Benefits of a record ring

Maybe nothing to do with arm height per se? Improved power quality at night, fewer appliances running, etc. Most systems sound best late at night...

*** Here's the whole craziness ***

The master list has two columns:
Column 1. the system change that required an arm height change (e.g., name of new cartridge, name of new TT, etc.)

Column 2. the amount of the change as measured by the TriPlanar's dial; example: +150 means the system change in column 1 required adjusting arm height by one and a half turns of the dial.

Some typical entries:
ZYX UNI #3: -220
Etched belt: +3

This means that my 3rd UNIverse required an arm height adjustment of 2.20 turns from the previous system change. Later, when I changed drive belt types, arm height needed to go .03 turns in the opposite direction.

***

The post-it on each LP jacket includes basic info at the top (record weight, cleaning regimen, demagged?). Below that are two columns of arm height history:

Column 1: same as Column 1 on the master list (ie, what system change is this setting for)

Column 2: arm height as an absolute number, expressed in whole turns of the dial. Since the numbers on the TP's dial go UP as the arm goes DOWN, the higher the number the lower the arm. A typical number might be (say) 2544. This means the arm must be positioned 25.44 turns from its highest position. (No, I don't go up to the highest position every time! I have a visual marker for where 2500 is, from there I just rotate the pointer clockwise to .44. Voila! 2544.)

***

Now imagine I pull out an LP and the post-it tells me I last played it using the setting just before I got UNIverse #3. The arm height for that play was (let's say) 2660.

Checking the master list, I see that there've been two adjustments since then. Adding them together (-220 and +3) yields an adjustment of -217. Add that to the previous absolute height (2660 - 217) yields a new absolute height of 2443. That's where I start the arm for this play.

It's unusual to be off by more than 5 or so, even if the previous play was several years and system changes ago. I fine tune while listening and update the post-it while re-sleaving the record.

Of course this is MUCH faster do than to write. :-)

Doug & Paul

And I thought I was OCD. Awed and humbled

My take is that the effect of a ring clamp depends on the turntable where it is used. In the case of the turntable I build, a ring clamp has the potential to affect the moment of inertia to the detriment of the sound. It depends on the weight of the clamp, and it also depends on the drive system. If the turntable is a drive method other than a belt type, I would suggest trying the clamp first because too much mass at the outer edge of the platter has the potential of negatively affecting transients and micro dynamic detail. All that said, it may be possible to develop a featherweight ring clamp...fingers crossed.

Mosin, I have to agree with you. On some albums the ring is a plus, some not so much, and still others no way.

I find that the albums that are really flat (typically 200g pressings), benefit from no ring or center clamp. I will postulate that the album sits mostly on the platter which more easily dissipates resonances. I will add that Larry's top plate is smaller than the album, so the small lead in bump is hanging out over the platter. My older thinner rock and pop albums need both clamp and ring, likely from the fact they are warped.

How does this sound Mosin; I am going to go out and find a nice big piece of slate. Uneven, jagged edges, lots of loose layers. I will ask Larry to machine the appropriate holes, etc, and nothing else. I would think that this ugly looking thing will dissipate any and all plinth associated vibrations????. What do you think?.

Billy

It is even more impressive to watch Doug and Paul as they tune. A glance, a nod, a tilt of the head, some mumbling, etc. Sometimes it is just a shoulder shrug. :-) Can't say I have ever heard them go the wrong way.

I can't help but think that the extra mass in the thicker LPs may change the resonance characteristics in the vinyl, and by that have an effect on how the platter surface does its work. Thicker LPs aren't as easily excitable.

But Mosin is also on the mark. (yeah, like Win needs me to tell him about 'tables ) It does depend on the table. I know well the tables that Doug, Jazzdoc, and myself use so I am fairly confident that these can handle the weight of a ring. More importantly these tables have platters that give us a fighting chance at exceptional resonance control. Cousinbillyl's Onyx looks like it works well with a ring from the pictures. ;-)

I'm still planning to give the Galibier Anvil another try without the o-rings. Thom's TPI surface changed things so that the compliance of the o-rings used on the spindle and Anvil can sometimes cause some folks to squint. At six pounds there is real potential for platter surface coupling.