When Reiner Gläss intriduced the world's first fully automatic, ultrasonic-based record cleaning machine, the "Vinyl Cleaner", in 2009, he revolutionized the way we clean vinyl - and he did so at a time when hardly anyone would have bet on the survival of vinyl records. The new generation, the third, of the Vinyl Cleaner was good reason for a celebration: Audiodesksysteme Gläss celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Vinyl Cleaner with the VINYL CLEANER PRO X!

Shy and reserved ... such terms come up repeatedly when people who meet Reiner Gläss for the first time try to describe him. First, he leaves the spotlight to his counterpart and only rarely intervenes - but then he does so with an unmistakable Swabian accent. Despite his success, the 50-year-old does not take pride in his Vinyl Cleaner making him one of the world's absolute market leaders in the record cleaning machine segment. What began ten years ago as a "one-man project" has since grown into a five-person team that happily faces even weekend shifts to satisfy worldwide demand. "I entered the world of high-end accidentally," he says with an almost candid look. "Some of my friends complained that they could not get their old records properly cleaned. Again and again, they encouraged me to come up with something." The "urge" was certainly not a matter of chance: Before the Vinyl Cleaner celebrated its triumphal march around the world, the Swabian invented a sound tuning device based on the test series of the biomechanist Dr. Erich Schrott and the engineer Wolfgang Schneider. The "CD Sound Improver" chamfers the edges of CDs or DVDs at a defined angle of 36°, thus minimizing the influence of scattered light on laser scanning. The result was better sound and better image. "The CD Sound Improver was a big success, especially in the U.S. and Japan, but at some point, I decided to focus fully on the Vinyl Cleaner."

Reiner Gläss accepted his audiophile friends' request and first looked at what the market had to offer in the way of corresponding devices. "Some of the available solutions proved excellent in some disciplines, but none of the machines could really convince me.” So, he took his time and tinkered with his ideas for two years, while using his friends as "beta testers". "The machine had to be user-friendly and quiet, comfortable and efficient. “Insert the record, push the button, take the clean record out. That is how I envisioned it." In 2009, the time had come: Audiodesksysteme Gläss presented the world's first fully automatic, ultrasonic-based record cleaning machine. It could clean and dry both sides of the record simultaneously - at the push of a button. The cleaning principle proved to be so convenient and effective that Reiner Gläss was literally overwhelmed by demand: "I seemed to have hit a nerve. Customers called me or wrote to thank me personally. I realized very quickly that I needed additional manpower to manage all the inquiries and orders that were coming in from all over the world." The national and international trade media also showered the Vinyl Cleaner with praise - in the form of prizes and awards. But Reiner Gläss did not rest on his laurels: In 2015, he presented the Vinyl Cleaner PRO - with even better performance. Even one of his suppliers - ebm-papst - dedicated a separate chapter to Reiner Gläss in their customer magazine "mag". "When you consider how big ebm-papst is compared to my factory, I am really proud of how seriously this huge corporation takes the Vinyl Cleaner PRO and also uses it to promote themselves."

As production of Vinyl Cleaner PRO, which was then available not only in grey but also in black, white, and red, continued to make its pace, Reiner Gläss regularly retreated to his quiet chamber to ponder the further development of his "baby.” Further optimizations were incorporated into the Vinyl Cleaner PRO: a drying process that can be initiated independently of the cleaning process and the cleaning of 7" singles via a specially developed adapter kit. Although the Vinyl Cleaner PRO was already one of the quietest cleaning machines on the market, Reiner Gläss managed to further reduce noise level by using a new Papst drying fan and to increase the value by a new dust cover, a touch sensor and a company logo that is now embossed instead of engraved: The VINYL CLEANER PRO X was born - just in time to celebrate its 10th anniversary. Bentley Motors also recognized the special class of the Vinyl Cleaner PRO: Reiner Gläss and his team received a personal invitation to London to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the British noble company together with illustrious representatives of international business and industry. Audiodesksysteme Gläss received an incredibly special honour: An editorial team of experts and enthusiasts immortalized the VINYL CLEANER PRO X, with a full four-page report, for the anniversary publication "Exploring the Extraordinary: 100 Years of Bentley Motors" and celebrated it as an outstanding product that meets the innovations of the traditional company as a peer. The world is simply at peace with Reiner Gläss.