Why are record cleaners so expensive?

A grand is certainly better than most I see. :^).

For someone interested in building a big vinyl colelction these days its not a bad investment.  $3000 maybe not bad as well if called for.

 New records typically go for $30 and up. BUy 30 or so and you have a grand. Assume those come clean and do not need much if any cleaning if taken care of properly.

Now you can save a lot of money buying used vinyl for much less, sometime just a dollar or two, maybe less, but often these require a very thorough initial cleaning. You might be able to buy 1000 or more records for that grand and then clean them and have them like new and maybe even better sounding than new vinyl in many cases. 1000 records at $30 each would cost $30000 in comparison. So you saved $29000. Not bad. I suppose these are teh kinds of scenarios to consider to justify the investment.

I do have a very effective manual cleaning process I use that costs next to nothing per record, but it is time consuming and a pain to execute properly, though not too hard with some experience.

When you call the Audio Desk a "glorified vacuum cleaner" and say, "paying three grand for an Audio Desk cleaner seems a bit out of reason," it rather does sound as though you're complaining, even as you say you're not.

Vacuum cleaners are common appliances that are mass produced at low cost. The Audio Desk is obviously built in limited quantities, if only because the market for such a device is small. It uses ultrasonic cleaning, something no ordinary vacuum cleaner does. It has a filter for the cleaning fluid, motors to rotate the cleaning pads, motors to dry the disk and electronics to control the various functions. In addition to the materials cost, the manufacturer has to make enough on the product to recoup the design and engineering costs; pay for shipping, advertising and promotion; and make enough profit to warrant the endeavor, fund future improvements and honor its warranties. And of course the dealer must make a profit, too.

Compared to the price of a good turntable playback system - which must also include a pickup arm, cartridge and phono preamp - it's really not that expensive. And of course at least some of its users consider their records to be priceless, further justifying the cost.

The high end of audio is filled with products whose value would be dubious to the uninitiated. You might prefer "two weeks at a Fijian resort for two," but when that little holiday is over, you'll have nothing to show for it but perhaps some photos and memories. You also mentioned a "custom-made suit from an Italian mill" as an alternative. That seems like very poor value to me, compared to the Audio Desk, but everyone has to decide for himself.

I wonder if anyone buys the really good ultrasonic machines and then starts a record cleaning service. Assuming the devices are durable and have low maintenance over time if used heavily.

I mostly buy used vinyl these days and I only clean dirty records thoroughly once. Once properly cleaned, all I do is use a carbon fibre brush to quickly remove any newly settled dust before playing. A record cleaning service is something I might be interested in using.

@cleeds To each his own. Thank you for clarifying some of the economical and mechanical reasons behind my original question.

And yes, as you condescendingly point out, when "that little holiday is over" all I'll have is "photos and memories." However, I find those to be worth far more than any material item I've ever had.

@mapman You put things in perspective - as you usually do.

My Spin Clean also beeps when a record is done, and I have no idea where the beep is coming from…weird...