Best value record cleaner/cleaning system


Thought I would ask the group -- when I was last in the analog game some 12-15 years ago it was a VPI or Nitty Gritty for record cleaning (that and the wood-handled Discwasher pad with red-bottle liquid, Zerostat and Decca CF brush for just before playing an LP)... are these still the go-to standard units, or has the state of the art / ’value’ options advanced to some other kits in the present? I see cleaner units now from Pro-ject, Music Hall, Spin Clean, etc etc.

In my case I am not trying to ’deep clean’ mistreated, flea market or recycled recors store records... just good hygiene maintenance-cleaning of a treasured collection - 80% regular records, 20% ’audiophile’ pressings.

Thanks in advance.
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Have had my VPI 16.5 for 4+ years now. No other HiFi purchase has yielded results that equal what the RCM has provided.
Same here, other machine: Moth RCM/II. 10 years´ faultless service, deep cleaned over a thousand albums. Price app. 500 euros. Noisy but does the job. Highly recommended.
Maybe what I've failed in getting across is, with steaming, in good lighting...the water/light allows you to actually see anything left on the lp.

I've cleaned lps through my AD/16,5  time and again, still, there are just some times where steaming is THE only way to get an lp clean.

Ex: I was just listening to my Outlaws lps, I pulled the "Live" record out. I had marked previously.."re-steam?". Mind you, this was way before I had my 16.5/AD cleaners.

I was re-steaming under my under-cabinet led light and can see the little "flakes" on the lp that are stubborn, but will come off when you apply first, common sense, then a more aggressive application. These are the types of things that will not come off just through any automated process.

This is why I believe that being able to actually see what's going on while cleaning is essential ti The Best process.
^ Ghost Riders by Outlaws blows the dust off your cart/cantilever :_) Gotta listen right away...
harold-not-the-barrel,

Your post was misplaced! Should go to another thread?