Interview with Charles Kirmuss of KirmussAudio at Axpona 2025 - Ultrasonic Record Restoration
My Interview with Charles Kirmuss of KirmussAudio – The Ultrasonic Record Cleaning (nope) Record Restoration Expert
Zaccardi’s has been a KirmussAudio dealer for a couple of years now and we have been extremely pleased with the performance of the KA-RC-1 Ultrasonic Vinyl Record Restoration System. At Axpona this year, I had the opportunity to record an interview with Charles Kirmuss. We covered topics from cleaning records on a budget to the science behind record restoration. While there are other ultrasonic record cleaners on the market, the Kirmuss system is different. Charles has developed a system that restores records.
The Science of Record Restoration
During the interview, Charles addresses topics including how the charge on records and water makes it difficult for the water to get into the grooves (the reason for the Combination Ionising, Anti-Bacterial, Anti-Static, Surfactant), pressing oils, the danger of harsh chemicals to clean records, and much more. What I love about Charles is his pursuit of science and determination to uncover the real challenges of record cleaning coupled with real solutions. He has a plethora of props to help him explain the science behind record manufacturing, cleaning and restoration, and more importantly, has test results to prove the benefits. I had a conversation with Charles the other day and he shared some exciting test results from another large customer who archives records. The customer did his own detailed testing and was thrilled with the measurements he recorded. More on that to follow – maybe a second interview?
Records that Benefit from Restoration
While many think of using record cleaners on used records, it may not be obvious that brand new records also benefit from the restoration process. Charles explains how contaminants combined with the pressing oils (released from the pressing process) can be imbedded in the record. The restoration process helps remove these pressing oils from the manufacturing process to both reduce the risk of imbedding contaminants in the groove, but also enabling the needle to make better contact with the groove.
Skeptics and Believers
We also put to rest some common concerns we hear from customers who have not yet tried the Kirmuss system and discuss the positive testimonials we hear from customers who have. We even had an unwitting customer who did not realize we were taping, come up in the middle of the interview to give a testimonial as he was so happy with the results he experienced. You can’t make that up, and while we were both a little panicked that he interrupted the recording, his impromptu testimonial ended up being a valuable addition.
Options for Every Budget
I understand the KirmussAudio restoration system may not be in everyone’s budget. Luckily, we discussed some budget record cleaning options with some of the Kirmuss accessories including the KA-B Combination "2-in-1" 1 Million Carbon Fiber Brush with Parastatic Felt Brush and the KA-MF-2 Microfiber Opticians Cloth to dry records. The ionizing surfactant is only for use with the Kirmuss machine, but distilled water is always a good cleaning option as well. Without the full restoration process only a surface cleaning will be obtained, but that is still much better than no cleaning at all.
