To ring or not to ring?

Lewm,

I believe firmly in both approaches, since each has its merits. ;-)

If one has a noisy TT bearing or motor, isolating the LP from them will benefit the sound.

OTOH, stylus/groove interactions generate energies that travel through the vinyl, bounce around and ultimately muddy the sound. Coupling the vinyl to a platter which can sink some of this energy away will also benefit the sound.

Doing both on the same rig at the same time seems impossible, so which is better will come down to the essential charactersistics of the rig. If its motor and bearing are really quiet, coupling may be best. If they're noisy, not so much.

I think an outer ring is well worth it.

I am selling my TTW mega ring used with excellent results on my clearaudio master solution that my buyer did not want.

I bought a clearaudio innovation TT with matching clearaudio ring otherwise I would keep the TTW ring for my Innovation

Here is link to my ad:
http://app.audiogon.com/listings/turntables-ttw-mega-outer-ring-clamp-2013-07-26-analog-92675

Note this ring needs a table with at least a 1. 5 " thick platter.

Richard, IMO the ring combined with the center wt just take too much "life" out of the music. I freely admit that the quality of "liveliness" or "life" must in some part be due to resonances. I don't believe in stamping out each and every last bit of resonance, either. Some quantum of it adds back, for me, what is lost in the recording, stamping, and playback processes. This is a personal preference.

If you don't have a ring or vacuum hold down, most records will not lie flat (Edge warp, dish or cup). Therefore you have changing VTA, VTF throughout each revolution of the disk. This is not beneficial to the sound. Some suspended designs cannot tolerate the added weight, so it doesn't work for all.

Lewm
Thanks for the feedback. I wonder if say a reflex clamp with a suitable washer under the record would be superior?
I'm working on a L07D now for a client and he does not have the ring. So we were looking a the options. Imagine it would be pretty hard to track down an original.
Rockitmam
Can I ask you if you have done such a comparison?
Many thanks