Just bought a nitty gritty, hear no difference.

Your experience, even with a good cleaning machine, is why so many abandoned vinyl when CD presented a viable alternative. Once a new LP has been played, the pops & ticks get worse with each subsequent playing. The better the analog rig, the more the LP`s defects become apparant, Michael Fremer & a zillion $ worth of turntable, arm & crtrg. not withstanding.

RCM's only get rid of pops if it's dirt/dust. If it's pops because it's been played a lot and the grooves are wearing out, nothing can help that out. A RCM is a must and makes a huge improvement, so can't think of why it wouldn't in your case? hmm did you clean the stylus? Are you putting too much cleaner on. It took me some time to get the routine down. If you use too much or not enough cleaner, you will actually get more pops. I guess maybe you took pretty good care of the records. I also have the RDIII.

good luck I'm sure you'll get it working right.

I once had a Record Doctor II and a Nitty Gritty 1.0, and I can tell you that the Record Doctor is definitely not as nice.

With the Record Doctor II and the Audio Advisor formula that comes with it, you have to clean each side of the record three (3) times. (Wet, use the brush, flip, vacuum completely dry, and repeat.) You will hear a difference on old, uncleaned LPs after that point. It was pretty obvious to me. If you don't, the problem will be elsewhere in the system.

Also, record cleaners will not reduce the record noise that comes from damaged records. If anything, they accentuate scratches. BUT, you get a lot more information out of the grooves across the board. This may be relevant to what you have been noticing.

This may not be your problem, but my recommendation to make sure lp's get as clean as possible is to scrub copiously with manual Disk Doctor pads first and THEN transfer to the RCM. The RCM is great at removing anything that's been loosened up, but I personally don't think it gets down into the grooves and disturbs hardened in dirt as completely as the Disk Doctor pads.

What is the difference between the record doctor II and the record doctor III ?