Wayne's Audio Outer Ring & Clamp

Joey_V

Peripheral ring helps. I use mine every time

Even if the record isn’t warped

F1nut

bcwsrt, what is the width of the ring?

bcwsrt

Jesse, the width of the ring is 3/4”. The OD is right at 13 3/16”.

F1nut

Thanks!

msg

bcwsrt wrote: »

Got a ring and clamp sooner than I anticipated. I was happy to find that, while I can’t close the dust cover, I do have enough clearance to leave it open and installed while spinning a record. Does it pick up any vibrations that way? Not sure yet …

Didn’t get to do any serious listening yet, but not having had even just a clamp before, it doesn’t really seem all that tedious to install or to remove the two pieces at the end of a side, like I thought it might be. The alignment tool for the ring helps with removal, also, and then you’re ready to go again after you flip the record over.

Excellent, B!
Eager to hear your impression.

I agree, it's not much of a bother to install, and becomes more natural the more you use it. I enjoy it as part of the process.

The whole notion of coupling, stabilization, and resonance damping is what's got me loosely looking at other areas. I've never considered ultra-refined cartridges, because my vinyl setup has always been kind of ho-hum, but with the improvements experienced with the edge ring and center clamp, which add almost 4lbs of mass to the platter, and after reading @keiko 's notes about re-tipping options with his Dynavector, I've been considering one day making a jump to a boron cantilever to see what a stiffer cantilever offers. That's gonna be a while. I'm pretty pleased with the original Denon DL-301 I'm using, so I have to be mindful of not collecting a bunch of mid/high entry carts, which seems like a waste instead of saving for a significant jump to a cart with design elements that complement the gains achieved with the ring and clamp weight.

msg

Also, @bcwsrt, remember the ring and clamp are going to take about 200hrs to settle in on your table. Audio performance may vary wildly during this period.

After about 100hrs, start storing the set in the freezer twice a week between uses.

Once you have 200hrs on them, they should be either on your table or in the freezer full time. This locks in the AMG (Adjusted Molecular Geometry) specific to your table's resonance. It's sort of like wearing a retainer after having braces.

Lastly, completely disregard everything you've just read.

bcwsrt

They're both definitely going to get polished. They look like they've both been laying around a while, which is a bit disappointing, honestly. I will get those suckers looking like they should, though, don't worry!

I've been playing some stuff I ran through the Degritter most recently that I haven't listened to in quite some time, so not the best material to get an initial impression with. I'll get some more familiar stuff out tomorrow ... while it's snowing. Ugh.

One thing for sure is the tonearm no longer bobs up and down. Pretty dramatic improvement there. I mean, that sucker is all but motionless going across an LP. That's gotta be good for something.

msg

I noticed the same with the tonearm tracking. Dead flat and level.

Good question on the suspension movement. I haven't read anything yet on how or whether it affects signal generation, but seems like any movement not coming solely from the groove would affect the sound generated.

I can't remember whether my set arrived super-clean. I wonder if there's a post-manufacturing coating.

I guess my hands must be as dirty as yours and Keiko's, because I have had to give the ring a wipe a few times. Usually just Windex and a blue shop towel, and follow-up with microfiber. I think I might have used Plexus polish on it as a final, which is actually made for plastics on motorcycle bits and helmets, but it's an easy, slick and light protective layer. Wax on, whacks off.

I considered polishing mine, as well. If you do, might give it a final wet wipe with water to ensure there's no residual metal polish that could end up on your records if you use a paste product? I have a tin of some product that's supposed to be like Nevr-Dull or something, but I've not used it on anything yet.

Tip: check the nuts on the placement guide to make sure they're snug. Mine were loose and two came off after a few uses. No biggie, but you don't want to lose them. At first I thought they were loose for a reason, like for fitting over the ring or something, but I think they were just loose. I cinched them down a little. Not too tight. Don't want to crack the guide.

aprazer402

Apply green marker liberally to edge. Will greatly increase clarity and widen imaging.






I kid, I want a real one!

bcwsrt

Did you freeze your nuts, too? That might be why they fell off.

I've got two or three polishing products I can try. I'll go from least to most aggressive, stopping when I'm happy with the results. The least aggressive one you actually wash off with water. I'll report back on what works the best. Prolly do that tomorrow AM while the fam sleeps in. Could just be manufacturing by-product, but if it can look like jewelry, why doesn't it before it ships? They're definitely well-made pieces, just need to look the part.

I believe (?) the vertical movement would translate to a wow & flutter that you would hear, say, on a sustained piano note. The flatness definitely has to lead to a more accurate reproduction nonetheless, I would think. I've never seen anything like that before. Pretty impressive, really.

msg

aprazer402 wrote: »

Apply green marker liberally to edge. Will greatly increase clarity and widen imaging.

