Thoughts On Turntable Clamps And Weights

I’ve found the sonic distinctions between various weights & clamps to be subtle at best. That said, over time I’ve settled on Stillpoints LPI as favorite.

The real value of a center weight comes when used in conjunction with a ring clamp to effect whole-record clamping. There’s only so much clamping you can do from JUST the label area.

Also of importance are ergonomics and thoughtful design features like: if an end groove fails, does this weight help or hurt my stlyus’ chances of survival? The thick pucks (like Stillpoints) are helpful because they’ll block the headshell / body well before a cantilever gets near a clipping edge.

I also remember an early version of Clearaudio's Twister clamp where the metal twist knob would pop off surprisingly easily; might as well have been a cartridge & record wrecking ball at that point. Wtf! Fortunately later versions fixed this.

I would contact Pro-Ject and ask them to make a recommendation. That a clamping device wasn’t included with the turntable suggests it sounds best without one. You will need a threaded spindle to use a clamp. It can flatten a warped record  somewhat but don’t expect miracles.

I prefer a weight. My turntable sounds better with one and once the platter (it’s heavy) is spinning, I don’t have to turn it on and off to change a record versus a clamp.

CAUTION!

Whether you are using a clamp or any kind of weight, it will often rise up the edges of the vinyl. Therefore you also need an outer clamp. That's what I ALWAYS do. Welcome to the world of vinyl. Totally worth it but highly demanding. And then came streaming... I do that too, when I feel lazy, or old :)

On my VPI Scoutmaster Signature, which includes a clamp provided by the manufacturer, I find I prefer a weight. I tried a brass weight by TT Weights, it’s fairly heavy, and the sound of my records played using the weight does sound better than with the stock screw down clamp. The sound with the weight is more vibrant.. more lively. The clamp makes the music sound a bit more dull and bland. So I’ve just stuck with the weight. I’ve noticed no excessive wear on the motor or bearing. I’ve been using this combo for ~15 years. Ymmv

I have a VPI Classic and I use the same TT weight plus their outer ring. Done this for the last 10 years, no issues. BUT I also had a project carbon TT and called them about using a heavy weight on it, they said no can do.