to buy or not to buy (ultrasonic record cleaner)


Hi Audiogoners,

So I have been considering investing in an ultrasonic record cleaning maching. Prob like some of you I question the ROI. So. I have a friend that purchased one and luckily he allowed me to take it for a spin (no pun intended).

I wanted to compare the results to my record cleaning system which is a Spin clean ($150) and a Record doctor record Vacuum ($300). I wont say what brand of ultrasonic cleaner I tested as not to disparage, or promote that brand publicly to be fair. if you want to know which one you can send me a private msg.

so to keep it simple I will let you judge for yourself. I have posted two pics taken with a USB microscope to my virtual systems page. Test1 and test 2. One of these pics was taken after cleaning with my system and the other with the ultrasonic cleaner

Can you tell which one is the ultrasonic??

should be intersting
barnettk
There's an extensive thread on the Hoffman board about the Degritter with a few users trying different approaches. Might be worth a look. The Degritter seems to be the best alternative right now in the made for LP one button approach. 
I use a big Monks and the KL, as mentioned. When the KL dies, I'll go full industrial. Have guys wearing orange hazard vests and those white suits, flashing blue warning lights, etc. 
Neil got me to use a UV light. It does show some stuff that you can't see by naked eye, but the visual really isn't that instructive. You can see plate out issues in the vinyl though. Some stuff is very consistent, other stuff is rather frightening. Unfortunately we have little to no info on vinyl compounding and even less control over it-- you buy what's made. While I don't necessarily like the sound of the old MoFi, that JVC super vinyl is still tops in my book. But,  a lot of the records I'm chasing were pressed at a nadir in vinyl quality in the U.S. early-mid 70s so-called spiritual or avant-garde jazz. 
$3000 for a US RCM to do one record at a time.
???????
I guess I am not the target market.
Yikes!
You know how it is with this hobby. Everything is expensive. It’s all relative tho. You have to consider your larger investment, cartridge stylus, record collection, etc. so yeah while not cheap neither is anything else in this hobby. Price of being a vinyl collector I guess. 
Regarding the Kirmuss, Analog Planet Fremer says, "I can't see the restoration on vinyl records, but I can definitely hear it"
Ultrasonic cleaners seem to clean vinyl the best. Cheapest is somewhat homemade solutions for a few hundred dollars. Kirmuss is about $1k but takes a few manual steps per LP, but gets reported results on par with the automatic UC.    Automatic timer, wash and dry: Degritter is $3k, Audio Desk $4.5k