to buy or not to buy (ultrasonic record cleaner)

I went ultrasonic a couple of months ago and found a unit on Amazon for $200. Comes with a drying rack and can do up to eight records at a time. Bought some Degritter fluid from music direct to use in the water and all is good.  I find it certainly makes a difference but whether it makes a significant difference between my old Spin Clean and this unit I’m not sure. For 200 bucks I don’t really care. LOL

When I decided to get back into vinyl a year ago, I first wanted to get a cleaning machine. There are so many to choose from I almost went crazy researching. I finally decided on the ProJect VC-E. It had only one issue and that was the vacuum exited back on to the underside of the record. I engineered a fix and it now exits on the side. Every new and used record I acquire gets cleaned. "just the way I roll".....!

Hello,
I agree that the US works. The first time cleaning a single record takes a while. Maybe 10-15 minutes. After that it’s 2-3 minutes on the same machine. My local store in the Chicagoland area has one setup on display. They will do a demo to show you how it works. https://holmaudio.com/ They are open late a few days a week till 9pm. Plus, you can listen on a really nice system. Bring in a record or two to see the US cleaner in action. If I can swing it financially I would rather have a cleaner with a vacuum feature. Who wants to have their car washed and then have to dry it themselves. It does cost $1500 to $2000 more to be fully automated. That can buy a lot of records. Also, A lot of people say you only need one deep cleaning. One friend told me he sold his cleaner after he deep cleaned all of his records. 

There is no question that cavitation or ultrasonic record cleaning is best. That is, as long as you believe in science, facts and your hearing ability. That being said, your cleaning process or ritual using any machine is as important as the machine itself. There are, of course, a whole host of other factors that come into play (e.g. type of cleaning solution; quality of  turntable & cartridge used for play; handling & storage of records; ritual in playing records; etc.). You don't have to spend thousands on an ultrasonic record cleaning machine. Visit the "CleanerVinyl" site. Using one of their systems with something like a Knosti Antistat or Spinclean for a final rinse will make all the difference but, by all means, keep the bath water clean!   

Everyone has made some good arguments and thanks. This tread was my first attempt at dipping my toe in the pool of US record cleaners. As with most things I’m researching when deciding to purchase a new “thing” to buy to take my audio listening to the next level or make an improvement in my system is to first gauge the audio listening community on how they feel about the topic or item. With that said up until now I have not done much reading on the  science behind these products or the pros and cons.  I had an opportunity to try one out because a friend of mine bought one and he was kind enough to let me borrow it for a few days to see if I liked it. My first test while a little crude was to compare the US cleaner vs the process I currently use was inconclusive. The record I chose to use in this test I think represents a good cross section of all the records in my library (near mint to new). From a superficial visual perspective both methods appear about the same but that was to be expected. Going a step further and comparing both methods using a microscope was very close between the two to  about identical as you can see from the photos. Granted I don’t have a microscope that can actually get into the grooves to see at the micron level but hey I’m not a scientist that has access to that type equipment, but I used what I have.   Now the listening test which I can count on was identical. I hear NO difference between cleanings of this record. Now I have to admit that I can’t remember every little snap or crackle when listing to a record two times back to back with an hour between listening and also if a dust particle would fall in the record during one session that would contaminate the sample. However not really trying to be that critical either, but overall the sound quality was the same to me. Prob not a fair assessment because after all it was one record out of over the 400 I own. So. Since yesterday I have done some reading and I am learning that there are other factors to consider with these machines when deciding to buy one. There are a ton of them on the market ranging in price from $200 -$10k and even higher. All boasting this or that. Some are a one stop shop, others like the one I’m using requires a lengthy cleaning process. Also there is the safety considerations. Some of these machines heat the water, some just get hot because they have ceramic materials which heat that can lead to warping. Some you have to be careful of the frequency used for the cleaning or you can damage a record. Going to tell you right now that is not an option for me. I own some very expensive copies of  records that would really wreck my day if  damaged in a cleaning because the machine malfunction or got to hot. There are chemicals to buy and thats a whole different conversation with just as many options to choose. Lots of things to consider I’m finding out. Anyway. Thanks again for all the replies. I have to admit I was expecting to hear some comments from people who have negative things to say about US cleaners but not so much in this case. Might be the first time that most people agree on a topic involving this hobby lol. Usually it’s a pretty evenly divided conversation for those for and against. So I guess that is a positive in the column of seriously considering one. So I will continue to do my research and make a decision.