Review on 🖤 Enhanced AudioQuest Anti-Static Record Brush, Black by Michael Colley

Maybe I'm just being too careful with my vinyl. I bought this to replace my old Audioquest brush. I've had 2 of these in the past and never had a problem with the original model. When I first tried this new brush, my first thought was that the bristles are quite stiff compared to the old version, perhaps because they are a bit shorter than the previous model. I ALSO noticed that the sound was much louder when I cleaned the record; high pitched sound, like a record being scratched. I applied a 30x loupe to the new record's dead wax and made sure there were no scratches on the matrix number before using this brush. I then lightly cleaned the record while it was on as usual and upon re-examination under a magnifying glass I noticed new and very obvious ring scratches on the surface of the dead wax by the matrix numbers. I've done this on several new records and each time I've left new scratches on the dead wax. I tried this with my old Audioquest brush model and while it left the occasional microscopic scratch, it wasn't nearly as deep as this newer model. While these scratches mean nothing sonically, it's not worth risking premature wear on the record. I'll stick with my old Audioquest for now.