The CLAMP - Official Swap Thread

hearingimpared

Ben when you receive the Clamp and shims, if you have trouble getting them on or off the spindle, take a reaming tool and give it two twists in each one, that ought to take care of that problem. Apologies to all prior to this for not realizing this earlier.

strider

hearingimpared wrote: »

Ben when you receive the Clamp and shims, if you have trouble getting them on or off the spindle, take a reaming tool and give it two twists in each one, that ought to take care of that problem. Apologies to all prior to this for not realizing this earlier.

:eek: Rest assured, if I have any problems/difficulties I'll give you a call before I attempt repair. Especially if it involves reaming/cutting/boring/torching etc. I'm sure everything will be fine, I can't wait to try it!:)

hearingimpared

strider wrote: »

:eek: Rest assured, if I have any problems/difficulties I'll give you a call before I attempt repair. Especially if it involves reaming/cutting/boring/torching etc. I'm sure everything will be fine, I can't wait to try it!:)

Good deal!

izafar

Joe,

Can you add me the swap list if it is not frozen yet.

Thanks
-izafar

hearingimpared

OK. By popular demand we are going to have a little swap for The Clamp.

For those of you who don't know what The Clamp is, PLEASE READ THIS THREAD.


The ground rules are simple.

1) Post your name IN THIS THREAD if you want to participate in the swap. Then PM me with your usual information. Your name will be listed in the order it appears.

2) When you receive The Clamp, you have THREE (3) WEEKS to play around with it. You will receive the shipping address of the next person in line to demo it. The cost of shipping it on will be on you.

3) Post your thoughts and findings in this thread. The whole point of this swap is for you and others to be able to check it out. You might want to, but others may gain interest based on what you say. so say it...

4) Use it as explained in the directions. If you break it, you bought it. If you do break it, let Joe know immediately, he might be able to save your turntable...

Pretty easy, huh?

Check it out. You will be surprised...



THE LIST

1) candyliquor35m (carl)

2) Fireman32 (Dave)

3) Frank Z

4) wodom1

5) Polrbehr

6) Shoester5

7) DarqueKnight

8) pblanc

9) Strider

10) apc

11) izafar


You're on Bro.:)

strider

Received the Clamp today. Everything's in good shape.

hearingimpared

strider wrote: »

Received the Clamp today. Everything's in good shape.

Excellent, I can't wait to hear your impressions.

lightman1

Interesting. So there is a noticable drop in W&F and an increase in seperation? Sign me up!

strider

Sent the Clamp to Tony (apc) at lunch today, along with PM's to hearingimpaired and Tony with the delivery confirmation and insurance numbers. Hopefully I'll have some time tonight or tomorrow to post my thoughts on The Clamp.

apc

Clamp arrived today. See PMs to strider and hearingimpaired.

apc

I want to thank Joe and the forum for the opportunity to demo The Clamp at home. It is rare that items can be tried out prior to purchasing. The Clamp is obviously constructed of first rate materials and the finish is professional and a handsome addition to any audio decor.

Having said that, you may have read some of the tribulations I have endured regarding my turntables. Admittedly, my equipment pales in comparison to many of the systems you folks have compiled. I powered each of my tests with a vintage Marantz 60 wpc receiver pushing bookshelf Polk RT25's. I used an entry-level Technics SL-D202 turntable and Stanton cartridge. I also used a Pro-ject Debut III and the Ortofon OM 5E cartridge. Finally, I used a Thorens TD160 MKII with a Grado Alchemist A cartridge.

My record collection was compiled from the lates 60's to the late 70's. They were not in mint condition; however, I wet-cleaned and applied anti-static brush prior to each play. My results are not typical. I believe all of the people before me were able to distinguish substantial improvement, but I did not hear a noticeable change. I am placing blame squarely on the pilot and not the plane.

I think I might require some professional help in installing and setting up the cartridge on the Technics, which is the only one I kept. The Pro-ject cartridge was factory installed and the Thorens and Grado were just plain old and in need of refurbishment. I do not have expensive cables or a power conditioner on this system. I have a static problem I cannot clear up even in the humidity of an Alabama July.

I dragged my wife in to listen on a couple of occasions hoping she could detect a difference. Her hearing is better than mine in certain realms. Each of us have some loss in various ranges.

Although I will not be ordering The Clamp immediately, I can say I look forward to rectifying the shortcomings of my system. Thanks again for the chance to learn more and I look forward to reading about your vinyl systems.

Will make arrangement to send to izafar Tuesday.

hearingimpared

apc wrote: »

I want to thank Joe and the forum for the opportunity to demo The Clamp at home. It is rare that items can be tried out prior to purchasing. The Clamp is obviously constructed of first rate materials and the finish is professional and a handsome addition to any audio decor.

