Designed to provide better coupling of the record to the
platter, thereby improving the sound, somebody use them also to flatten out
warped records. My personal experience comes from a comparative test of
some models now available online (ebay as well) or in stores... these are the models
proposed i.e. by Audiosilente, Klimo, CM2, Sublima…
 |
| Audiosilente Graphite Clamp |
 |
| Klimo (steel) |
 |
| CM2 (Steel+Panzerholtz) |
 |
| Handcraft made by brass from ebay |
 |
| Sublima Stone |
 |
| Handcraft made by Panzerholtz from the net |
The strange thing, that immediately
jumps to the eyes, is that each
producer adopts different fiolosofie to achieve the improvement mentioned above... some focus on weight, others on the materials (panzerholtz, brass, stone, graphite), and so on.
My tests started with all clamps by listening well known records and trying to find some differences in the COUPLING process and in sound improvements. Immediately I preferred the heavy ones, likely due to the TT currently available in my system (direct drive or pulley turntables); probably the light ones are more suited for floating/beltdrive TT: infact using the light ones on my 930 or SP10 the difference was pretty subtle.
My tests started with all clamps by listening well known records and trying to find some differences in the COUPLING process and in sound improvements. Immediately I preferred the heavy ones, likely due to the TT currently available in my system (direct drive or pulley turntables); probably the light ones are more suited for floating/beltdrive TT: infact using the light ones on my 930 or SP10 the difference was pretty subtle.
So I have passed directly to heavy ones immediately noticing a greater flatness and a better coupling to the turntable platter: from this point of view the use of the clamp is definitely an improvement, especially in cases of warped Lps.
SONICALLY, the work is more difficult: by listening to several
rock records I did not observe any discernible differences. Contrariwise
on classical and jazz recordings the sound offered a slightly higher level of
details, allowing me hear each layer of the music with a touch more
distinction. There seemed to be a little bit more air between the instruments
and the soundstage appeared to expand ever so slightly.
My favourite? honestly I can not
find a winner, perhaps
the Klimo or the
CM2 ones have, in
my system and in my opinion, offered the best performance...a good mix of mechanical and sound improvements (preferable also from an aesthetic point of view)... but
it was pretty subtle and I found minimal differences between
all them (the heavy ones).
One thing is certain ... never without !!!
Stay tuned ;)
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