Kirmuss Vinyl Record Restoration w/ Upscale Audio's Kevin Deal and Kirmuss Audio's Charles Kirmuss 

I have been using the Kirmuss machine for about 4 years. I started studying record care before the Kirmuss machine was known about or brought to market. I studied everything I could get my hands on about record care and cleaning and got into the possibility of "restoration". I then went deep for two years looking at chemicals, their reaction with PVC, methods of cleaning, spoke with undergrads studying different aspects and even running my own experiments as I could, etc. I eventually landed on a vacuum RCM (VPI) and AIVS chemicals (which I know backwards and forwards of the ingredients and what they do and do not do, which is why I use them exclusively) as my way, mostly because I could not afford a "cavitation" machine and in my research the ones available were the wrong transducer frequency, wrong array, terrible transport systems, used fans or air drying and not conducive to record cleaning let alone restoration. (In fact some made things worse)! I learned what the correct configuration for such a machine would be and waited for somebody to come out with one. A few years later, Kirmuss Audio produced just such a machine, the right transducer frequency, the right array, the right transport, all of it! I contacted Mr. Kirmuss to congratulate him on that and ended up in lengthy conversations talking about it all. At first, I was skeptical in calling the machine and subsequent process "restoration", but then I looked into what it takes and the process to restore paintings and photographs and it is almost the exact same sans the ultrasonic! So now it makes sense and on top of that the evidence that restoration is happening is irrefutable. I still use the VPI for initial "cleaning" as that is "cleaning" NOT "restoration". Technically, it is the first step in the restoration process though. Doing that helps care for the ultrasonic machine and I don't have to change the water after every record as the surface contaminates have been removed without any residue left and therefore it is easier to then get at the deeper more embedded contaminates straight away that the chemicals and all the vacuuming in the world just can't do. The Kirmuss machine not only does further cleaning, but "restores" records through the process. (I don't mind vacuuming the record dry when cleaning with the VPI because I know what I am doing, but that is on the cleaning side, using the Kirmuss machine only requires lint free microfiber hand drying. Any other method is a step in the opposite direction and wasteful). I see many (especially audiophiles) that do not like the Kirmuss machine and the method required simply because "it's too much work" and they prefer spending two to three times the cost at least to get a fully automated "so-called cavitation" machine that is really just a bubbler or of the wrong frequency, or water, chemical unknown and scrubber, etc. thinking that it is the same but more convenient. Sorry, not the same at all! Restoring anything requires time and correct methods, it can't be done in five minutes. It is like cooking good food, it takes a certain amount of time to prepare a good meal, a 4 minute microwave dinner is not the same thing and tastes completely different. A good meal or dish can be savored and enjoyed, a microwave dinner can not! Some records may only require two 5 minute cycles or a little less, while others may require 4 cycles or 6 cycles, etc. I say after 6 or 7 cycles, if no improvement or what have you, then that record is not restorable and time to give up and move on and get a different copy or something. Not only does restoration help your stylus last longer and all, but the big immediate thing is the difference in how your records sound. I'm into original pressings and the like. Much of the music I enjoy has not been reissued anyway and what has been is of provenance unknown. With what I have gained as I started using the Kirmuss system (with some very subtle modifications in methodology of my own to ensure protocols with my education in it - full-time study for two years just in the restoration part) is nothing short of astounding. I have brought records I thought had no chance at all back to life and not barely, but fully playable with at least 3 times gain and little to near no extra noise. I monitor grade the records I work on using studio monitor flat headphones as I go through the process. I have turned records with a sonic grade of G into VG++! (That is the colloquial "holy grail" or goal to achieve for used records. I have had higher grades of M- to M on occasion after restoration, which is pure gravy). I have had total fails as well, but that is very infrequent. Out of 800 records I have had about 5 or 6 total fails that just would not get above a sonic grade of G+ (which is fairly unlistenable) It happens, perhaps too many of the wrong things were used by the previous owner, or the record was played with an improperly set up table or whatever. Can't help that, but otherwise it is pure pleasure. For me, it is not about monetary value of records, you can't nail that down at all, it is all over the place. I don't sell records, I purchase them to have in my library and play them to enjoy. Restoring them and the Kirmuss machine has made that a reality. A real game changer. So I am a proud owner of one of the first anniversary machines and still going strong. While I like the Upscale 5th anniversary version, I can really only track two records at a time in the process, so the original transport is good for me even though I have no 10 inch records and maybe only six 7 inch. The other thing I notice in the comments here and elsewhere is that people are calling the chemical used a cleaning agent or surfactant. It is neither. The cleaning agent is the water and transducers, etc. of the machine. The spray (propyl 2 very basically) merely changes the charge of the record to attract the cavitation (bubbles) to do the work. "Surfactants" change the surface tension, which is not the same thing. Some also complain about the cost of the agent. Sure, it is a bit pricy, but what isn't now? Everything has gone up. However, when you factor in what it does and the role it plays in the process and that one can do a number of records with one bottle and finally, the results..it is worth saving a few extra pennies to get more when you run out. It is also not a sin to take a break for a month or something once in a while. The most important rule is to have time to listen and enjoy the music!! I don't know anyone who wants to spend years strictly restoring or cleaning records.