Having said that, you may have read some of the tribulations I have endured regarding my turntables. Admittedly, my equipment pales in comparison to many of the systems you folks have compiled. I powered each of my tests with a vintage Marantz 60 wpc receiver pushing bookshelf Polk RT25's. I used an entry-level Technics SL-D202 turntable and Stanton cartridge. I also used a Pro-ject Debut III and the Ortofon OM 5E cartridge. Finally, I used a Thorens TD160 MKII with a Grado Alchemist A cartridge.

My record collection was compiled from the lates 60's to the late 70's. They were not in mint condition; however, I wet-cleaned and applied anti-static brush prior to each play. My results are not typical. I believe all of the people before me were able to distinguish substantial improvement, but I did not hear a noticeable change. I am placing blame squarely on the pilot and not the plane.

I think I might require some professional help in installing and setting up the cartridge on the Technics, which is the only one I kept. The Pro-ject cartridge was factory installed and the Thorens and Grado were just plain old and in need of refurbishment. I do not have expensive cables or a power conditioner on this system. I have a static problem I cannot clear up even in the humidity of an Alabama July.

I dragged my wife in to listen on a couple of occasions hoping she could detect a difference. Her hearing is better than mine in certain realms. Each of us have some loss in various ranges.

Although I will not be ordering The Clamp immediately, I can say I look forward to rectifying the shortcomings of my system. Thanks again for the chance to learn more and I look forward to reading about your vinyl systems.

Will make arrangement to send to izafar Tuesday.

No need to apologize Bro. . . it's all good!

hearingimpared

The swap is officially now over. The remaining clamps will be sold for $500 + shippping each. The Polk forum members get a 20% discount which brings the cost to $400 + shipping with all guarantees in tact.

Thanks to everyone for participating in the swap and thanks to all of you who have purchased my clamp.

danger boy

Joe,

Thanks for making The Clamp available to us.. most of us never would have been able to enjoy the benefits of The Clamp otherwise.

glad you brought it to our attention.

You're a good guy....

miner

hearingimpared wrote: »

The swap is officially now over. The remainding clamps will be sold for $500 + shippping each. The Polk forum members get a 20% discount which brings the cost to $400 + shipping with all guarantees in tact.

Thanks to everyone for participating in the swap and thanks to all of you who have purchased my clamp.

Seriously, the cost has gone up form $135 to $400 plus shipping? Just wanting ot make sure I am understanding this correctly.

hearingimpared

miner wrote: »

Seriously, the cost has gone up form $135 to $400 plus shipping? Just wanting ot make sure I am understanding this correctly.

I was trying to be a nice guy and give the members on this forum a chance to try out the clamp and get a big break in price. I took a major loss in that the clamp cost well over double the $135 cost just in materials. If you take into consideration the manufacturing costs, R & D, testing, etc and compare it to the clamps that are out there, $400 is a bargain. If no one here wants to pay the DISCOUNTED $400 price, I can sell it for $500 easily elsewhere!. Just ask anyone who has purchased one if it is worth the $400.

hearingimpared

danger boy wrote: »

Joe,

Thanks for making The Clamp available to us.. most of us never would have been able to enjoy the benefits of The Clamp otherwise.

glad you brought it to our attention.

You're a good guy....

Thanks Al!

hearingimpared

Tom, hows the clamp working for you?

DarqueKnight

miner wrote: »

Seriously, the cost has gone up form $135 to $400 plus shipping? Just wanting ot make sure I am understanding this correctly.

Yeah, most of us were thrilled to the level of intoxication to get the introductory price. I would invite you to call a custom metal and plastics fabricator and learn how much it costs to make things. Prototyping costs can run in the thousands of dollars.:eek:

hearingimpared wrote: »

I was trying to be a nice guy and give the members on this forum a chance to try out the clamp and get a big break in price.

From the moment the needle was lowering into the record grooves, I knew I was on to a good thing. That's why I ordered two of them....and I'm a guy who's really more into digital than analog.;)

hearingimpared wrote: »

I took a major loss in that the clamp cost well over double the $135 cost just in materials. If you take into consideration the manufacturing costs, R & D, testing, etc and compare it to the clamps that are out there, $400 is a bargain.

Especially for a product that does what it says it will do.

treitz3

Actually, it's not. Mother Nature sent me a message via a lightning bolt about a month ago. I am awaiting a mint amp to get to my house, but Paypal/E-Pray had other plans for me. Such is life.

The new amp should be here Monday or Teusday. When I hook everything back up, I shall do nothing but shake the foundation for about two days, then I'll get back to actual listening. At that time, I'll give vinyl a whirl for about three to four days [for the first time in MY rig in almost two decades] and then I'll install the clamp. At that point I'll give my evaluation. I'm gonna purchase it regardless, just because of the build quality and theory behind it.

