The CLAMP - Official Swap Thread

wodom1

hearingimpared wrote:

I know you've been here a long time, I wasn't worried about you skipping town I was thinking more on the lines of what Antny's going through. I've done those 80 to 100 hours stints, they really knock the heck out of you and it takes a week or two to recover if you do it for any length of time. Heck the money sucks too because all the overtime knocks you into the 45 to 50% bracket.

Hang in there Brother this too shall pass.

No O/T for me as I'm salaried...Work's not bad, just exhausting...and I'm compensated well so I'll get over it!

Now...Back on topic!

hearingimpared

wodom1 wrote:

No O/T for me as I'm salaried...Work's not bad, just exhausting...and I'm compensated well so I'll get over it!

Now...Back on topic!

I hijacked my own thread!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaa:D

polrbehr

OK, Joe. I got it today, safe and sound.
The instructions actually arrived yesterday.

I'll try to give it a whirl later.

hearingimpared

Good stuff brother, I can't wait to read your impressions.

wodom1

polrbehr wrote: »

OK, Joe. I got it today, safe and sound.
The instructions actually arrived yesterday.

I'll try to give it a whirl later.

Glad to hear it arrived safe and sound. I hope there wasn't any concern about whether it would arrive in any condition other than safe and sound...

hearingimpared

wodom1 wrote: »

Glad to hear it arrived safe and sound. I hope there wasn't any concern about whether it would arrive in any condition other than safe and sound...

I had no doubts Bro.

polrbehr

None here either, Josh.

I was simply letting you all know that I got it, in one piece, but had not yet

actually tried it out, is all. Potential destruction during transit is always a

possibility (well, not for THIS thing!); I had not meant it to be a suggestion

that you would do less than whatever it took to ensure safe arrival.

hearingimpared

polrbehr wrote: »

None here either, Josh.

I was simply letting you all know that I got it, in one piece, but had not yet

actually tried it out, is all. Potential destruction during transit is always a

possibility (well, not for THIS thing!); I had not meant it to be a suggestion

that you would do less than whatever it took to ensure safe arrival.

Believe me and ask Fireman Dave. . .the United States Postal Service can and will find a way to break anything including this practically indestructable piece.

Fireman32

hearingimpared wrote: »

Believe me and ask Fireman Dave. . .the United States Postal Service can and will find a way to break anything including this practically indestructable piece.

Oh yea they can. Joe shipped me my clamp that I bought after trying it out in the swap. I get it and I cant turn it at all. I took it apart and used all my strength to the point of breaking my hands to try to get it to turn. I took it to the post office to file the claim and they told me it wasn't broken. Oh well Joe the damaged clamp has been shipped to you today and they tell me you should have it on tuesday. I included all of the insurance paperwork so hopefully you will have better luck. Spent a couple of hours today listening with the new clamp and i'm very happy.

polrbehr

OK, so I've had the Clamp for two weeks now, and my impressions were both expected and surprising at the same time. I expected that the Clamp would be well-made and perform as advertised, and it did. I was a bit surprised that the differences were almost imperceptable on some tracks. My rig is the likely reason for that, as I am only running a Pioneer PL-2 TT, and my setup is in the basement for now, and until it's finished, it's not the ideal sonic environment, I know.

I tested using selections from Herb Alpert, Sat. Night Fever soundtrack, Journey, Led Zep, The Police, Van Halen, and ZZTop. Two things became apparent right away... my record collection is extremely old and worn (too many "late night listening sessions" in the 80's), and is in need of thorough cleaning due to mold issues from garage storage . While the Clamp did seem to lessen some of the scratching/popping/hissing from the tracks I played, I think my tests would have been more effective on less worn-out albums. Shame on me for not taking better care of them.

And, as luck would have it, my TT is now useless, as it constantly goes through an "end of the album" cycle, even though the tonearm is nowhere near the end (?). BTW, any feedback on how I could possibly fix this myself would be appreciated. Or, I will look into having it fixed, or getting another TT once the Eagle sh!ts . Interesting experience, though, and Joe makes a well-made product, even if I don't own good enough hardware to truly appreciate its merits.

hearingimpared

Thanks Harry for the kind words. I emailed shoester5 as he is next in line. If he doesn't reply by this evening we will go to the next in line who happens to be Darqueknight.

