PURE GROOVE - Vinyl cleaning fluid
- 100ml

Hi-Fi Accessories · Vinyl Cleaning

Vinyl only sounds as good as its groove is clean. Dust, oily film, dried-on residues from earlier cleaning attempts and static charge don't just sit on the surface — they embed themselves deep in the groove floor and are dragged along by the stylus on every pass. The result is audible crackle, a dull and narrow soundstage, and over time genuine mechanical wear on the fragile groove walls. The Clearaudio Pure Groove is the Franconian analogue specialist's answer to exactly this problem: a professional cleaning fluid whose powerful formulation works consistently down to the groove floor — dissolving anything that doesn't belong between music and cartridge.

Pure Groove has been a fixed standard in audiophile record care for years and is among the best-selling accessories from Clearaudio electronic GmbH in Erlangen — one of Germany's most renowned analogue manufacturers, founded in 1978 and still family-owned today. The fluid can be applied by hand in combination with a record brush, or — considerably more efficiently, and with noticeably better results — used in any common record-cleaning machine. Exceptionally economical in dosing, antistatic in effect and measurably gentle on the vinyl material: Pure Groove is one of the few cleaning fluids used on a daily basis both by committed collectors and by specialist dealers preparing their archive and second-hand stock.

Pure Groove develops its full effect when used with a record-cleaning machine — from Clearaudio itself (for example Smart Matrix Silent, Double Matrix Professional Sonic) or from any other manufacturer. A small amount of the fluid is applied to the rotating record and spread evenly across the groove using an included or separately available applicator (such as the Clearaudio Pure Groove Brush). The key is to form a continuous film of fluid without touching the label. After around 30 seconds of dwell time — the brush held gently against the rotating surface so that a small bow-wave builds up in front of it and works turbulently inside the groove — the fluid is drawn off again by the machine's vacuum arm, together with the dissolved dirt.

If you don't own a cleaning machine, Pure Groove can also be applied by hand: place the record on the platter, apply a few drops, spread evenly with a microfibre record brush while the record rotates, lift off the loosened fluid with a lint-free cloth and repeat the procedure once for heavily soiled records. For the highest level of clarity, a final rinse with distilled water is recommended, followed by thorough air-drying before the record is played. The fluid is extraordinarily economical — a 1-litre bottle is sufficient, depending on dosing and method, for several hundred record cleanings.

The Pure Groove (Classic) offered here is the proven standard formulation containing alcohol — and therefore the right choice for all modern vinyl records (LPs, 12″ and 7″ singles). Clearaudio additionally offers several specialised variants within the product family, each designed for a specific purpose: Pure Groove Shellac is alcohol-free and developed specifically for delicate historical 78-rpm shellac records. Pure Groove Essence is a high-concentration essence product that is mixed with 90% ethanol prior to use — intended for international shipping, since it doesn't need to be declared as hazardous goods. Pure Groove Zero, finally, is an alcohol-free universal formulation that can be used on both vinyl and shellac.

Important note: the classic Pure Groove contains alcohol and explicitly must not be used on shellac records — the historical groove material is attacked by alcohol and can be irreversibly damaged. Collectors of historical records should instead reach for Pure Groove Shellac or Pure Groove Zero.