I have SACD, redbook, HDCD, XRCD..and other formats that I have been waiting patiently to compare to vinyl for some time now. Keep in mind, I only have the Rega P1, which is an entry level player, so I might not hear what differences you hear. I thank you for the opportunity to try it out and I look forward to getting back to sound once again.:D Rock on.

danger boy

one thing to consider when getting back into vinyl and I just learned this this week is that the stylus and cartridge made a big difference in the sound quality of vinyl.

If you are like me and picked up a turntable recently on the cheap and decided to test out some albums again.. keep in mind that buying a new stylus and in some cases a new cartridge and wire leads will help the sound from the vinyl a lot.

I replaced the stylus/needle on my Pioneer when i first got it at the first of the year.. i bought it at a yard sale in really dusty but otherwise good condition. The thing has been sitting for nearly 20 yrs :eek:

Anyway. to make a long story longer... when i got it.. i replaced the needle but not the cartridge, it sounded ok till just this week, i got a new Audio-technica cartridge and needle and wire leads.. bam!!!! it took my vinyl to a WHOLE new level.

My point is.. spend a few bucks on a decent cartridge and needle and change out those wire leads... all of this can be done for under $100 as was my case.. and believe me it made a whole world of difference over just buying a $26 needle.

So if you're just getting back into albums again.. and are dusting off your old table.. invest in a new stylus at the bare minimum. it's so worth it. It brought back new life to my turntable.

that's it.. enjoy!

hearingimpared

DarqueKnight wrote: »

Yeah, most of us were thrilled to the level of intoxication to get the introductory price. I would invite you to call a custom metal and plastics fabricator and learn how much it costs to make things. Prototyping costs can run in the thousands of dollars.:eek:



From the moment the needle was lowering into the record grooves, I knew I was on to a good thing. That's why I ordered two of them....and I'm a guy who's really more into digital than analog.;)



Especially for a product that does what it says it will do.

Thank you sir for the kind words.:)

schwarcw

The clamp is a bargain at $400. It made a noticeable difference from the moment I put it into my system. Thanks Joe!

hearingimpared

schwarcw wrote: »

The clamp is a bargain at $400. It made a noticeable difference from the moment I put it into my system. Thanks Joe!

Thanks Carl. We have a member here who has just purchased a vinyl rig, cleaning machine and all and I want him to have one these because there is nothing else like it out there, at least to my knoweldge, and I can't seem to convince him of that. I only have three or four left.

Of all the components that compose my analog rig, I think the permanent fixture is not the platter, or the tonearm or the table itself, it is the clamp. That one piece of gear will be spinning with my vinyl till the day I pass on. I'm still blown away that no turntable manufacturer has stolen and used the design.

schwarcw

hearingimpared wrote: »

I'm still blown away that no turntable manufacturer has stolen and used the design.

Ain't that the truth. In the world of audio tweaks, this is a blockbuster. I haven't seen any accolades by owners of your clamp (me included) on some of the other Forums. We must be jagoffs! (in a McKeesport accent)

Carl

hearingimpared

Maybe we are just trying to keep this in the family!

McKeesport accent LOL! a jagoff is a jagoff in any accent.

strider

Many thanks for making The Clamp available to audition, Joe. I enjoyed my time with it immensely. I also feel remiss in my duty to report on my impressions of it when I had it. Life's calmed down quite a bit since I had my turn some months ago, so I'll go from memory here. The first thing I noticed was the increased distinction of the various instruments and voices. Rather then hearing a drum kit, I could discern individual pieces and their space within the soundstage. Listening to "Scarborough Fair" without The Clamp I heard male vocals dead center, with a female vocalist somewhere betwixt the two. With the Clamp the vocals were still in the same locations, but the seperate vocals were clearly defined within that space in a manner I hadn't imagined possible. Another item of note was the bass. One of the albums I used to audition it was a collection of Bach's compositions played on the pipe organ. I was impressed how deep my 2B's dug when I first played the album, with The Clamp installed it was taken to another level. The bass was deeper and much tighter. Instead of just rumbling the room, I could hear the "reedy" qualities of the organ.

All this being said, I feel the biggest thing I took from the Clamp swap was the experience itself. Being able to A/B a componenent in such a quick fashion really made the differences evident. My experience in comparing subtleties in equipment is quite limited, especially when compared to most around here. This swap really opened my eyes.

Thanks again, Joe!

Ricardo

hearingimpared wrote: »

Thanks Carl. We have a member here who has just purchased a vinyl rig, cleaning machine and all and I want him to have one these because there is nothing else like it out there, at least to my knoweldge, and I can't seem to convince him of that. I only have three or four left.

Joe, if you really really want me to have it, just send it

hearingimpared

Ha ha ha! I think you need this item. It will produce all kinds of improvements over your current Pro-ject clamp. Just the mass alone will reveal a lower noise floor and more stable image.

Ricardo

Check your email Joe