On my drive to work I thought of a better catcher. It was only going to save me $2, but I thought I might as well do it.
My problem was that my previous solution is on my home computer. So, I thought I would experiment and see just how random this level really is. 75 minutes later I am yet to recreate my previous solution. I pity anyone trying to complete this level cheaply. I can't believe how stupidly lucky I got when I first tried this. Not only did I get the ball to launch within 10 minutes of trying but it was the perfect launch - exactly how I would have tweaked it if any tweaking had been needed. But today, I find it impossible to get even close to the same result.
The moral of this story is random+AR=
I can imagine that the best possible solution to this level would be $1940+ if you had a lifetime of random tweaking to waste until you got lucky.
I'll come right out and say my score. $1934 done and in the bag. I'm fairly sure my new catcher can make that $1936 but I wont waste my time trying to tweak the launch at work anymore, when I have it perfect at home.
I dont really care if anyone beats me. I was lucky to get my score, if someone gets the $1940+ then they are just even luckier. I'm definitely not going to be attempting it myself.
I don't believe $1950+ is possible as CN says without a catcher that creates dark force. Eg, cloth trapped into a metal plate.