Not sure where to put this but are there measurements on vibrations regarding using clamps, weights and different platter mats? I don't know how you would accurately measure vibrations/resonance on the actual record whilst spinning to assess if clamps/weights make a difference and if so, what materials used bring the most benefits, if any. In the same way, how does one measure a headshell or tonearm for resonance?
Everything I read about the above is mostly/exclusively subjective. An example of this is the thread;
I did some casual tests on the effects of platter mats and clamping thus: With turntable (Audio Technica AT-LP120USB) connected to a real time analyzer (built into my Behringer DEQ2496), I lowered the stylus onto a stationary record. Then I set about creating a racket in the vicinity of the turntable by clapping my hands, with and without dust cover installed, tapping on the shelf the turntable sat upon, the plinth, or even the record itself.
Observations:
The turntable's rubber isolation feet seemed to have limited effect on frequencies in the sub-30 Hz region, and such subsonic energy was always present, presumably picked up from the environment.
Dust cover amplifies the tendency for sound energy to be transmitted to the stylus, particularly if dust cover is open.
Even without any platter mat, simply placing a record atop the platter dampened vibration from airborne sonic energy a great deal. And the stock felt slip mat was surprisingly effective too. But records themselves can pick up some of this airborne sonic energy, particularly if slightly warped and not making good contact with the platter, and for this, even gentle clamping action in the label area seemed useful.
What I've done:
Remove dust cover when playing records
Purchase lightweight metal record clamp via AliExpress. Alternately, I could have purchased a record weight, but I wasn't sure if the added weight would be hard on the turntable bearing, so I opted to minimize added weight. Based on prior experiments, I only apply modest clamping force.
Purchased Parks Audio Waxwing DSP phono preamp, a remarkable device which among other things, allows me to filter out subsonic energy from the convenience of my phone, all while observing the effects on my RTA display. I felt that setting the Lo filter to 35 Hz seemed to be ideal. Alternately, replacing the turntable with one with a spring-isolated design (AR, Linn LP12 et al) is an option.
What's missing:
I hadn't thought of a way to gauge vibrations being generated during disk playback via the stylus, nor resonances which might result.
