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Okki Nokki RCM

monkeyking

monkeyking

Active Member
After a search, nothing came back after 2014 so I'm hoping this hasn't been beat to death.

Just received an Okki Nokki rcm today. (Ordered from Audio Advisor yesterday!) I've been using the Dirt Doctor for about a decade now and the difference is night and day. That's no knock on the DD, as it retails for about $300 less. At it's price point, the DD is a very capable machine.

That being said, the ON is a very different machine. Very solid and well built. Fit and finish are very good. Nice platter with a threaded clamp to keep the record in place. Forward and reverse for the scrubbing process. Very nice goat hair brush. Vacuum tube is then moved into place to remove dirt and liquid. Two to three revolutions seems to be enough.

Cleaned a record I listened to yesterday and there was a huge improvement. Very quick and easy too.

With the DD I find it difficult to keep the vacuum part in contact with the record while trying to turn it by hand. The whole process seemed a bit unsteady. (To be fair, I'm impatient and would rather get to the listening part, so that may be an issue with me rather than the rcm.)

On the whole, given the short time I've spent with it, I would definitely give the Okki Nokki a solid thumbs up. Only time will tell about durability. If you're looking for a lightly used Dirt Doctor, let me know.
 
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Having used both, I whole-heartedly agree. Congrats! You're bound to get even more musical enjoyment out of your LPs now.
 
I bought one in February of 2012. Going on four years now. Hasn't disappointed yet. Congrats.

S.J.
 
A RCM is, in my scheme, a fundamental piece in record playing. Congratulations! Mine is a Clearaudio SmartMatrix, one of my best buys ever!
 
Should be no surprise it's an easier process given the difference in price. You can get a quality cleaning from the DD but you need a steady hand and consistant rotation. Frankly would be concerned about owning a ON given their shaky footing. They stopped any importing in to the US for sometime while they "got it together" for the second go round. Parts were not available during this time. If I was to spend the money I would prefer a VPI or Nitty Gritty but there's nothing wrong with the ON and I have never read a bad review on them. Congrats.
 
They did have problems in the beginning. Wobbly platter bad bearings and Faulty switches but hopefully they got there sh#t together now.
 
Warning long post:
I am an OKKI NOKKI owner and love my machine now; but I have a bit of a story to tell.
The original importer about 5 or 6 years ago was May Audio Marketing. After reading good things about them back in about 2010, and not liking the VPI 16.5, I had a dealer in a different city order one for me,(no local dealer). They were on back order and it took me about 3 months to get mine. It's motor was a bit noisy but it worked fine at first. About six months in, it quite working. My dealer put me in touch with May Audio Marketing and they took it back and sent a replacement. The replacement quit after about 2 revolutions! My contact at May was astonished when I reported that but again took the unit back, this time on their dime and sent a third unit. The third unit was one of the second generation models that had the larger post to better fit the album hole, a better rubber platter cover that wrapped around the edge, and less platter wobble. The rep admitted that May was giving up the distributorship. Issues like mine played a role he said. He said he pulled several of the remaining units they had in inventory and personally checked my unit #3 before sending it out. It ran fine for a couple of weeks, but then started making a squeaky rubbing sound and the motor started to sound like it was under more strain. I tracked the problem down myself. The shaft under the platter was rubbing the top plate of the base. I removed the platter/shaft assembly, added a thin plastic washer and some dry graphic lube, then carefully reassembled it. It worked fine and is still working fine over 200 albums later, and I have no plans to replace it.

There are threads about the OKKI NOKKI on the Steve H forums that start with the second distributer after May Audio Marketing dropped the O.N. Some supply and quality issues remained until manufacturing was transferred to China. Some changes were made to the design, primarily going from the aluminum pickup tubes to the plastic ones. The third distributor, Naudi Monkey, has the goods and parts listed on their website. Some people are swearing by them and some are reporting problems, primarily with the new design pickup tubes sticking. The current (3rd) US importer is apparently getting sufficient stock to supply major retailers and etailers like Audio Advisor. I see that as a positive sign.

