Record cleaning machine advise, want to buy,"HELP"

hello Rob,from what ive read ,VPI

The VPI 16.5 is definitely the choice at that price, but if you can stretch a little (you said "around" $500), you can pick up a VPI 17 used for less than $700 (patience!). A big advantage over the 16.5.
--Neil

Put me in the 16.5/RRL fluid/DD brush camp.

I've owned the 16.5. My vote goes for the Nitty Gritty 1.5F (currently own). Much prefer it to the 16.5. It is a little quiter and has a pump for the cleaner.

Someone needs to stick up for the Nitty Gritty concept. Sucking the used fluid DOWN seems to me inherently better than sucking it UP (who wants to be a suck-up anyway?). I much prefer the manual Nitty Gritty to any of the automatic machines -- gives you much greater control over the cleaning process. My original NG I was going strong after 22 years, but I found an irresistibly-priced Record Doctor II (same thing as a NG I, essentially) here on Audiogon. Thinking of donating my original to the Smithsonian. Seriously, it does a great cleaning job.