Excellent video Kevin Thank you It was great to meet you and KAT at AXPONA 2023

Bought one of these from Upscale a few years ago and this machine is everything it's advertised as. Does an amazing job and truly makes an audible difference in playback. So grateful Kevin arranged the Upscale Audio version with 3 12" slots... So much better than the basic Kirmuss edition. Love Upscale Audio and all they do and their service is top notch!

I bought mine from upscale audio. Results are spectacular. Thank you for this product and all the information that helped me make the purchase

Great video! With endorsements by both Kevin and Fremer this is a no brainer. I have a couple of Pink Floyd first pressings that need some restoration. Bitchin!

I bought one from Upscale Audio and the surfactant on the big bottle was not working, I emailed Mr Kirmuss and problem solved he will call you directly who does that anymore ? Mr Kirmus does. It is a learning process but he is there to guide you , once you get the hang of it your records will sound better and stylus will last longer .. Thanks to the Upscale Team.

Good video

The price is certainly right. If Kevin and Fremer recommend it, why not?

Kirmuss is the man!

Degritter mk2 is the best way so far. Levels up than Kirmusssssssss. This is the absolute truth.

Great guys, something else to save for ;(

Kirmus used to say that the spray was an anti fungal, now it changes the charge?

Why is Kirmuss grabbing onto the record surface with his hands?

Where’s Dan Aykroyd when you need him? Good educational segment guys!

Excellent video and comments. All quite informative. A few questions have been answered for me so far. As I'm still at the research stage of buying an ultrasonic, the Kirmis has now topped my list. I be accurate, it's the only one on my list. In my current manual cleaning process process I use Audio Intelligent products exclusively. They now make a solution for ultrasonic machines. I wonder if it will work in the Kirmis. Thanks for reading.

How expensive is a replacement bottle of the cleaning solution?

Is it acceptable to use reverse osmosis water in the Kirmuss instead of distilled water?

Fuuuuuuuunnnnnnnneeeeeee guys. Love the science and evidence to support your claims Charles. I'm sold but a little out of my budget just at the moment. BTW, have you and Kevin been on a date yet.....LOL!

Colonoscopy? I think I'll skip dinner. Also, I do love your people are non-commissioned. At one time I used to train sales people and I would always push to take away commission. It leads to concentrating on the wrong thing. One off sales it might work but not repeat business.

Thank you for answering all of our questions. Do you have a source for the manufacturers that confirm the presence of a release agent? Also, where does the junk go after it comes off? Does it stay in the water and contaminate the next record that goes in for cleaning/ restoration? @kirmussaudio7578

Can you just use it as an ultrasonic cleaner without going through the restoration?

13:00 lol

Very convincing, but I still haven’t been able to find a clear answer as to how and why this puts dimples in thin aluminum foil but does zero damage to the record. Can Kirmuss explain this?

Kevin. You're crazy lol😂

Proof is in the puudding: 1. Restoration of a Frank Sinatra Record. Mexico City Nov 2023 KirmussAudio event. Before restoration: Lots of noise. Crackles abound. Sound Muddled. The record was processed before in a 120 KHz ultrasonic. Processed 5 times. Before in a vacuum based cleaning system, so I was told. Video Before Kirmuss Processing: ru-vid.com/show-UCq6s2TT2s7SgZu_7F1D37SQ Video After Kirmuss Restoration: Increase in signal and frequency response, pops gone. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_RZ50MIPtVA.html 2. From our record restoration event in Mexico City in front of Billboard Magazine and with an invitation only meeting of Discos two weeks ago held at the Margules factory, very nice of him, a record that was brought in that was processed prior with a vacuum cleaning system saw these results: Before Kirmuss; ru-vid.com-L2gIqQ3nok After Kirmuss: ru-vid.com_6_fhGWMBjM

I am interested, but the fact that a 10oz bottle of replacement cleaning spray is $95 is a bit of a turnoff for me. Isn’t it 99% distilled water with ethylene glycol? The actual ultrasonic looks like a pretty nice machine and would be an upgrade to my Vevor ultrasonic.

