As often happens to truly superior products, the Decca Brush was mostly ignored — the overall record-cleaning market was dominated by cleaning pads attached to wood handles — not because they worked well, but because many hi-fi stores preferred to sell a cleaner that forced customers to come back to buy “special” fluid, again and again.
After creating AudioQuest in 1980, and with the wild success of the AQ 404 phono cartridge in 1982, and because I personally used a Carbon Fiber record brush every single day — AudioQuest began making the AQ Carbon Fiber Record Brush — now a 35-year old success story, and maybe the world’s favorite way to respect and care for LPs.
Except — we eventually learned that the AQ Record Brush (and every other brand of carbon Fiber brush), doesn’t have a good electrical path between the fibers and the handle, and that the print-protecting coating on the metal handle prevents a proper electrical connection to the user’s hand. The user is the “ground” for static electricity, so having a good electrical contact from fibers-to-hand is a big deal!
In creating AQ’s new Conductive Carbon Fiber Brush, AudioQuest created new tooling for every part of our new design. AQ’s reborn Brush has ideal conductivity from the Carbon Fibers, through the internal parts of the brush, to the conductive Gold Contacts placed right where your fingers need them.
We also reinvestigated what is possible with Carbon Fibers, finally choosing for our new Brush a far greater quantity of new smaller fibers in order to more effectively sweep away micro-dirt, not just the less relevant visible dust.
To everyone who has an AQ Record Brush (thank you), or any brand of Carbon Fiber brush, and to everyone who hasn’t yet discovered how simple it is to keep records clean:
We invite you to experience the reborn AudioQuest Conductive Record Brush.
Your records will thank you!
– William E. Low