Joe

hearingimpared

polrbehr wrote: »

OK, so I've had the Clamp for two weeks now, and my impressions were both expected and surprising at the same time. I expected that the Clamp would be well-made and perform as advertised, and it did. I was a bit surprised that the differences were almost imperceptable on some tracks. My rig is the likely reason for that, as I am only running a Pioneer PL-2 TT, and my setup is in the basement for now, and until it's finished, it's not the ideal sonic environment, I know.

I tested using selections from Herb Alpert, Sat. Night Fever soundtrack, Journey, Led Zep, The Police, Van Halen, and ZZTop. Two things became apparent right away... my record collection is extremely old and worn (too many "late night listening sessions" in the 80's), and is in need of thorough cleaning due to mold issues from garage storage . While the Clamp did seem to lessen some of the scratching/popping/hissing from the tracks I played, I think my tests would have been more effective on less worn-out albums. Shame on me for not taking better care of them.

And, as luck would have it, my TT is now useless, as it constantly goes through an "end of the album" cycle, even though the tonearm is nowhere near the end (?). BTW, any feedback on how I could possibly fix this myself would be appreciated. Or, I will look into having it fixed, or getting another TT once the Eagle sh!ts . Interesting experience, though, and Joe makes a well-made product, even if I don't own good enough hardware to truly appreciate its merits.

Harry you can get a new on just like yours for $89 on this site. But if you are going to spring for a new turntable you can do leaps and bounds better than that for not much more money.

shoester5

hearingimpared wrote: »

Thanks Harry for the kind words. I emailed shoester5 as he is next in line. If he doesn't reply by this evening we will go to the next in line who happens to be Darqueknight.

Joe

YES! YES! I'm still very interested in giving the clamp a try. Both hearingimpared and polrbehr check your PM.:)

hearingimpared

shoester5 wrote: »

YES! YES! I'm still very interested in giving the clamp a try. Both hearingimpared and polrbehr check your PM.:)

Did ya get that Harry???

polrbehr

Yeah, I should have checked this thread first .

It'll be on its way ASAP.



Sent out to shoester5 on 4/23.

PMs to him and Joe.

polrbehr

Joe-

Thanks for the link, as well as the TT advise.

I will likely be trying out new tables, and will eventually clean up my modest

collection so that I may enjoy vinyl again.

hearingimpared

shoester5 wrote: »

YES! YES! I'm still very interested in giving the clamp a try. Both hearingimpared and polrbehr check your PM.:)

Dude the USPS just reported that they tried to deliver the clamp to you yesterday and you weren't there. Harry has been PMing you.

Are you still with us???? Please respond to something. The PO will be sending it back to Harry soon. If they do, I think you should pick up the shipping tab to the next guy in line!!! Josh!!!

candyliquor35m

Joe's customer service line was open late tonight. I had a feeling it was user error but I wanted to make sure.

After putting the clamp on my albums I could see light between the clamp and the album which is just the opposite of what the clamp is trying to achieve immo. Turns out I wasn't tightening the clamp tight enough. I was tightening about 1/2 turn but Joe advised me that may not be tight enough so I tried 3/4 and that solved the problem.

Thanks Joe.

hearingimpared

candyliquor35m wrote: »

Joe's customer service line was open late tonight. I had a feeling it was user error but I wanted to make sure.

After putting the clamp on my albums I could see light between the clamp and the album which is just the opposite of what the clamp is trying to achieve immo. Turns out I wasn't tightening the clamp tight enough. I was tightening about 1/2 turn but Joe advised me that may not be tight enough so I tried 3/4 and that solved the problem.

Thanks Joe.

Anytime Bro!

shoester5

I was out of town on business and just got back yesterday. I picked the clamp up yesterday from the post office but only had time to try it on a couple of albums. I'll definitely post a well thought review once I had time to check it out fully and will keep all of you informed every step of the way. I appreciate the quick shipping polrbehr.

shoester5

Just a quick update on the clamp....I had a chance to listen to a few albums on Thursday and noticed a big improvement. Better separation, wider sound stage, and more predominant defined bass. The first album I tried is a very well used copy of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours with some scratches and slightly warped. The Clamp not only improved the sound but nearly removed the back ground static with almost complete silence between songs. Now, that's just my first impression. I will doing more intense testing in the next couple of days, but I'm impressed with the little time I have spent with the clamp....More to come.

