INTRODUCING ARCHIVAL 4.0 — Perfect Vinyl Forever

As of August 2023, Perfect Vinyl Forever has released our Archival 4.0 SMF service. This is a major change to our service offerings comprising major advancements to our results.

INTRODUCTION

At 11:00 PM on September 16th, 2023, a discovery was made that will change how we are affected by music recreated from vinyl records. Beneath the surface of an "as-pressed" vinyl record, there exists a signal in the groove that closely replicates the lathe cut groove of the source lacquer. Perfect Vinyl Forever's Archival 4.0 Sequential Multi-Frequency (SMF) ultrasonic cavitation system revealed the obscured "near-lathe-cut" groove and the sonic realism contained therein.

For six months leading up to September 16th, we at PVF researched, engineered, and fabricated the next advancements for optimizing records using ultrasonic wave induced cavitation (incorrectly shortened to “ultrasonic cleaning”). We now leverage the benefits multiple frequencies of ultrasonic cavitation brings to record sound optimization. This is not new to PVF; we've known and applied these concepts since the 2.x version of our services (3.x focused on cleaning solution and process enhancements). With 2.x, we switched from 80 kHz for cavitation cleaning and rinsing of records to 135 kHz cavitation in our cleaning tank and 220 kHz cavitation in our rinsing tank. The sonics of the record were significantly improved when compared to cleaning and rising with a single frequency.

The Archival 2.x cavitation improvements proved there is no single ideal cavitation frequency for cleaning and sonically optimizing records. Maintaining our commitment to continuous improvement, we sought to take multi-frequency concepts further. During our research and development, we determined that medium, high, and ultra-high cavitation frequencies can coexist in a single tank and the efficacy of each is increased when surfactants (cleaning solutions) are used. Furthermore, the benefits of each frequency is enhanced when they are sequentially applied to the record. These revelations form the basis of our “Sequential Multi-Frequency” (SMF) cavitation technology which is used for the first time with our Archival 4.0 SMF service.

Perfect Vinyl Forever Archival 4.0 SMF uses 80 kHz, 135 kHz, and 220 kHz ultrasonic wave induced cavitation to clean and sonically optimize your records. Each frequency, and the order in which it is used, brings distinct benefits to the outcomes of our service.

Sequential Multi-Frequency

·       80 kHz is used first to remove larger particles at the top of the groove and helps with the reduction of pops and clicks.
·       135 kHz is used next to remove small particles and the manufacturing residue from the middle of the groove.
·       220 kHz is the final frequency, and it removes fine particles and manufacturing residue from the smallest, sub-micron details of the groove.
·       The record rotates through the three cavitation clouds twice to ensure the optimal results are achieved.
·       The record is rinsed in lab-grade, ultra-pure water with 220 kHz ultrasonic cavitation for maximum agitation.

OUTCOMES

The outcomes of our new Archival 4.0 SMF process are simultaneously straightforward and challenging to describe. First time listeners will immediately seek results traditionally associated with “record cleaning” - reduced pops and clicks, lowered groove noise, and cleaner stylus after playing a side of the record. Archival 4.0 SMF will not disappoint.

With the prerequisites of “record cleaning” satisfied, listeners will analyze how isolated sounds have improved. You will notice how much additional detail in the music has been revealed, even within life-long familiar songs. Drums have greater initial impact and newly revealed percussion depth. Cymbals shimmer with new realism and longer decay. Vocals are clarified with greater nuance, texture, and naturalism. Acoustic stringed instruments have much more liveliness and instrument resonance with new revelations of how the musician played the instrument when recording. Dense recordings, whether orchestral ensembles or heavily layered studio recordings, expand with clarity and articulation for all sound sources. The music emerges from nowhere; a very dark black and quiet background with little sonic artifacts to identify the source as a record. This phase is very fun to experience and to share with others.

The most rewarding outcomes of Archival 4.0 SMF process occurs when the analysis phase has been satisfied (and has become your new expectation) and you respond to and interact differently with your music. The ease and naturalness of connecting with the whole of the music, the Gestalt, takes over. When listening becomes less cognitively taxing, your mind is freed to be completely captivated by the performance. Vinyl record artifice is removed, truthfulness revealed, leaving very little to impede your complete immersion into the art of sound. This is an intoxicating state without intoxicants, wondrous experience which leaves you wondering, a transport to the place and time of the performance, while comfortably at home.

