record weight .... correct weight?

Surely this would depend, at least to some extent, on what kind of platter bearing the turntable uses. I'm no engineer, but I would have thought that some of the heavier weights might negatively affect some designs of bearing.

Good question, without a good answer; or rather, not a consistent answer...

The down force applied to a record sitting on a platter is accomplished in three ways: A weight, a clamp, and/or suction. Three methods, but the same objective of getting good contact between the record and the platter and minimizing vibration of the record caused by the stylus or external sources.

(A side benefit of a periphery weight or vacuum platter is that record warps can be removed/reduced.)

But the amount of force required varies depending on the material/design of the record weight or clamp, the material/design of the platter and bearing (and the rest of the turntable), whether there's a platter mat or not, and if used, the type of mat. Even the thickness and density of the record can make a difference.

In other words, it depends. Unfortunately, I don't think there's been a study to determine the "correct" amount of downforce to use depending on the type of weight or clamp used with a given turntable setup.

I prefer using a threaded clamp because unlike a record weight you can adjust the amount of downforce. As for the benefits of a periphery weight, I use a record flattener to fix warped records so a periphery weight isn't necessary.

But I'm sure there are other perspectives on the matter. :-)

Regards,
Tom

I use a Mitchell "Rega" weight/clamp (Linn table) which requires the user to apply downforce before screwing down the clamping mechanism knob, thus making the whole operation somewhat random relative to actual force applied. Still, it works.

In addition to the bearing like twoleftears stated, it also depends on the type of suspension your table uses.

You can call Larry at TTW audio he makes a variety of weights for most TT.