SCompRacer

I've owned one of Joe's clamps for quite a while but wasn't happy with my vinyl setup so I never did an A/B. That has changed now. Current gear is listed in sig with the exception of a Boston Audio Design Mat 1 Carbon-Graphite mat on the platter.

Normanality and I are of the opinion that The Clamp enhances the vinyl experience by adding more body or weight to the music for a fuller sound. EDIT: As mentioned, it will help flatten out those warped records for better tracking.

Vinyl Spun:

Robert Palmer - Riptide

Standouts on this album are Addicted To Love The drums are explosive, sharp and pound your senses. I Didn't Mean to Turn You On excellent bass by Bernard Edwards.

Mannheim Steamroller - Fresh Aire IV

G Major Toccata Classical pipe organ and kettle drums can really rock.

hearingimpared

Thanks guys!

doctorg

Miner:

I have the same Rotel pre and amp you do, and have been considering upgrading from my ancient (but loved) Harman K. T-60 to P-5. would you share your thoughts on this combo??
Thanks,

miner

Is the T-60/P-5 a tuner? I do not have a tuner in my setup. I, myself am very happ y with my Rotel setup - great value for the dollar. Many view Rotel as mid-fi. If hi-fi means spending $3XXX/component then let it be know I am very pleased with mid-fi. I started with the Rotel RC-1070/RB-1070 combo and had it for about a year and then the RB-1077/RB-1092 were intorduced as ICEpowered amps. I had followed B&O's ICEpower from the start and ws quite intrigued. I wanted more watts but my current location setup would not allow for heavy/heat dissipating amp. The RB-1092 fit my bill to a tee. Even though the RC-1070 souned great with the new amp I was offered the last in-box RC-1090 that could be found so I jumped on it (still have my RC-1070/RB-1070 - may sell). The new 'combo' just opened up my B&W N804. In fact, if I had not already bought my ASW800 sub it would not be needed. I can't understand why some do not like the 'Rotel class D amps'. They stack up against other costing $XXXX more. Once burned in all is heqavenly (about 100 hrs of use). One other thing to consider, class D amps are not as restricted by line conditioners as class A or A/B amps are.

doctorg

T60 is a turntable, just like your new P-5, which I was asking you to comment on...sorry I wasn't more clear.

hearingimpared

doctorg wrote: »

T60 is a turntable, just like your new P-5, which I was asking you to comment on...sorry I wasn't more clear.

The clamp will work on practically any turntable made. . . there are very few that I've come across that it won't grab the spindle with a tenacious grip and bear down on the record.

miner

doctorg wrote: »

T60 is a turntable, just like your new P-5, which I was asking you to comment on...sorry I wasn't more clear.

I looked quite ostentiuously when doing my research on TT. I decided on the Rega P5 because of value/$ (Stereophile's 2005 analogue product of the year). With the TT PSU the speed is dead on - something that Regas have a problem with in the past. This is the first TT I have owned in 20 yrs. I have owned many Duals, a few Thorens, a Yamaha and a Technics. The Rega has outshined them all. The preamp section of the Rotel RC-1090 is subperb IMO for a built-in phono pre. The only gripe I have about the P5 is it take about 2 revolutions to get up to speed. For the TT, Exact cartridge and TT PSU my total outlay was <$1700.

hearingimpared

miner wrote: »

I looked quite ostentiuously when doing my research on TT. I decided on the Rega P5 because of value/$ (Stereophile's 2005 analogue product of the year). With the TT PSU the speed is dead on - something that Regas have a problem with in the past. This is the first TT I have owned in 20 yrs. I have owned many Duals, a few Thorens, a Yamaha and a Technics. The Rega has outshined them all. The preamp section of the Rotel RC-1090 is subperb IMO for a built-in phono pre. The only gripe I have about the P5 is it take about 2 revolutions to get up to speed. For the TT, Exact cartridge and TT PSU my total outlay was <$1700.

The clamp will work on practically any turntable made. . . there are very few that I've come across that it won't grab the spindle with a tenacious grip and bear down on the record.

shoester5

Just a quick update on the clamp. I've been very busy with work and my brother was in town last week, so I haven't had much time to do more in depth testing but planning to spend this Saturday afternoon doing nothing but some serious listening to my music collection. I'll give an update on Sunday after doing the Mother's Day thing.