new records, and I used the ubiquitous Discwasher to dust them off before play. (I honestly wondered even then if I was moving more dust around with the Discwasher than actually removing it.) Later, when I started treating some of my records with LAST record preservative, I began using that company's brushes and cleaner, and they definitely did make a difference in reducing surface noise.

Years after that, I graduated to vacuum-type cleaners from VPI and Loricraft and used them for more than a decade. By that time, I was buying mostly used records, and some of them were so dirty that only a cleaner that could remove the grime, and not just rearrange it, would suffice. Later still, I added an ultrasonic cleaner to my collection, with the intent of augmenting the vacuum cleaners. Pretty quickly, that ultrasonic unit, the Audio Desk Systeme Vinyl Cleaner, replaced the vacuum cleaners as my go-to method, both because it was the easiest to use -- it's fully automated -- and the most effective. I still used a vacuum cleaner on some records, but always in conjunction with the ultrasonic cleaner, never as a replacement for it.

If you are doing the mental math, you will have noticed that my cleaning regimen has risen in cost while the actual cost of the records being cleaned has been reduced. For much of the 2000s, I routinely bought used records for less than a dollar each and cleaned them on a machine that cost thousands of dollars. All of this experience has led me to a simple conclusion: record cleaning is vitally important to record playing, whether you buy used or new records. In fact, I will go one step further: your budget for analog playback should include as big a chunk of money for a record cleaner as it does for any part of the vinyl playback chain. A record cleaner can enhance the experience of playing records in ways that no amount of money spent on a turntable, tonearm, cartridge or phono stage can, and for that reason you shouldn't skimp on it. In fact, you should adjust your budget for everything else in order to fit in a very good record cleaner.

This preamble is a way to explain my feelings about the Degritter Mk II vinyl cleaner. If you are allocating, say, $10,000 for your analog-playback rig, the Mk II would take up roughly a third of that, and it's worth every penny. In several ways, it is the most thought-out record cleaner I've used, and it is certainly among the most effective as well -- perhaps even the most effective, in ways that I will explain.

The original Degritter, which we reviewed in 2020, and the Mk II are fully automated units that clean records with cavitation -- the production of millions of microscopic bubbles that burst, causing pressure waves that loosen and remove all manner of foreign matter from the record, which slowly rotates while cleaning occurs. Distilled water mixed with a small amount of optional cleaning fluid is the medium, a pump filling the tank prior to the ultrasonic generators beginning their work, and then emptying it after cleaning commences. The pump also circulates the water-and-cleaning-fluid mixture in order to filter out contaminants. The final step is the drying of each record, which banks of fans accomplish.

As its name implies, the Degritter Mk II is the second generation of the cleaning machine and includes a number of enhancements that make its use easier and its cleaning even more effective. These include Degritter's Power Drive 2.0 ultrasonic generator, whose transducers -- two on each side of the record -- switch on and off in rapid succession, enhancing the cavitation and lowering power consumption. The new generator also provides a sweep of frequencies between 120 and 125kHz, which Degritter claims "evens the cavitation energy distribution in the water, minimizing losses and giving an uniform cleaning action." All of this indicates to me something that seems like common sense: diversity of the generator's output leads to better cleaning, sort of like swishing the water when you're washing dishes. The generators' 300-watt output is also important, as there's no replacement for raw power. As for the operating frequency, Degritter believes 120-125kHz is ideal because of the very tiny bubbles created, which improves cleaning in the record's groove.

Preparing the Degritter Mk II for use begins with filling its reservoir with distilled water, ensuring to reach the proper level marked on the removable tank, adding 1-2ml of Degritter's cleaning fluid, and then running the cleaner's degassing feature, which removes as much air from the fluid as possible, so the very, very small bubbles generated aren't impeded from reaching the record surface. After this, you insert a record, choose the cleaning and drying times, then push the rightmost of the Mk II's two knobs to begin. The machine with go through its full routine, during which you will see the record slowly spin clockwise, then back up, and spin clockwise again, repeating the sequence until the record has made the number of revolutions you specify. You will understand the method when you see the Degritter Mk II at work. You might rotate the record by hand in the same way, just to ensure it is thoroughly cleaned. The record rotates via rollers that engage the outer edge; the Degritter Mk II is gentle to each record, which is not clamped or grabbed. After the cleaning cycle is done, the tank empties and the drying begins.

The Mk II's software-controlled user interface is both elegant and robust. It governs every operation and even lets you know when it's time to add fluid, check the filter, or clean the machine. You can specify the length of the drying cycle, just as you can the cleaning cycle, as well as the speed of the fans. You accomplish all of this, and other settings, via the pair of knobs on the cleaner's front, in conjunction with the unit's 2 1/2" round LED display. In its entirety the Degritter Mk II can take as little as 8:15 or as much as 12:45 to clean and dry a record. There is also the option of inserting a second tank of only distilled water for rinsing, which adds to the cleaning time. After it has finished, the Degritter Mk II tells you so with a series of beeps. The Mk II does make some noise, especially when drying a record, but it's no greater than that of the Audio Desk Systeme or the various VPI cleaners I've used.

