Benefits of a record ring

Doug & Paul

And I thought I was OCD. Awed and humbled

My take is that the effect of a ring clamp depends on the turntable where it is used. In the case of the turntable I build, a ring clamp has the potential to affect the moment of inertia to the detriment of the sound. It depends on the weight of the clamp, and it also depends on the drive system. If the turntable is a drive method other than a belt type, I would suggest trying the clamp first because too much mass at the outer edge of the platter has the potential of negatively affecting transients and micro dynamic detail. All that said, it may be possible to develop a featherweight ring clamp...fingers crossed.

Mosin, I have to agree with you. On some albums the ring is a plus, some not so much, and still others no way.

I find that the albums that are really flat (typically 200g pressings), benefit from no ring or center clamp. I will postulate that the album sits mostly on the platter which more easily dissipates resonances. I will add that Larry's top plate is smaller than the album, so the small lead in bump is hanging out over the platter. My older thinner rock and pop albums need both clamp and ring, likely from the fact they are warped.

How does this sound Mosin; I am going to go out and find a nice big piece of slate. Uneven, jagged edges, lots of loose layers. I will ask Larry to machine the appropriate holes, etc, and nothing else. I would think that this ugly looking thing will dissipate any and all plinth associated vibrations????. What do you think?.

Billy

It is even more impressive to watch Doug and Paul as they tune. A glance, a nod, a tilt of the head, some mumbling, etc. Sometimes it is just a shoulder shrug. :-) Can't say I have ever heard them go the wrong way.

I can't help but think that the extra mass in the thicker LPs may change the resonance characteristics in the vinyl, and by that have an effect on how the platter surface does its work. Thicker LPs aren't as easily excitable.

But Mosin is also on the mark. (yeah, like Win needs me to tell him about 'tables ) It does depend on the table. I know well the tables that Doug, Jazzdoc, and myself use so I am fairly confident that these can handle the weight of a ring. More importantly these tables have platters that give us a fighting chance at exceptional resonance control. Cousinbillyl's Onyx looks like it works well with a ring from the pictures. ;-)

I'm still planning to give the Galibier Anvil another try without the o-rings. Thom's TPI surface changed things so that the compliance of the o-rings used on the spindle and Anvil can sometimes cause some folks to squint. At six pounds there is real potential for platter surface coupling.

A couple of things...

First: In response to Dan_ed, my turntable can handle the extra weight. It is where the weight is placed that I find troublesome. I find it troublesome with certain other turntables, too. Keeping the mass near the center of the platter is a definite plus with idlers and direct drives because the very last thing you want to do is create a runaway flywheel effect where none existed before. A ring clamp might do exactly that.

It brings to mind the point that a ring clamp isn't a clamp at all. Rather, it is a ring weight. What the world needs is a true ring clamp, which could be very lightweight, and that doesn't exist, at least to my knowledge it doesn't.

Second: Cousinbillyl mentioned the used of slate. I use it, and I like it. However, there is no one reading this post who hasn't heard a very good turntable that doesn't use it. It is a material, and with modern designs that do not employ the use of a top plate, its significance is diminished because there are a lot of great turntables out there that are made from other materials. At some point in high-end audio, we begin to talk about flavors, not absolutes, and slate may well be another flavor.

I happen to believe that plinth materials are best discussed when in relation to vintage turntables that have faulty resonance creating top plates. Slate struts its stuff there. In other designs? Maybe, but maybe not.