Outer ring - who uses and what are your findings


Hi. 

I have been thinking about getting an outer ring to help flatten/couple/stabilize my vinyl as it rotates. 

Curious what your experiences have been. 

Thanks!

p
perkri
Is there such a thing as an " affordable" outer ring?
I mean less than the cost of a lot of people's carts or whole tt?
Thanks for all your input!

Heres the thing, there are some albums that are worth keeping and not dismissing to the circular filing cabinet.

As I have a modest TT, Clearaudio Concept, I realize that any sonic improvement may be subject to the limitations of the TT, however, it is a "tweak" that can be "payed forward" and used in future systems. Kind of feel like its money well spent - if it helps - as it will have an ongoing lifespan in my system.

P
I bought a traded-In Merrill-Williams 101.2 with an Ikeda IT CR 407
tonearm. I believe that the 101.2 is designed to be used with a centre weight and ring. The 101.2 came with the centre weight but not the 
peripheral ring. Curiosity got the better of me and I bought the,
quite expensive, ring separately.
I now use the centre weight and ring for all my records. Not to flatten them but because you can hear the difference. Blacker back grounds
and more recorded 'ambience'. Slightly more very low-level detail.
I do have to take more care when cuing my Ikeda 'Kai' but think It's
worth the effort. 
I use the VPI ring clamp with my Classic 3. It does seem to help flatten out slightly warped records but honestly I don't hear much of a difference with it. It's also a PITA to get installed correctly on some records as it can slip off an edge. I'm not sure if it's due to variations in record diameter, record thickness, or possibly slightly off-center drilling but whatever the cause the outer ring can wobble slightly if it's not sitting perfectly. That can't be good...so is the cure worse than the original symptom?
From the sounds of things I will stick with my Mitchell center clamp and just avoid buying badly warped records!
I have none in my collection that I deem bad enough that the Mitchell does not resolve, maybe I am lucky.