Due to your sex jokes, I wasn't able to understand how the higher frequency / smaller bubbles are worse than lower frequency. And I guess I didn't get the colonoscopy metaphor. To be honest, this whole explanation sounded based in the beginning, but then it transitioned to salesmen jibberish. Not i high-end audio snob, just someone who paid attention in physics class and finds this interesting. Also, of course, want to clean my records somehow.

The problem with this type of record restoration machine is it's too expensive, most audiophiles & recorded collectors can't afford to buy one, you need to build one for around £600, then you would sell hundreds of thousands of them instead of it just being a niche for the rich, great video though👍

Great. Please tell Mr. Kirmuss that the word "timbre" is pronounced like "tamber".

Adding Michel Fremer using obsolete research from forty -fifty years ago is hardly convincing , given he also has endorsed an expensive machine that is supposed to demagnetize vinyl records, which of course , can not possibly be magnetic. Mold release residue on a record is proven by more recent investigation as nonsense. ( You will notice that Fremer likes to play along , but always covers his ass by saying he is not an expert. Of course, that is exactly why he is being referenced here.) besides, if what is promoted here is true and you actually did remove something intrinsic to the vinyl material, what will then fill the area where this material was removed, since it must have been pressed by the stamper and so has now become part of the musical information. . A simple examination of how the needle travels through the groove will illustrate the mis-statements used in this sales pitch. When playing a record, the rotational energy is being translated into heat because of friction created by the concentrated weight, on the order of tons, on the diamond's minuscule contact area as it passes through the groove. The molecular lattice bonds of the vinyl are actually deformed by the heat, flow around the diamond , and then reform instantaneously back to the original molecular structure as soon as the frictional heat passes, because the event happens so quickly, the brief event does not change the molded molecular structure, that was set by a longer heat deformation when the record was made. So the statement that the heat from manufacturing creates an undesirable separation of material that "coats" the record, and needs to be removed, would be also continuously happening with each play of the record. But the manufacturing is not breaking the molecular bonds in the vinyl material with heat so high that they separate, just heating the bonds enough to be molded. Vinyl has a molecular structure that will want to retain a shape, unlike , for instance , iron , where if it is bent, tends to stay bent. I don't argue that this is not a good functional product. I just don't like the fast talking way it is pitched. it is an ultrasonic cleaner, and clean do records sound better , but it is impossible for an ultrasonic cavitation to add sonic performance in any way other than cleaning. It is restoring a clean surface from a dirty one, it doesn't change anything about the vinyl. That would be an undesirable uncontrolled event inside this machine. Anytime a salesperson starts telling you about the faults of another's product, instead of the benefits of the product being sold, watch out. Because the product being pitched is no longer being sold on merit, but on fear, since logically, nobody wants an inferior product . But the topic has been switched away from what the sellers product will do for you, into a completely different conversation. A consumer should always ask why the conversation has changed. Selling on fear is often used for deception, but I don't see that here. It's just not a reputable sales technique. And while I am at it, what the deal with the leather hat indoors? I prefer a simple, factual presentation of a products features and benefits to me , so I can form an intelligent buying decision. If a seller thinks the presentation needs hype, I enjoy that kind of stuff at the county fair. But to present phantom features without actual benefits, I think it actually tends to discredit what might be , from customer reports, a worthwhile product. But everybody has their own style, and leather hat guy runs this show.

Come on, Kevin; "what records do and digital doesn't"!?? What does digital media not have? CD has no image? I have nothing against analog media, if you like it, let it go, but this is a pure lie. Personally, I'd rather have chronic hemorrhoids and daily bouts of kidney stones than deal with vinyl. I have a need to own physical media not because I think streaming is bad, but because I don't want to depend on streaming. The Internet is here today and tomorrow, given the geopolitical moment we live in, a bomb drops and there is no more Internet or music. That's why I collect CDs and DSD files. It is quite clear to me that there is a small difference in sound, neither better nor worse, but I will happily trade that 0.5% difference in sound for the convenience of a CD. Collect whatever you want, I intend to enter the real to raal world in the future (if I already have some need for analog, then I will do it properly) but there is no need to present incorrect information because of your own preferences.