to buy or not to buy (ultrasonic record cleaner)

"Can you tell which one is the ultrasonic??"

My guess is the pic on right. The grooves do appear cleaner.

I've been waffling for years in purchasing a machine. MIC Amazon specials are becoming more attractive.

Because I'm picky with my used LP purchases, my Spin Clean has been sufficient.
This is confirmed by hearing them on Uber decks.

Ok. Here is the thing that I think makes a difference. With the ultrasonic you use a boars hair brush and surfactant which I did use when I I did the cleaning. I am betting that if I incorporate that into my systems cleaning routine the grooves will be about as clean, but your right. Test 2 is the ultrasonic cleaner. However if there is a difference I don’t know if I could justify spending the coin for the ultrasonic. 
Furthermore. The listening test proved to be in inclusive as I heard no sonic difference between cleanings. If it was I certainly could not detect it. Also the downside. The process takes way away longer using the machine. I could clean 10 records by the time it takes me to clean one using the machine. Ok I’m getting a little bias now because that should not matter but I have over 400 albums and it will take me a year to clean them all with the ultrasonic. I guess if I were buying old dusty records maybe but I only buy new or used in mint condition. I guess for the one offs where I run across an original pressing of an old record I will just borrow the machine again lol. Now I will tell you that this machine is not one of the more expensive ones. (Under $2k) so I’m not comparing this to one of the more top of the line cleaners either. 

@tablejockey 
do you use Tergikleen in your spin clean? If you don’t you should try it. I may also stat using a very small amount of 70% alcohol. The Tergikleen works very well tho. 

"do you use Tergikleen in your spin clean?"

barnettk-

I see tergikleen mentioned on many threads. 
After using up the supplied  cleaner with the Spin Clean years ago, I never bothered to look into a replacement.

My formula is very crude/low tech. A couple drops of clear dishwashing liquid and 99%alcohol. I'm sure the LP cleaning purist are cringing after reading this. Make matters worse, I RINSE it off from the tap-BLASPHEMY! No doubt there' still stuff in those grooves under a microscope but I don't sweat it. Maybe if I had a $50K arm/table I would be more into it.

The results with US is obvious to my ears. I want one. The itch just hasn't been strong enough yet for me to hit the "buy now" button.

I have a collection of 50-60 divas that MUST be quiet. I've done US on  my treasured Billie Holliday,Ella, Sarah... and have been blown away with results.

It does start with the LP. I try and find the best condition albums when I bin dive. No funky mold covered saves from floods or whatever.

I've got an Audiodesk Systeme PRO and I would never go back. Garage sale or very dirty LP's go through a Spin Clean first. But, it seems like there are more affordable options than the Audiodesk. 

However, I have to say, with the level of investment and sheer time that you have put into your gorgeous system, it doesn't seem like the cost of an ultra-sonic RCM would be at the top of the list of your priorities. Buy one. Sometimes it will make a negligible difference, and sometimes a crappy looking $1.00 record will turn into audio magic. Walking home from work one day I rummaged through a stack of records at a garage sale and found a bad looking copy of Breakfast in America by Supertramp. Cleaned up by my machine, put on my deck, and BAM I was transported back to the summer when it was on the radio all the time when I was 11 years old and my mom and I were in a new city looking for a house. That was wonderful and I probably wouldn't have picked it up without knowing that I could clean the heck out of it at home. Also, I wouldn't have bought that record new or used from any of the usual audiophiley places, or even put it on a streaming list; I had kind of forgotten about it. Having a good ultrasonic machine has been a great investment for me and my stereo (though pretty damn nice) aint quite like yours ;)

Cheers,
Oran