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Weight, Clamp or stabilizer?

I have a vintage Pioneer PL-560 Direct-Drive Automatic Turntable purchased around 1980. 
https://www.vinylengine.com/library/pioneer/pl-560.shtml
I'm trying to get it to produce the best sound its capable of.  I plan to order a set of SVS subwoofer feet to replace the worn feet (I have an SVS subwoofer and removed its feet and temporarily placed them on the TT base with good results).  I read an article about TT tweaks.  A few things they suggested were an upgraded mat, clamp and isolation feet.  Thing is since the TT is a direct drive I don't know how much extra weight it can take (if any), and the spindle is about 7/8 inches tall so I don't know if that's enough for a clamp.  The original rubber mat it came with is in great shape. Do I need to replace it, too? I'm willing to invest in tweaks to improve this turntable, but not interested in replacing it.
mewsickbuff
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
I'm trying to get it to produce the best sound its capable of. I plan to order a set of SVS subwoofer feet to replace the worn feet .... I read an article about TT tweaks. A few things they suggested were an upgraded mat, clamp and isolation feet.

The best you can do at the first step is to upgrade the cartridge!

This is by far the most important. You can do all the tricks, but without a decent cartridge in contact with your vinyl grooves all upgrades makes almost no sense. Make sure you have the right cartridge first. Some vintage MM cartridges are great, Pioneer PC-1000 mkII was their best cartridge (absolutely amazing, look at the package).  

A good cartridge will change the sound of your system even on felt mat without clamp or weight. 

All the tricks such as mat, clamp will make some improvement, but not as huge as the cartridge. 

BTW Pioneer dist stabilizer is very nice. Micro is another top-notch stabilizer. As for the Mat i would recommend SAEC SS-300
best-groove's avatar
best-groove
844 posts
 

Adding a heavy clamp is not a good thing on the pivot bearing, rather a clamp from Michell that weighs little and is cheap, but has a chuck like that of drills to grind and allows the disc to be fixed firmly to the mat.
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
The best lightweight clamp with chucking lock arround the spindle is Orsonic. The silver panel on top act like a button to open chucking lock. It's cheap

Practically i don’t like clamps with lock, i prefer just weight (always).
Post removed 
big_greg
6,670 posts
 
Check out the Clearaudio / Souther Clever Clamp.  $35, hardly weighs anything and works.

The SVS feet might be good for a turntable, but they are designed for heavier devices.  I don't know if that will matter or not, but something to consider.

I recently picked up some feet from mnpctech for my JVC direct drive turntable and they were a big improvement over the stock feet.  Looks like they have them for Pioneer tables -  https://mnpctech.com/turntable-feet-replacement-isolation/pioneer-dj-plx-500-plx-1000-turntable-feet-replace/

My JVC is an 80's vintage turntable also and the rubber mat works fine.  
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