Vinyl cleaning - Ultrasonic vs. Walker products

Wow, Audio desk is $4K... Would the VPI 16.5 be the next choice? From what I have read, ultrasonic is the way to go?

I own the Okki Nokki, about $500 and it does an excellent job for a vacum cleaner. The VPI is also within your budget. The motor on the VPI is a little louder if that matters to you.

Thanks, I appreciate your recommendation.

I would get a VPI 16.5 and an inexpensive US record cleaner. 

https://www.amazon.com/Washing-Machine-Rotating-ultrasonic-Adjustable/dp/B0837X2Z4B/ref=pd_sbs_5?pd_...

Or a spin clean and a more expensive US cleaner

Most guys would rather spend the money than do the work and if that is you then go US. It is probably faster, certainly easier, but whether it gets as good results as Walker I have to wonder. 

Walker wins hands down in terms of cost-effectiveness. At least as good as US for a fraction of the cost. Walker charges a lot for their kits but their refills are very reasonably priced and so I bought just the refills, use my old Disc Doctor brushes and this brings the cost way down. Also use my old VPI to vacuum off the final 2 rinses. 

That is the only thing it is used for. A big problem with all cleaning systems is to eliminate all traces of your cleaning solutions. The problem with VPI, if the brush gets even slightly contaminated then it is smearing dirt not cleaning. Same for US, it cleans the first record everything after that goes into dirtier and dirtier cleaning solution. 

Don't drink the Cool-Aid. To get a record clean is easy as pie. To get a record perfectly clean is almost impossible. Walker and some other multi-step processes will get you there, but it is laborious and time consuming. Frankly, for a lot of records, probably not worth it. Inherit 200 records, be real happy if 20 are worth cleaning at all. You will have ones that skip, are noisy, or just not anything you would ever listen to. 

I would put em in two piles- ones you might like, ones you might not. Maybe clean a few you are pretty sure will be worth it. The vast majority I would decide after playing what if anything it is worth cleaning.

Right now it seems like you want US just because you have a lot of records. This way you realize nah, could do em 20 at a time with Walker, not such a big deal, maybe never even clean a lot of em.