i've tried these record clamps, stabilizers, weights, etc and they offer very little or no significant advantage whatsoever. to me, they can only be effective if these thigamijigs can evenly lay out the record over the platter or mat. at least, that's what i think they are for originally --- to lay out the record as evenly as possible so that the cartridge can run as evenly as possible through the grooves and tracks. there are turntables like the Luxman PD300 that have suction mechanisms on the platter that lay the vinyl evenly thus negating any need for these clamps or stabilizers or what have you.
if you want a noticeable improvement in your vinyl playback, the "dampers"--- i prefer to call them that --- of Sensei Jon Agner and Herr Mandy Marino are the way to go. but please, they are not record clamps or weights. there is a science to it. in my not-so-intelligent mind, i think Jon's and Mandy's inventions tune in to certain frequencies and negate unwanted resonances to bring out more juice from the sound.
since the analysis i just gave you is more medieval than it is academic, i'm gonna refer you to this article by a certain Val Villanueva, a sort of enfant terrible of the audio scene, and one who belongs to a higher caste than mine as far as this hobby is concerned :
http://www.philstar.com/gadgets/2013/02 ... get-groove
Jon Agner gave me his kamagong damper as part of his "personal social responsibility" to the underprivileged in his audio circle. i also own one of Mandy's active record weight and i tell you, the moment i heard the magical difference, i reacted the way Helen Keller did when Anne Sullivan poured water on her hands.
i'd like to add that you are on the right track when you are thinking of changing the material of your platter. didn't Sensei Jon advise you that the choice of material is critical? King Endrik the Great from the Kingdom of Project 4 issued a royal decree that for his Royal Regas, nothing less than royal glass should be the platter.
i wish to pay forward all the good advice that Jon, Val and Mandy have given me by letting you in on a secret. before taking the big leap into Delrin or any funky mat or material, try this first:
yup, it's a grinding wheel. but don't knock it till you've tried it. buy the 12 inch variant, put it on top of your platter then put your mat on top of the grinding wheel then you're ready to go. just make sure that the spindle is long enough to accommodate the wheel the mat and the record. if not, then you should find a way to lengthen that spindle.
if the results astound you, then you can call me "genius". if the results are forgettable you've got every right to beseech the Administrators to ban me from this site.
k