Opinions please

Had a Keith Monks RCM which I sold for a friend here on Agon and it was fantastic. It was also expensive as hell. I own a VPI 16.5 which does a fine job with almost zero effort on my part and it cost me around $300, also here on Agon. It's loud, but since I don't actually live in a library, it is of no concern at all. Hard to beat it for the price. Hand is great, RCM is easier.

I think, there is probably a misunderstanding: The Problem is NOT how to clean them (manual with a brush or with a motor), or how long you want to leave the cleaning fluid on the surface, the REAL Difference is the way to remove the fluid. Here are big differences and I think, that's the reason why there are so many opinions. And real clever solutions (Best is K. Monks, Loricraft copied it) have their price.
Good Luck.

Ditto the above. The major advantage of the VPI 16.5 is (relatively) low cost. The major disadvantage is the noise that it makes, which is pretty much like that of your vacuum cleaner. If you want the RCM to be in your listening room, you might want to spend extra bucks for the higher priced units that evidently are quieter. I keep my 16.5 in my basement workshop with no problems. I use a homebrew cleaning solution based on VPI recommendations (isopropyl alcohol/distilled, deionized water/non-ionic detergent). This works great, but I recently discovered in a controlled experiment that Walker Prelude works even better.

As far as the comment that hand-washing is as good as or superior to machine washing, I find that hard to believe. The vacuum-ing step is when most of the solubilized dirt, etc, are actually removed most effectively. You can't duplicate that action with any amount of rinsing by hand, IMO.

Lewn; regarding your last comment; I vacuum mine by hand. I have a 1.5hp ShopVac with a small attachment that I wrap with a white t-shirt. I also use RRL products along with Vinylzyme. I also steam clean with distilled H20. Believe me, my records CANNOT be any cleaner when I'm done. They sound spotless.

Point about using a shop vac taken. But a good shop vac is not cost-free, either. I guess you can justify purchasing it for its many other uses. Really, an RCM just makes cleaning simpler and easier, due to the rotating platter which makes it easier to distribute and scrub in cleaning solutions and to the built-in vac, which I cannot help but think is a whole lot easier to use than a hand-held shop vac. But there is no right or wrong in this discussion.