Best record cleaning option for under 200?

[hype]

I have looked around a lot the last few weeks trying to find the best option for my money. I have been collecting records for a long time but always kept it old school with mostly just the discwasher and a few home remedies. I was told Spin Clean was great by a record shop and was set to buy that until I did more research and now I am heavily leaning towards a vacuum setup.

 

For the most part I have dwindled it down to three options.

 

Pocket RCM

http://www.ebay.com/itm/151862624135?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

MKIII

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3D-Printed-Record-Cleaning-Machine-Bring-your-old-vinyl-back-to-life-/151903631006?hash=item235e29769e:g:UCMAAOSwHQ9WX8LG

 

Record Doctor V

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BEIC3DO/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=KSBZUSI9PL8K&coliid=I2X3Z5T3WFLXI2

 

 

If anyone has opinions on any of these three that have used them for a decent amount of time I would greatly appreciate the feedback. I seen the older threads mentioning this and others but I am just looking for updated opinions mostly.

 

I am heavily leaning towards the MKIII since I have a good amount of ebay gc's to throw at it and it just seems to work really well from the small amount of people I could find talking about it but all those people mostly just had it for a very short amount of time.

 

Also, one small gripe I have about the MKIII is the full size platter for the vinyl you are cleaning. I heard hardly anything sticks to the provided top mat but cleaning a side and then flipping over the record is still a bit of a concern if I am doing a decent amount of records in one sitting. The pocket rcm and record doctor obviously do not have that problem. If that is not an issue though, l am def. leaning towards the MKIII overall.

[Brody]

http://www.teresaudio.com/haven/cleaner/cleaner.html

[hype]

The few diy options I saw were much more intricate and time consuming then this one. I am liking the simplicity and countless ways to customize it myself. Thanks for posting that, I am going to greatly consider that option as well now.

[Seafinch]

I've been using that Record Doctor V for about 9 months now and am very happy with it. 

[Crabwalker]

I have the mk3 and love it. Highly recommended

[boops_popmarket]

I bought one of the MKs about a year or so ago, before he started including those adapters, and it works OK for me.  Records are much cleaner after a spin and I don't notice much scuffing or problems with the velcro material that touches the record.  

 

Main downside for me is the noise of the shop vac I use.  I live in an apartment with thin walls, so I can only clean records during the daytime which, since I have a full-time job, means I can only clean during the weekends.  In a pinch, if it's at night, I'll clean a record by hand and just use the platter as a surface.

[hype]

I bought one of the MKs about a year or so ago, before he started including those adapters, and it works OK for me.  Records are much cleaner after a spin and I don't notice much scuffing or problems with the velcro material that touches the record.  

 

Main downside for me is the noise of the shop vac I use.  I live in an apartment with thin walls, so I can only clean records during the daytime which, since I have a full-time job, means I can only clean during the weekends.  In a pinch, if it's at night, I'll clean a record by hand and just use the platter as a surface.

 

I was actually looking into this a bit not too long ago and supposedly they make some sort of muffler for shop vacs that is available at Sears and maybe other hardware stores? I think I am going to just make a quick box though kind of like this http://www.finewoodworking.com/workshop/video/build-a-simple-box-to-muffle-your-shop-vac.aspx.. It would be cheap to make and if you do not have the tools to cut the pieces yourself you could always get them pre cut at a lumber store as well. After that everything would just go together somewhat easily.

 

 

Thanks again though guys, I think I am going to go with the mk3.

[floyd_z]

I've been looking at RCMs lately too and I'm thinking going with the RDV.  There's lots of good reviews and one advantage to this system is It uses downward suction as oppose to upward suction.  Also there is no platter touching the actual surface of the record so your not getting the dust from the dirty side onto the clean side when you flip it.

[floyd_z]

Also, FWIW, its sounds like the Record Doctor is very loud as well

[boops_popmarket]

Also there is no platter touching the actual surface of the record so your not getting the dust from the dirty side onto the clean side when you flip it.

 

For the MKII, I cut out a circle piece of vinyl shelf liner that I got at a craft store for like $4 and I place that over the platter when placing the cleaned side of a record down.

[MCDELTAT]

Interesting..... I've been trying to find a good 3D printed design for a while now because my University has free 3D printing services. So I might just mock up one of the MKIII ones and go with that. Thanks guys.