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Our Philosophy
Osage Audio Products, LLC is committed to offering the music reproduction enthusiast, whether audiophile, record collector, or casual listener, the best value in audio accessories and fine furniture products.
More importantly, our goal is to provide unparalleled attention to customer service. This means we are always striving to improve our product offerings and we are always available to address your concerns and specific needs. We welcome your questions and comments and assure you that they will be handled in a genuinely prompt and professional manner.
All of our products are thoughtfully designed and thoroughly tested to ensure that the highest levels of quality and performance are attained. Our guarantees and warranties are unmatched in the industry.
Please direct questions or comments to info@audiointelligent.com, or call us at 573-696-3551. Your satisfaction is guaranteed.
Records are dirty. They come from the pressing plant dirty. When they are handled and played they get even dirtier. Your stylus does not discriminate. It tracks through the contaminants on the record as it tracks through the grooves on the record and transmits a signal accordingly. On a dirty record, what you hear along with the music is ‘pops’ and ‘clicks’, an elevated noise floor, “veiled” sound, an unfocused soundstage, and sound that is generally much less than lifelike.
Playing a dirty record can cause permanent damage to the record, cause a ball of goop to collect on the stylus, and even cause wear and damage to the stylus. The only way to eliminate the conditions and potential hazards is to clean your record.
How should records be cleaned for the best results? By using laboratory testing and professional interpretation of our findings, along with a little common sense, we’ve learned a lot about cleaning records. In fact, we think that we’ve broken some new ground on the subject. In designing and formulating the Audio Intelligent Vinyl Solutions line of products, we’ve built on what has been learned over the past 40 years about cleaning records and what our laboratory testing has proven to us. The result is a line of record cleaning products that in unmatched in regard to effectiveness and scientific know-how.
By winning The Stereo Times Most Wanted Component Award for 2005, Audio Intelligent Vinyl Solutions made an initial impact on record cleaning. The work, however, didn’t end there. Several improvements to the formulations were made in 2006 and 2007 which increased the effectiveness of the product line. Two new products were also added, including an alcohol-free step 2, Premium Archivist Formula, and a one-step product, Premium One-Step Formula No. 6.
Our basic philosophy in the development of the products is clear and is grounded in good common sense: A record is either clean or it’s not. With that as our goal, we have developed formulas that can get records clean. By that we mean the there is no ball of goop on your stylus after you play a record, no added distortion of the playback signal, and virtually no ‘pops’ and ‘clicks’ during playback.
We didn’t stop there. Listening tests are one thing, but for us to be absolutely sure that we had products that got the record clean we relied on microscopic examination to see if it was truly clean. And clean to us means free of contaminants and free of any residue from the cleaning formula itself. Along the way to proving that we did have a superior product line we also learned how to employ proper methodology to ensure that the formulas performed to their potential. Much of what we learned about methodology can be found on our Directions for Use page.
Here are some other facts that we’ve learned and that are important to anyone who wants clean records:
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Records are hard to clean, but once they are clean they are much easier to maintain in that condition.
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Records need to be cleaned regularly to maintain optimum playback conditions.
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Although records can be cleaned successfully by hand, machine cleaning is much more thorough, efficient, and effective.
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The brush used to clean a record is not of high importance as long as a natural bristle brush, or a brush with sharp or non-blunted bristles is not use. The brush should only be used to spread the fluid over the record and to agitate the fluid and gently sweep the record. Hard scrubbing makes the record harder to get clean and can permanent damage to the record. This rule applies to any cleaning method, any brush, and any record cleaning fluid.
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By adding lubricants to the record cleaning solution, dissolved contaminants can be trapped on the record during the cleaning process. We don’t use them. Lubricants should only be applied after the record is completely and thoroughly cleaned.
Always remember: lubricants will wear off the record unevenly, affecting the sound reproduction. Due to the effects of gravity, they have the tendency to puddle into the bottoms of the grooves when applied. As evidenced by a ball of goop on the stylus after playing a record, the lubricant is a barrier between the stylus and the record that can affect the sound quality. A lubricated record will also attract contaminants more quickly than one that is not. Lubricants can do much to lower the noise floor of a record and may be a necessity on damaged records, but please be aware of the drawbacks.
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The purity of the components of the record cleaning fluid and of the fluid itselfare highly associated with the effectiveness of the product. We use only laboratory grade components, including the water. None of our products contain any type of detergent and will not leave any of residue or film on the record when used according to instructions.
Audio Intelligent Vinyl Solutions was developed using the approach of gently and thoroughly cleaning the record by using the power of specific enzymatic compounds to loosen and dissolve the contaminants, making them easier to remove from the surface of the record, whether by hand cleaning or record machine vacuum.
This approach is different from the common approach since scrubbing of the record is not necessary nor is it recommended. In fact, hard scrubbing can make the record harder to clean and has the potential to cause permanent damage to the record.
The use of enzymatic compounds was based on the fact that a majority of contaminants commonly found on records are protein based. Nothing breaks down protein residues like enzymatic compounds. The enzymatic compounds used in all Audio Intelligent Vinyl Solutions products are selected for their purity and specific purposes. These enzymatic compounds give you the power to get your records cleaner than they have ever been.
In addition to the enzymatic compounds, we use the purest, non-detergent surfactants available. These surfactants are designed to allow the formulas to flow over the record surface and into the grooves, and also to allow the dissolved contaminants to rise in the fluid level for easier removal. The surfactants that we use in our products will not leave a residue on your records.
The contaminants that are likely to be present on a record are numerous and varied. With this in mind, a multiple step cleaning process was designed to loosen and dissolve specific contaminants in each of two steps. This helps improve the effectiveness of the cleaning process by limiting the contaminant population in the record cleaning fluid level in a given step. The Enzymatic Formula is designed as a first step. It attacks specific proteins present on records and loosens and dissolves them. The second step, either the Super Cleaner Formula or the Premium Archivist Formula, removes another class of contaminants and removes any contaminant residue that may remain on the record after the use of the Enzymatic Formula. Many users like to follow up these two steps with a rinse with Ultra-Pure Water. This can help insure that absolutely no contaminants remain on the record.
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For those wanting convenience, and those who have thoroughly cleaned records, our Premium One-Step Formula No. 6 is a good choice for everyday cleaning, although periodic multi-step cleanings are still recommended. Premium One-Step Formula No. 6 is also effective as a pre-soak on new and resale records before using the multi-step cleaning process. We also recommend the use of Premium One-Step Formula No. 6 as an effective upgrade for users of hand cleaning brushes and other devices designed for use in non-machine cleaning applications.
For records cleaner than you’ve ever seen or heard, give Audio Intelligent Vinyl Solutions a try on your records. Call or write us; we welcome the opportunity to discuss with you the cleaning regimen that would best fit your specific needs.
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