Height of VPI Stainless HW-19 LP Clamp?

You might try going clampless. I just demonstrated the merits of this to a HW-19 Mk 14 user yesterday, first with a DIY spotmat and then with my Boston Audio Mat 1. In both cases the sound opened up a lot without the clamp and there were no detectable downsides. YMMV and all that, but I gave up on clamps on my TNT Mk 2 quite a few years ago. Good luck, Dave

Hi again, Had my BDR Clamp buttoned up with my 180-200gm Mofi LP's, I'd be set, as it's a much lower profile Clamp, but it won't.

I caled both VPI this morning, and tried getting ahold of BDR, but had no luck with BDR. I had to leave a message.

Mike at VPI stated that the new Stainless Steel Clamp for the 19's is identical in height to my All Delrin Clamp, and that is 1-5/8", so I won't gain a height advantage going with this newer Clamp.

The Brass threaded Insert on the BDR Clamp I have has been recessed inside the Puck too far. Whether this is just a press fit into the Puck, or is also glued in, I have no idea? Perhaps BDR will take back the puck, and either reset the insert, install a new insert, or possibly replace the Puck? The problem only occurs with thick LPs. Standard LPs will clamp up fine with my BDR Clamp.

I'll try to keep all posted. Thanks again all for your advice, and help

I would suggest removing the dustcover when playing an album and removing the clamp when not. Problem solved. I think my turntable sounds better with the dustcover removed anyway.

OK, so here's my run down from tallest to shortest:

1 11/16 (= 1 22/32) inches -- all stainless HRX clamp, early version.

1 19/32 inches -- stainless knob on delrin disk, able to rotate independently of each other.

1 17/32 inches -- stainless knob on delrin disk, bonded together, hole not threaded, came with very early HRX.

1 13/32 inches -- black delrin knob on delrin disk, able to rotate independently of each other, came with HW 19 Mark III. Mark, you mentioned that you had one of these, and it measured about 1 5/8 inches (= 1 20/32 inches). It would seem that yours is clearly taller than mine.

I measured these by inverting them on a flat surface, ensuring that the discs were parallel to the surface (versus wobbling like a toy top) by using perpendicular bubble levels on the discs' flat bottoms now facing up, then measuring the distance from the surface to the upper edge of the discs using a metal tape measure. I checked to make sure the tape measure didn't "add" a little bit at its end before starting to count the distance at "0."

Assuming you don't go with Dreadhead's suggestion, both getting a taller dustcover or finding a way to use the BDR clamp are possible ways to go. Best would be getting a BDR with the threaded insert where you want it. A question: if you don't screw the BDR down but just place it on the spindle, is it heavy enough to press the record down on the platter to your satisfaction? or is the screw down essential? Good luck.

Thank you Jameswei/All for your help/suggestions.

Speaking with Mike yesterday at VPI, he seemed to give me the impression that my case wasn't the first that he heard about, with BDR Clamps not buttoning up with the heavier LPs.

All day I tried calling BDR, no one will answer the phone, I left a message with them early this morning. Haven't heard nothing from them.

The BDR Clamp is not heavy enough to be of any benefit by just laying on top of the platter. yes, many good tables don't use any type of clamp, but resort to a mat (Linn for example)

Still, I like VPI's methods of Clamping, and coupling the LP to the Platter. As many who own VPI know, once the LP has been clamped, and then the clamp is removed, the LP still stays clamped to the record, with a vacuum-like effect. I think it is a very good design. Harry found a way to in effect vacuum clamp the LP, without resorting to a vacuum such as in the Sota design.

I'll continue to keep calling BDR, and see what they have to say. My two piece BDR clamp looks nice, but sure isn't as convenient as a one piece.

I am unsure about the BDR Clamp, if the Brass Threaded Insert is just a press fit, or if it is also glued into the puck. If it is just pressed in, there may be a way to slightly withdraw the insert from the Puck, thus making it able to couple to my spindle. Probably if the threads were recessed just 1/32" less, the clamp would work with my 200gm Mo-fi's.

As Dreadhead states, leave the dustcover open when playing with the VPI Clamp, and I generally do, as it makes for one less thing to do when the LP nears its end, and the cue lever must lift the tonearm off the LP before it reaches the very end of the runout grooves. On occasion I may close the cover, mostly when playing my system at low volume levels. Mark