Audio Desk Systeme RCM - what's been your experience?

whart - by no means am I discounting the DIY approach (and thanks to those who have shared their ideas)...

...but my original question was specific to the ADS RCM because I haven't yet decided if I should take advantage of the distributor's exchange/upgrade offer...a decision that would require essentially a "re-investment" in ADS.  The convenience of the ADS RCM is addicting but I am loath to begin a cycle of replacing a [not inexpensive!] RCM every 3 years.  Just trying to inform my decision.

Well, your existing unit is dead, and costly to repair, I gather, so if the price difference isn’t crazy to trade in on a brand new unit, assuming transferable warranty, you could always sell it, no? I don’t think enough time has passed to make any meaningful assessment of the longer term reliability of the new "Pro" unit. (I also don’t know if some of the industrial/medical type units are cheaper to repair with replacement parts reasonably priced and available for repair in the field, rather than sending back to the factory, a question that I have now added to my own list for due diligence on those).

Just in case anyone is interested, I use the Elmasonic P60H, and think it to be a highly cost-effective solution for cleaning two records at a time.

Furthermore, I defy anyone to get records as clean, without one. I tried cleaning 4 records at a time with 18 mm spacing. They cleaned up beautifully, no trace of soiling, etc.  But then, after cleaning 2000 records this way, I did the unfortunate test: two at a time. The result: grunge in the bottom of the tank after cleaning 12 records which had been previously cleaned 4 at a time in the same US machine. That's the objective evidence - subjective evidence is that they sounded far better.

I also did a few records (2 at a time) for the local high end store, and they were more than impressed on subjective sound. So, the jury is, as they say, in. Two at a time: 75 watts per record, 1.5 inch spacing.

I've had my ADS cleaner for almost three years. I don't doubt it'll fail at some point. I've done much more preventive maintenance than required by the manufacturer. Do you feel the pump failure was the fault of the parts/design or the lack of preventive maintenance? I think I've cleaned at least 2000 lps. (I always steam the lps first then an additional rinse on my VPI before I use the ADS.)

What is the "extra" maintenance that you've done?

To answer your question - both.

In brief, my thoughts are:

1) it stands to reason that a machine with electronic/software-driven sequences and so many moving parts will require maintenance over time,
2) some of those moving parts will fail and/or require replacement,
3) it's extremely irksome that the design of the original ADS RCM (and to a certain extent the Pro) does not have better quality parts and is not of a design that allows easy (by user or in-country distributor) maintenance or replacement of parts,
4) I'm frustrated by the need for a repair/replacement solution 3 years into a $4000 "premium class" purchase exacerbated by the appearance that these failures are not rare.

I signed up for a premium RCM whose marketing has proven more robust than the machine itself.

That said...when it works, it's an effective, convenient machine that has added enjoyment to my record collection.