for @ebm , "A legendary Shun Mook product now being made in a very, very limited number. This record clamp is made from extremely rare pieces of dried ebony briar. This extra heavy century old ebony root which were immersed in the swamps of Africa has a unique power that no other wood possesses. . . . Thus when the musical energy produced by any Hi Fi system will excite to different degree of all materials within the space covered by the acoustic spectrum. Different materials will have a positive or negative effect on each other influencing the final music production. The secret is to control and tame such resonance to the advantage of the system. It is commonly known that many musical instruments uses Mpingo and other ebony wood to create the most natural musical tones and harmonics. Just like the clarinet, the violin and other wind and string instruments uses the ebony as the essential component to generate the sound. With many years of research and development we at Shun Mook have designed and brought forth several revolutionary devices in the technique of electronic audio enhancement."
I’m not sure what the price of a record clamp made from "extremely rare pieces of dried ebony briar" is but once again, I call BS. Now don’t get me wrong, I love a record clamp as much as the next guy that still uses a turntable -- I have a record clamp even. The point really is not whether a record clamp makes a difference, but whether someone can justify a $3600 (used) record clamp by cloaking it in so much nonsense. "A fool and his money are soon parted," as the saying goes, and as @ahendler points out, why not spend $3600 for a used brass record clamp with 9 carat plated gold if you’re blowing $725K on a stereo. OK, fair enough, why not light your cigars with $100 bills? Because it is stupid to do so, regardless of whether you can afford to light cigars with $100 bills. Just because you can blow money, doesn’t mean you should buy snake oil.
Now, if it doubled as a pepper mill, or maybe a weird nanny cam, or the wife could wear it as a pendent, it would make sense. If you could combine the "unique power that no other wood possesses" from the Shun Mook clamp with the 3 pounds of gold-plated brass of the Dalby, you might really have a winner!
@swampwalker, LOL! "The "ebony bullet chambers" will come in handy when your significant other finds the Visa bill and threatens to put a cap in your a$$!" You still let your wife see what you spend on stereo equipment?