Once a cleaning cycle has finished, the machine may or may not be immediately ready to clean again. This depends on the fluid's temperature -- the heat the 300-watt generators creates has to go somewhere, and it's into the water itself. If the Degritter Mk II determines the temperature of the fluid is too high, it runs the fans to cool it until it has reached the correct temperature for cleaning another record. The Mk II's software also keeps track of the machine's cleaning cycles, so you can find out how many records you've cleaned at any time. By default, the Mk II cleans 12" records, but you can also clean 10" and 7" records with the optional adapters that make up the difference in size, turning a smaller record into a larger one the machine can accommodate.

There are some important maintenance functions you have to do to the Degritter Mk II: changing the fluid, checking and changing the filter, and cleaning the insides. Changing the fluid is easy, as all you have to do is remove the tank, dump the contents down the drain, rinse it, and refill it. You check and change the filter via a small round inlet on the right side of the machine; the Mk II will remind you when it's time to do so, and you don't need to empty the tank. Cleaning the Degritter Mk II is more involved, but even it is not onerous. All of these tasks help ensure not only effective cleaning but also proper functioning.

In terms of service, which is no small consideration for any appliance as automated as the Degritter MK II, there are US-based repair shops, but for certain issues, like replacement of the entire internal cleaning tank, the machine has to go back to Estonia, where Degritter is based. Degritter covers all expenses, including back-and-forth shipping, for any Mk II that is under warranty. "The turnaround period is usually 2-3 weeks," they told me. For out-of-warranty repairs, Degritter will sell parts to users and provide help in repairing their units. "We can share instructions with them and sell the necessary parts like the LCD display, the hydraulic system, the pump-IN and pump-OUT, the motherboard and the generator."

The Degritter Mk II is available in two finishes -- silver and black -- and comes with an attractive, detailed, well-written user manual that explains the unit's full operations, including many features I haven't mentioned. The Mk II is the complete opposite of the many DIY/homebrew ultrasonic record cleaners available; it's a from-the-ground up effort, designed and manufactured with obvious attention to detail by a company that clearly cares about what it produces. If only all audiophile products could be this way.

As I've mentioned, I have many records in my collection that were once part of other listeners' collections, each bought for peanuts -- 10 cents to a couple of dollars -- at garage sales and thrift stores. I'm a fortunate record scrounger, because I live in a town with a number of independent thrift stores that are not part of organizations like Goodwill or St. Vincent de Paul, which also exist here. Nothing against those stores, but I have never seen at one of them the number and quality of the records that I have at my local independents, and their prices have risen steeply -- reaching the point where they can be pretty much as high as a record store's. Prices at the independent stores have remained at a dollar or less.

Over the course of the past two decades, and especially in the early 2010s, I accumulated boxes full of records, at least a thousand of which still need to clean -- perfect for the evaluation of a record cleaner. I ran dozens of those dirty records through the Degritter Mk II, with sterling results. At first, it's fascinating to watch the Degritter Mk II go about its cleaning routine -- the filling of the tank, the intricacies of the record's movement, the slow and deliberate drying, the time counting down on the LED display -- but after a while the novelty wears off, because the process and results are the same each and every time. I settled on using the longest cleaning and drying times, reasoning that if the Degritter Mk II were going to run anyway, I might as well have it do its best work, spending nearly thirteen minutes on each record. Occasionally I reduced the cleaning cycle when I was anxious to play a certain record, but even the longest cleaning-and-drying sequence went by pretty quickly, allowing more than enough time to make some tea or answer a few e-mails while the Mk II patiently went about its work. It also led to the best results, including a completely dry record every time.

I'm not someone who hears greater midrange fullness or improved microdynamics -- sonic qualities -- after a record has gone through a particular record cleaner. Bob Dylan has never sounded more nasally, nor has John Coltrane's sax displayed greater dynamic shading after their records were cleaned. What I have heard is important enough: a lowering of all manner of noise, especially the kind we associate with dirty records: pops, clicks, and static-like groove distortion that can obscure fine musical detail. In this respect, the Degritter Mk II succeeded; I always, always heard significantly less noise after cleaning a record from my stockpile, even new ones that looked perfect otherwise. And this is all I expected to hear: more of the music on each record without the burden of listening through a veil of noise. There's no gray area when it comes to using a record cleaner: it either does its stated job or it doesn't. The proof is in the listening, and I was impressed with every Degritter Mk II-cleaned record. The surfaces looked about as pristine as possible, and the record played with an absolute minimum of distracting noise.

