Thoughts On Turntable Clamps And Weights


I have a Pro-Ject X2B and am curious about turntable weights and clamps. I perused the web and discovered that, like so many audio related items, prices range from modest to stratospheric. What are your thoughts on clamps and weights? Do they provide a notable improvement in sound quality? Does price equal quality? What should be avoided?

 

Thanks,

 

John Cotner

New Ulm, MN

jrcotner

Showing 1 response by mulveling

I’ve found the sonic distinctions between various weights & clamps to be subtle at best. That said, over time I’ve settled on Stillpoints LPI as favorite.

The real value of a center weight comes when used in conjunction with a ring clamp to effect whole-record clamping. There’s only so much clamping you can do from JUST the label area.

Also of importance are ergonomics and thoughtful design features like: if an end groove fails, does this weight help or hurt my stlyus’ chances of survival? The thick pucks (like Stillpoints) are helpful because they’ll block the headshell / body well before a cantilever gets near a clipping edge.

I also remember an early version of Clearaudio's Twister clamp where the metal twist knob would pop off surprisingly easily; might as well have been a cartridge & record wrecking ball at that point. Wtf! Fortunately later versions fixed this.