I kid, I want a real one!

Lolol pie crust AND green marker mods! You MANIAC!

F1nut

Aluminum needs to be clear coated to prevent things like fingerprints. There are a number of products for that purpose, but I have no personal experience with any of them.

The guys that refinish/restore car wheels would be a good source for coating info.

I wonder if the VPI rings are sealed/coated as I don't recall hearing folks complain about those showing fingerprints.

bcwsrt

This first round of milder stuff I’m gonna try should do the trick if my past experience is any indicator. It’s not really fingerprints that are the issue, it’s more just the cruddy, dull look that machined billet aluminum gets on it after a while. If all else fails, I’ll get my 3” orbital out and smack some sense into both of them, but I highly doubt that’ll be necessary.

Whatever the case, I’ll follow-up with an IPA wipe-down and then the ceramic coating I used on the tweeter bezels Ivan had anodized for the both of us. It leaves a sheen that resists, or at least hides, fingerprints.

Will take some before and after pics.

Here’s a pic of the backside and the inside groove where the outside edge of the record rests.

stangman67

My Wayne’s ring definitely shows fingerprints, hasn’t really bothered me up to this point but maybe it’s time to seal it. @bcwsrt following how yours turns out, I’ll copy you if it comes out nice!


-Zach

bcwsrt

Yep! This super-mild stuff was just the ticket:

bcwsrt

Before:

bcwsrt

During:

bcwsrt

After:

aprazer402

^^^ Nice job! Worked great.

bcwsrt

One more, after Adam's Graphene Ceramic Coating:



Now that's how it should've looked out of the box! I'll have to handle it with gloves on until it cures, then we'll see how it does with fingerprints tomorrow.

@F1nut, I thought maybe that Renaissance Micro-Crystalline Wax Polish might also be a good candidate for this? Says it can be used on metals and I thought I saw somewhere it is fingerprint resistant.

msg

Oh wow Brian, yeah, mine didn't look like that Did you ask Wayne about it?

Looks great now.

bcwsrt

The clamp is pretty similar. No, I didn't ask him about it because I knew I could deal with it, but it was disappointing the first time you lay eyes on something as pricey as these pieces. Gives me the impression they were used returns or something. Oh, well. I'll work on the clamp later and maybe try Jesse's wax as a sealer to see which one deals with fingerprints better. Probably would've ended up doing that part, even if they would've looked decent to begin with, so not the end of the world.

msg

You should ask Wayne about that. Tell him you ordered on the beaming experiences of several forum members, and mention that they appeared to be used items.

You're right, these are expensive accessories and you shouldn't have felt anything but excited and immediately pleased with them. Certainly not disappointed and having to polish them. That's something you might expect with B-stock or open box, but those are typically significantly discounted and any blemishes are noted.

I feel disappointed with you, man.

F1nut

I thought maybe that Renaissance Micro-Crystalline Wax Polish might also be a good candidate for this? Says it can be used on metals and I thought I saw somewhere it is fingerprint resistant.

You can use it on metals and it is fingerprint resistant, but I've never used it on aluminum or a metal object that will be handled constantly.

bcwsrt

I still think I'll try it on the clamp, maybe in a small area, like on top, first. It sure did dry hard on the applicator pad I used to do my 15s with, which makes me think it's worth a shot. And those speakers just look sooooo good, now!

msg

Turns out mine wasn't as clean and shiny as I thought! After seeing your before and after shots @bcwsrt, I took a closer look at mine. It didn't have a manufacturing coating on it, but it wasn't clean polished. It had a haze of a sort, so I took to a quick polish on it using Cape Cod polishing wipe, follow-up with clean cloth, turning until the cloth was clean. Finished up with Renaissance Micro-Crystalline Wax Polish, since you mentioned it. I need to order my car care products. That was a good idea finishing with the Adam's Graphene.

Still gets finger and hand prints on it! but it's slick and easier to wipe off.

I'm gonna start calling you Golem, for your love of shiny, precious things.

bcwsrt

If it can shine, it will!

msg

F1nut wrote: »

Aluminum needs to be clear coated to prevent things like fingerprints. There are a number of products for that purpose, but I have no personal experience with any of them.

The guys that refinish/restore car wheels would be a good source for coating info.

I wonder if the VPI rings are sealed/coated as I don't recall hearing folks complain about those showing fingerprints.

Hey Jesse, I had to double-check to be sure, but the rings are machined from #304 stainless steel.

I wonder if those stainless appliance cleaning sprays would help reduce fingerprints.

pitdogg2

I wonder if those stainless appliance cleaning sprays would help reduce fingerprints.

Most are naptha based and leave behind an oily residue.

treitz3

Better to use glass cleaner than an SS spray.

Tom