Will a record weight harm the motor in a direct drive turntable?


I've considered buying a record weight for my Denon DP-59L turntable, but I'm concerned that adding the weight would put added strain on the direct drive motor.  Does anyone have experience or advice with this?

aggie88

Only the manufacturer can tell you how much additional weight is acceptable.  It is not so much the case that the weight would strain the motor's capacity to spin at the proper speed--significant extra torque would only be needed at startup even with a massive weight; it it the extra load on the bearing that would be of concern.  That extra weight could shorten the life of bearing or increase the amount of vibration (noise) generated by the bearing.

If you are concerned about the weight, you should look into clamps.  They don't weight as much and can do a better job of pressing the record tightly to the platter surface.  In particular, reflex clamps do a good job.  These clamps grip the spindle, and as you turn the knob on top, they apply increasing amount of downward pressure on the record label area.  To work as intended, a reflex clamp also needs a washer or o-ring around the spindle to actually raise the record up a little bit so that when downward force is applied beyond the washer or o-ring, the record is slightly bent; this bend causes a much larger area of the record being pushed into contact with the platter. 

Ideally, clamping and added weight is applied in conjunction with the design of the platter/mat.  The shape of the surface matters, and not all systems are designed to work best when the record is held in more forceful contact with the platter/mat.  Like everything in audio, one has to take trial and error risks; nothing is a universally positive tweak.  

Assuming that this is a low cost experiment find (or make) a center weight that comes in @ under 8 ounces (this is quite low as far as record weights go and I have been succesfully using such for 20+ years on a belt drive Thorens TD125II).

Aside from the motor "added weight" can also hasten wear to the main platter bearing, which was my main concern when experimenting with much lighter record weights years ago.

I made the weight I still use today from an old/small Mapleshade brass cone footer centered and mounted to a 45 RPM Thorens record insert and the combo came in @ just under 8 ounces. 

The lighter weight works well with the various platter mats I use and it definitely improves sound quality on LP's of all ages and thicknesses.

Been years since I searched for <8 ounce record weights, but they were around/available 15+ years ago.

 

DeKay

I have used record weights on both my VPI HW40 and Technics SL1200GAE without trouble.  However I have also found a KAB record clamp to work as well or better for a lot less money and frankly prefer it.  

I think it's one of the snake oils. I never found any benefit in clamps or weights.