Good turntables w/o record clamps

The clamp is kind of a "tweak". As with all tweaks, there will be some who swear by it and some who hate it or are indifferent to its use. So, in the end with any table, it will be a matter of your own opinion based on your own listening. Having said that, I can tell you that my "new" Lenco is less affected by use of a clamp or record weight than any other table that I have ever owned. This observation is made while using Herbie's 2mm mat. With some other mat, I might come to a different conclusion.

i agree with Rcprince. Check out Roksan Xerxes either a used Xerxes 10 or the new Xerxes 20. Not only do you not use a clamp but you can take the spindle top once you center the Lp in a way that you don,t have contact of the lp hole with the spindle; and yes it does makes small a diffrence. i,m very happy with mine: great dynamics ,musical, etc...

Go for the Sota with the vacuum - one switch and the table turns and vacuum holds down the record!

How hard is it to drop a clamp on a record???? It takes two seconds right?

And how cold a record possibly sound better without a clamp? If a clamp stabilizes a LP to the platter and flattens out minor warping, folks here are saying that their records sound better unstable and warped. Doesn't make sense? What negative attributes could a clamp possibly add???

What negative attributes could a clamp possibly add???

A clamp changes the frequency and intensity of resonances, and presumably redirects vibrations. Depending on the rest of the setup, that could be a bad or a good thing.

As a general rule, I clamp thinner LPs, but in some cases of heavier records, a clamp overdamps.

Besides, when can you be sure that a clamp option is the result of careful research with accelerometers and/or stethoscopes to see exactly how the vibrations are being changed or redirected?

It could be a generally effective tweak, but not necessarily a cure-all.