If the O.N. were to crap out on me again before I felt I had gotten my moneys worth, unless the current importer replaced it, I would probably look hard at the new Project machine or look into buying the combo of the ultrasonic bath off eBay or Amazon and the kit to place albums into the bath and rotate them. I feel that The VPI Cyclone is a direct response to the intro of the Okki Nokki,and now the Pro-ject machine into the us market, and its still higher priced than the O.N. and Pro-ject machines. Right now, if my O. N. machine were taken or destroyed through no fault of its on, I would resort to manual cleaning for a few months until the latest version of the Okki Nokki shakes out and the new Pro-ject machine has some user reports on it, then make an informed decision on buying one of the these 2. (However, if someone, (Chinese manufacturer?) could make a 2 sided vertical record cleaner similar to the SYSTEMEDECK for under $1000.00 US, they would have my attention, and probably my money.)

FYI, I use MOFI brushes with it, one for enzyme and dirty cleaning, one for the general cleaning and a third dedicated to only the distilled water rinse. If the album is truly filthy, I wash it under the sink faucet with a clean paint brush and some homebrew cleaner that's a combo of distilled water with a small amount of iso. alcohol added, then clean on the O.N Machine. If the album looks clean I use the AIVS #6 one step cleaner and a rinse, if not, I use the #15 enzyme precleaner, the super cleaner and then a rinse with the deionized distilled water. I get great results, formerly filthy albums play very quietly, as long as scratches and physical damage are not present. Mine has noticeable transformer hum, so I unplug the power cord from the back of the machine after every cleaning session. You need to unplug the cord anyway for the easiest access to the tank drain tube. The rubber feet left semi permanent brown stains on the maple butcher block cart top, so I put a piece of clear floor runner under it. I keep the platter close to level with a bubble level and some washer shims under the feet. (The floor is not dead level, its not the O.N's fault). That seems to help keep down runoff if I happen to apply a little too much fluid. I keep a clean microfiber cloth handy to wipe up any fluid that gets on the label; a label cover for this machine, like the Project one, would be a nice upgrade. I may look into fabbing one.

HTH
 
Thanks for the thorough review. FWIW-there are some great posting on getting a Ultrasonic set up going at a reasonable rate. Beats jumping into the big dollar units.
 
bob06 said:
Three bad RCM's in a row.
Click to expand...

Yep, If the third one had not been fixable by me, I wonder if May Audio Marketing would have had any more stock to replace mine by. But after my fix, its still going strong. Just cleaned another dozen LPs today.

PS, any of you that have the newer models, does your transformer hum noticeably when you are near your machine?
 
I got my Okki Nokki in early 2012. I sent the org unit back because the center spindle stripped. The replacement unit is better built.
 
I got my Okki Nokki in early 2012. I sent the org unit back because the center spindle stripped. The replacement unit is better built. - (quote)

Yep, they had problems with a number of the early US models. But many people got great ones that seem bulletproof.

By the way, I have read somewhere, either on this board or another board of someone who recommended a solution and procedure to occasionally rinse out the Okki Nokki tank. This is supposed to clean crud out and clean the contacts that sense a full tank and shut the unit down. Does anyone else remember reading this or have a maintenance ritual for the Okki Nokki?
 
sanlanman said:
I got my Okki Nokki in early 2012. I sent the org unit back because the center spindle stripped. The replacement unit is better built. - (quote)

Yep, they had problems with a number of the early US models. But many people got great ones that seem bulletproof.

By the way, I have read somewhere, either on this board or another board of someone who recommended a solution and procedure to occasionally rinse out the Okki Nokki tank. This is supposed to clean crud out and clean the contacts that sense a full tank and shut the unit down. Does anyone else remember reading this or have a maintenance ritual for the Okki Nokki?
Click to expand...
I read somewhere they got rid of that switch on the newer models because of all the problems they where having with it. :dunno:
 
Apparently the issue with the plastic arm wand sticking come up when one leaves it wet. Pull it out and dry it after a session and the problem doesn't happen. So I'm told. I have an Okki Nokki coming this week.
 
I love my Okki Nokki. Easy cleaning of records. I still haven't got round to getting a dust cover for it yet. I just throw a cloth over it.
 
I hope to get one in the near future. I find the white model quite attractive.

I asked some final questions from Audio Advisor regarding the unit as well as questions about the Project RCM.

It is time to look seriously at alternatives to the Knosti. I use it in our unheated sunroom and now it is too cold to be out there any length of time.
 
fiddlefye said:
Apparently the issue with the plastic arm wand sticking come up when one leaves it wet. Pull it out and dry it after a session and the problem doesn't happen. So I'm told. I have an Okki Nokki coming this week.
Click to expand...
The vacuum pickup on my ON was a bit sticky. Fixed it with a coat of Carnauba wax.
 
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