The clamp is kind of a "tweak". As with all tweaks, there will be some who swear by it and some who hate it or are indifferent to its use. So, in the end with any table, it will be a matter of your own opinion based on your own listening. Having said that, I can tell you that my "new" Lenco is less affected by use of a clamp or record weight than any other table that I have ever owned. This observation is made while using Herbie's 2mm mat. With some other mat, I might come to a different conclusion.