Clearaudio Smart Matrix Micro Fiber Cleaning Pad Set

The Clearaudio Micro-Fiber Pad Set — Replacing What Actually Touches the Record

A replacement micro-fiber cleaning pad set, sold as a set, for Clearaudio's Smart Matrix Professional record cleaning machine. The pads are the parts that make contact with the record surface while the machine works.

Every consumable in a cleaning machine wears, but these wear against vinyl. A pad that has hardened, matted or loaded up with residue is being dragged across a playing surface thousands of times, and that is not a part to run past its life.

Fit and Function

What Micro-Fiber Does Here

Micro-fiber picks up and holds fine particles rather than pushing them around, which is the whole requirement when the particles in question are what you have just lifted out of a groove and do not want returned to it.

Which Machine It Fits

Clearaudio designs this set for the Smart Matrix Professional record cleaning machine. Pads are shaped to the machine they serve, so a set from another make — or another model in the same range — will not seat correctly even in the cases where it appears to fit.

Clearaudio's own advice is worth repeating: keep a spare set on hand for when the pads that came with the machine need replacing. A machine waiting on a consumable is a machine not cleaning records.

Who Is This Pad Set Best For?

• You own a Smart Matrix Professional — this set is designed for that machine
• Your pads are discoloured or matted — both mean they are holding residue rather than lifting it
• You clean in volume — pads wear in direct proportion to how many records pass over them
• You keep spares — Clearaudio recommends exactly that, and the reason is downtime
• Your machine is a VPI, Pro-Ject or Record Doctor — those use their own parts, listed in record cleaning accessories

How Do You Fit Them?

Unplug the machine. Remove the old pads and clean any residue from the mounting surfaces before fitting the new set, so the fresh pads seat flat. Run a record you are not attached to first and check the pads are making even contact across the surface.

Pairs Well With

What most Clearaudio owners keep alongside.

• Record cleaning solutions — the fluid the machine is there to remove
• Record cleaning accessories — the rest of the spares and consumables
• Record cleaning machines — if you are still choosing one
• Record brushes — for the dust that never needs a machine

Frequently Asked Questions

Will it fit my machine?

Clearaudio designs it for the Smart Matrix Professional. Pads are machine-specific, so check the model before ordering.

How many do I need?

One set covers a replacement. Clearaudio suggests keeping a spare set on hand so a worn pad never takes the machine out of service.

How do I know when to replace them?

Discolouration that will not wash out, matting, or a hardened surface. All three mean the pad is holding contamination against the record rather than lifting it away.

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