‘Small enough to be tempting’: I need this award-winning turntable company’s new mini automatic vinyl-cleaning machine more than I’ll admit

• Pro-Ject unveils the VC-E Mini
• It's a vacuum-based automatic vinyl record cleaner
• Designed to use few moving parts

My record collection isn't mine, but an inheritance I try to take good care of. Or I thought I took great care of, but Pro-Ject's new release has me thinking I could be doing a better at keeping them pristine.

The company behind the five-star Pro-Ject Debut Carbon and numerous more of the best turntables, has unveiled its latest vinyl cleaning device.

This is the Pro-Ject VC-E Mini, which is going on sale in April. It's set to cost £249 (about $350, AU$500), so it's not cheap — but it's more affordable than the existing VC-E2 and VC-E3.

Since dirt on a vinyl can really hurt its sound quality, machines like this make sense, but to me the VC-E Mini solves a few problems that make this kind of machine out-of-reach for most people.

A smaller cleaning machine

The Pro-Ject VC-E Mini is, as the name suggests, a more compact record cleaner, and it's designed to minimize moving parts (and cupboard space too).

It saves space by not having a suction arm to clean the vinyl. Instead it uses a brushless vacuum motor to help cleaning fluid trickle across the vinyl and off the machine.

The box also includes a cleaning brush, magnetic clamp, adhesive arm strip and said cleaning fluid, so the cleaning process sounds pretty hands-on.

This fluid is Pro-Ject's Wash it 2, which is already readily available to buy since other VC-E models use it. It doesn't use alcohol, and instead is made from "demineralised water and cleaning concentrate".

As someone who's always just cleaned their records with a microfiber cloth, I've always been put off by the size and price of bespoke upkeep machines like this.

While the VC-E doesn't fully solve the latter problem, I'll concede that it's small enough to be tempting as someone who really does want to preserve these items. Maybe I need it more than I thought…

The best turntables for all budgets

➡️ Read our full guide to the best turntables
1. Best overall:
Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Evo
2. Best cheap beginner deck:
House of Marley Revolution
3. Best budget Bluetooth deck:
Audio-Technica AT-LP70XBT
4. Best premium Bluetooth deck:
Cambridge Audio Alva TT V2

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