Outer ring - who uses and what are your findings

I use the VPI Periphery Ring on every play. It does what it's supposed to do. It stabilizes the image, lowered the bass floor as well as helping to deal with warps. I've used the screw on clamp with the grommet under the record. It can cause the record to form a dish or a dome. The ring does a very good job of damping resonance generated from the record not in contact with the platter, even with warped records.

I was always fussy about my records. In the day; record shops exchanged records with Pops, Tics and Warps for the same record; No Problem. I live in Chicago. Music Direct was less than 10 minutes from my condo and they had the same policy in their early days. Don’t know how they handle this now.

So most of my records are flat. Used records do have some long warps or sudden edge warps. I have multiple pressings. Not really a big problem.

My new Technics 1200G, modded with Triplanar Classic SE tonearm handles these warps with ease. I believe Atmasphere was the one who explained it. The Triplanar bearings are in the plane of the record. One of the SME arms also features this setup. Seems to be working well for me. Also bass is tighter and more textured. Speed control brings the spatial qualities recorded in the grooves to a new level. Neither my LP12 or Kuzma can extract the info in the grooves the way the Technics/Triplanar rig can. Unless I hit a lottery; this will be my final rig.

Two other tweaks on the Technics; I use an Oracle hard acrylic platter mat and an HRS 315 gram record weight.

 I have been pondering the purchase of an AFI Flat. German made record flattener with a difference. It not only flattens records.  It has a Relax function that supposedly Relaxes the stresses in the vinyl incurred during the actual pressing process.
Users have reported results that equal that of US cleaning. 

There is is no doubt in my mind; that flat records play and sound better. Just listen to One. Try a MoFi UHQR or a UD1S. 

The Oracle mat and HRS weight are good for dealing with the resonances generated in the grooves. Start with Flat Records and I don’t think that you will need a ring anymore. IMHO.

Best to All on this Journey 

"melm233 posts07-13-2018 10:51amI also have a VPI with an older acrylic-lead platter that I wouldn’t change. So I opted for a 2.5 lb. 3rd party ring. It is a TTW ring; they’re out of business now, but there's still a reasonably priced vendor..
Would you name the aforementioned vendor please?"

Here ya go:

Turntable Outer Ring SS-1 VPI Clearaudio Sota Linn Music Hall Rega Hanss Basis
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Turntable-Outer-Ring-SS-1-VPI-Clearaudio-Sota-Linn-Music-Hall-Rega-Hanss-Ba...

I have a hopped up VPI TNT Jr (flywheel motor, sds, super platter and ring) and was playing it w/o the ring for like 6 months as its a bit of a pain.  Last week, I did an A B just for giggles and realize I should not be playing it without the ring.  Really adds weight to the presentation, more bass slam, better resolution, quieter back ground and more vivid three dimensional presentation.

Uberwaltz,
I apologize , I had tried the ring a few years ago ,
Vinyl Nirvana was using them on their upgraded AR turntables ,
I looked at the web site after I posted and was surprised to see all the Thorens tables. Shortage of AR's ? 
But I suggest you keep checking the web site for a used Merrill Heirloom tables that they have once in a while .
Check out the AR & Thorens Gallery Mike Castellana's " Heirloom-ette "
or My ( Daves of Vinyl Nirvana ) Refurbished Merrill Heirloom in the AR Turntable Resources .
Contact them to see if ring clamps are still available .