Hi Sj,
My response to your post:
1. I have not cleaned records with US. However from work experience, I have seen how well US cleans, thus it might be worth trying it on vinyl.
2. Yes, it's all probabilities. Everything, including our very existence is one big ball of probabilities. However personal biases sometimes obscure the line between high and low probabilities.
3. "Speculation" is not a dirty word. In fact it is the seed of discovery. However, if unproven or unverified it should not used as a springboard for conclusions and corollaries.
4. If you have not yet done so, it might do you some good to visit
http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/vinyl/bbs.html to learn more about what other audiophiles are saying about US cleaning. Do a search on "ultrasound". In fact, you could probably do everyone a favor by warning them that US causes brusting of bubbles in the vinyl! Ditto the US record cleaning machine manufacturer on this thread who hopefully will then see the light and recall his product before there is an epidemic of trashed record collections and cartridges.
5. Just in case you are wondering, I worked abroad on a research team which successfully patented a cleaning process. I gained several years of experience on particle collecting, handling, analysis and microscopy. Therefore I can safely say that I have quite a bit more experience than the normal audiophile. What I've learned I will gladly share with those who keep their minds open.
Mandym.