Why Archival 4.0 SMF Works

Listening to a lathe cut lacquer is described as “live, completely grainless”. After optimization with PVF’s Archival 4.0 SMF process, your pressed vinyl records will have very similar qualities. This is possible due to the vinyl formulation used for records and the pressing process.

The base PVC polymer (polyvinyl chloride, aka, “vinyl”) is a rigid plastic substance; think of a PVC pipe used for plumbing. The base PVC polymer is not suitable for pressing in a mold (stampers) with details measuring in the hundredths of microns (0.002 micron is the sensitivity of a quality phono cartridge). To make the base PVC polymer suitable for the record pressing process, plasticizers (phthalates) are added, creating a softer PVC compound.

During the pressing process, the “biscuit” of vinyl is pressed, with 120 tons of pressure, between two stampers, each representing a side of music on the album. The stampers are heated to 350 degrees F to help the vinyl flow from a four-inch biscuit to a 12” record while capturing the intricate musical details from the stampers. The stampers are cooled with chilled water then separated from the newly pressed record.

The blended materials of the softened PVC compound will separate when subjected to heat and pressure as it shears the molecular bonds between the base polymer and the additives. With records, that means the plasticizers (phthalates) migrate from the PVC compound at the surface of the biscuit and coat the record as it is removed from the stampers. During production, the plasticizers coating the surface of an as-pressed record are not a problem. The soft material at the surface aids in the separation of the new record from the stamper. However, for the remainder of the life of the record it impedes the realistic presentation of music, veils musical details and decreases the longevity of the album.

You can choose to continue to enjoy listening to records with the manufacturing residue (plasticizers, phthalates) in place and most do. Because the playing surface of the record is much softer than the base PVC polymer, as the stylus tracks the walls of the record groove, there is a higher noise floor, rumble (stylus and cantilever jitter), graininess, crackle, and stylus buildup during playback. Every time the record is played, wear is increased as the stylus tracks on softer playback surfaces the walls of the record.

In addition to the undesirable impure sonic signatures of an as-pressed record, sonic details of the music are obscured, and records are much lower resolution when compared to the lathe cut lacquer. This has to do with the manufacturing residue acting as "infill" to the sub-micron details of the groove. This coating rounds the peaks, fills in the valleys and dulls the profile of the groove. This obscures the lifelike details that audiophiles seek through better equipment, precise setup and obsessive record pressing selection.

Archival 4.0 SMF, with greater precision than any other record cleaning devices, thoroughly removes the manufacturing residue and unveils news sounds, details, and naturalism. The sonic impact is as if you made significant improvements in your entire signal path (cartridge, turntable, phono preamp, line stage, amplifier, loudspeakers, power conditioning and cables).

These are the sonic artifacts that separate the listening experience between an "as-lathe-cut" lacquer and the "as-pressed" massed produced vinyl record consumers have purchased since 1948. The exciting discovery made when testing Perfect Vinyl Forever's Archival 4.0 process is that through high powered, sequentially applied, multifrequency ultrasonic cavitation record surface optimization, we reveal a groove profile that is shockingly close to the lathe cut lacquer groove profile that was used to make the stampers (whether by audiophile one-step or traditional three-step process).

Furthermore, the "as-lathe-cut" groove profile is comprised of the base PVC polymer, not the much softer, excess plasticizer (phthalates) manufacturing residue. The density of the newly revealed groove surface is much higher; therefore, the surface is much smoother. Sonic impurity due to the surface grain is nearly eliminated. The stylus glides easily through groove with reduced friction and effortlessly retrieves the newly revealed high resolution analog music from the record. Sonically, the record "disappears" by losing most of the artifacts that identifies the source as a pressed vinyl record. You no longer "play a record", you simply listen to music, in a newly captivating and revealing way.

guarentee

We realize we have made many bold claims made regarding the outcomes of Perfect Vinyl Forever's Archival 4.0 SMF process.

This is the expectation we set that we stake our reputation on.

You can put us to the test with your own records on your own playback system with very little risk. Our cleaning packages start at 16 records for a cost of $128 ($158 including three-way shipping costs). If we fail to meet the expectations outlined above, we will refund the cost of the optimization fee on your first order.

We sincerely look forward to being of service to you, your records, and your musical enjoyment.

Steve Evans | Founder | Perfect Vinyl Forever, LLC