It was always the done thing with LP12s - largely due to the low torque arrangement. It helped stability to leave it on. The Hercules II is even worse! (Bit of a misnomer that...)
The felt mat had a constant tendency to attach itself to the LP during flipping and occasionally dropped off during the act, causing it to assume a dangerously wide arc towards the stylus! (Another reason for preferring a Ringmat :) I never damaged a cartridge despite this.
So I continued that practice for 25 years until I acquired a Raven, which I always switch on and off as the platter size doesn't lend itself easily to "active flipping".
The Raven's platter is always stabilised in < 1 second so there's no hardship in doing this. If I was going to give it a helping hand I'd have to be quick!!
The felt mat had a constant tendency to attach itself to the LP during flipping and occasionally dropped off during the act, causing it to assume a dangerously wide arc towards the stylus! (Another reason for preferring a Ringmat :) I never damaged a cartridge despite this.
So I continued that practice for 25 years until I acquired a Raven, which I always switch on and off as the platter size doesn't lend itself easily to "active flipping".
The Raven's platter is always stabilised in < 1 second so there's no hardship in doing this. If I was going to give it a helping hand I'd have to be quick!!