As mentioned, I have a few different record cleaners (probably too many, in fact), but the one I've used most often is the Audio Desk Systeme Vinyl Cleaner, now in its Pro X version, which costs $4699. I first wrote about the Audio Desk Systeme Vinyl Cleaner back in 2014, and I've been using one of these machines ever since. I'm actually on my fourth unit, because the previous ones all stopped working at some point. I'm not complaining here; I'm grateful for US distributor Ultra Systems' "retip" program, which lets you trade in your nonworking Vinyl Cleaner for a hefty credit toward a brand-new machine. I also own two of the best soak-and-vacuum cleaners -- the VPI Typhoon and Loricraft PRC4 Deluxe. However, since I began using the Audio Desk Systeme cleaner, these others have pretty much gathered dust, except for the semi-regular tests to ensure that they are still working (they are, and I've owned both for longer than the Audio Desk Systeme cleaner).

I have a great deal of experience with the Audio Desk Systeme Vinyl Cleaner, so I know how easy to use and effective it is. It's natural, therefore, to compare it and the Degritter Mk II. However, head-to-head comparisons between record cleaners are nearly impossible to do and discern any clear outcome. No one has two identical records that are also identically dirty, and cleaning any two records, one with each machine, and comparing the sonic results leads to faulty conclusions. So I did something different: I recleaned records with the Degritter Mk II that were previously cleaned with the Vinyl Cleaner, the VPI Typhoon or Loricraft PRC4 Deluxe. I cannot say that the Degritter Mk II made for obviously quieter surfaces; I did do some before-and-after listening, but it was inconclusive, probably because each record had already been cleaned and I didn't have the patience to log each incidence of noise. While each record sounded very good, I just couldn't confidently say a record recleaned in the Degritter Mk II sounded noticeably quieter than it did beforehand.

But I did notice a couple of things that ultimately did tell me more about the Degritter Mk II's effectiveness. First, records recleaned with the Degritter Mk II almost always looked shinier than they did before, the exception being when they were so dull that their shine was essentially gone. Records recleaned with the Degritter Mk II simply looked closer to new -- or identical to new, if the record was taken care of in the first place. Second, I changed the Degritter Mk II's fluid and filter, recleaned 40 records, and then checked the filter. I didn't expect to see anything -- all records were previously cleaned, after all -- but I did: the white filter was nearly black. Even if I couldn't definitively hear that the Degritter Mk II made all of these records sound cleaner, it certainly seemed to be making them look -- and actually be -- cleaner.

One final revealing bit: I have three old Pete Seeger records on the Smithsonian Folkways label that I picked up somewhere, one of which had what looked like small whitish dots on both sides -- not more than a couple dozen, but enough to be easily seen. These looked like droplets of paint but were possibly bits of paper from their sleeves. I couldn't chip them off with my thumbnail, and even soaking the records in distilled water and alcohol didn't loosen the spots so they could be removed. So I decided to clean the record with both the Audio Desk System Pro X and Degritter Mk II to see if either of them could do the trick. Even on its longest cycle, the Pro X didn't remove or loosen any of the dots on either side of the record. I expected the same from the Degritter Mk II, but I was surprised that when I inspected the record after cleaning and drying, about three quarters of the dots were gone, and the rest could be lightly rubbed off the surface. I then ran the record through the Degritter Mk II a second time, and it looked and sounded great.

Make of all this what you will. I love the Audio Desk Systeme unit, especially for its full automation and counter-rotating microfiber barrels, which make quick work of fingerprints and most other visible stains. But the Degritter Mk II seemed to remove what the Audio Desk System Pro X didn't -- and in one case did, in fact, remove visible debris that was left behind. I now think of the Degritter Mk II as essential and have been slowly recleaning my records with it.

The enduring success of the vinyl record is heartening for someone like me, who began buying records in the 1970s, sold most of them at the dawn of the digital era, and has been rebuying ever since. There are nearly as many record stores today as there were when I was a teenager, and I still love spending time in them -- the smells, the people I meet, even the décor all take me back to a time when vinyl was pretty much the only medium for sonically superior recorded music. Record pressing plants all over the world are slammed with projects in the works, yet another sign that the "vinyl renaissance," as it has been called, won't be ending anytime soon.

A further sign of vinyl's continuing popularity is the sheer number of record cleaners fighting for market share, and among them the Degritter Mk II stands out. It's a highly refined consumer-grade ultrasonic cleaner that's also incredibly effective. Using it spoils you for every other record cleaner, because it gives complete control of the entire cleaning process while also remaining fully automated. It will open up your collection to records that others pass by, because you can get them as clean as is physically possible. My collection is full of these, and the Degritter Mk II has worked its magic even when a record has already been cleaned by a different method. All of this puts Degritter Mk II in the select group of record cleaners that are the best available, and makes a strong case for it being the best.

Price: $3600.
Warranty: Two years parts and labor.

Degritter
Betooni 9, Tartu
Estonia 50411
+372 5884 8839
www.degritter.com

Associated Equipment

Equipment rack and platforms: Silent Running Audio Craz² 8 equipment rack and Ohio Class XL Plus² platforms (under Lamm M1.2 amps).

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