Sound Foundations vinyl lp periphery ring

spiritofmusic

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Just a little publicity for a very worthwhile addition to my ever-improving analog setup.

A few years ago I used to run a TT Weights vinyl lp periphery ring on my previous tt. It was pretty effective in both flattening moderately dished lps, and maxxing lp-platter contact.

However TTW are long gone, and the only rings on the market are eye wateringly priced, w the Clearaudio at c€1000, and the VPI not much cheaper.

So it was a nice surprise to come across the one I've bought and started using, at less than $250 delivered:

www.soundfoundations.in

I'm really pleased w the ring from Ali of Sound Foundations. It was delivered from India promptly to the UK, is v nicely engineered, and adds a very nice additional level of heft to my vinyl sound.

My tt is a little unusual in that the lp sits on Delrin cones bonded to the Al platter, and doesn't use any weight or clamp to secure the lp down. So lps that are even moderately dished do have a tendency to undulate when spinning which must add some complexity to stylus tracking. This ring certainly takes care of a great deal of this issue, despite the fact that the tt designer would berate me for compensating for a deliberate design feature of his (formal zero anchoring down of lp when playing).

So if anyone is considering an lp ring, baulks at the prices being asked, and fancies giving a fledgling boutique company a go, I'm sure you'll be pleasantly satisfied.
 
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XV-1

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I used to have the VPI outer ring with my HRX. As you said, they work quite well in flattening mild dishing. But a total pita to use every day on every record.

After I sold the HRX I bought an Orb DF-02 record flattener. Best piece of equipment I have ever bought. Just pop the ever popular dished lp that seems to be more prevalent now than ever with new vinyl and it comes out flat several hours later.

Anyway, good to hear a new company has come out with a cost effective outer ring.
 
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kodomo

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I have the Kuzma outer ring and it is great for both flattening the records and sound, it also works very good in combination with the Kuzma ebony weight. This is all on a Kuzma Stabi M. I use the ebony weight all the time as you can put it on and off as the tt is spinning but to put the outer ring on I need to stop the tt so it is not always on and as practical.
 

bonzo75

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I used to have the VPI outer ring with my HRX. As you said, they work quite well in flattening mild dishing. But a total pita to use every day on every record.

After I sold the HRX I bought an Orb DF-02 record flattener. Best piece of equipment I have ever bought. Just pop the ever popular dished lp that seems to be more prevalent now than ever with new vinyl and it comes out flat several hours later.

Anyway, good to hear a new company has come out with a cost effective outer ring.

How long does it take to flatten an LP with the ORB?
 

XV-1

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How long does it take to flatten an LP with the ORB?

You set 1.5, 2 or 2.5 hours. It then takes another 2 or 3? hours to cool down.

A lot of the time I just put the dished/warped lp in, set to 2 or 2.5 hours at night time and take it out in the morning.
 
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Audiophile Bill

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How long does it take to flatten an LP with the ORB?

It depends Ked...

Try flattening a warped 240g Pye and you can require 10 cycles and still not get there. The opposite also true.

Best solution is the vacuum suck down lol.
 
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spiritofmusic

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Bill, if vacuum hold down is best, then the best solution by definition is a tt 10x pricier than mine since that's what going vacuum will dictate.
 

XV-1

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Bill, if vacuum hold down is best, then the best solution by definition is a tt 10x pricier than mine since that's what going vacuum will dictate.

Marc. BIG if :eek:

If your table is sounding the best it has, sit back and enjoy the music.

Can the Sound Foundations ring be left on the table ala VPI under the vinyl or does it have to go over the vinyl?
 

spiritofmusic

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XV, I was just commenting on the one big drawback of vacuum hold down ie price. I'm not moving from a £7k tt to a £70k one anytime soon LOL.

The SF ring drops on the vinyl itself.
 
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spiritofmusic

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I used to have the VPI outer ring with my HRX. As you said, they work quite well in flattening mild dishing. But a total pita to use every day on every record.

After I sold the HRX I bought an Orb DF-02 record flattener. Best piece of equipment I have ever bought.

A more affordable alternative to the Orb is the Vinyl Flat

www.vinylflat.com

This is my next port of call, I have two dozen lps that the SF ring won't sort.

And again, I'd rather spend £150 than 10x that on the Orb.

Also awaiting any day soon my Pathe Wings panzerholz record weight.
 

XV-1

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A more affordable alternative to the Orb is the Vinyl Flat

www.vinylflat.com

This is my next port of call, I have two dozen lps that the SF ring won't sort.

And again, I'd rather spend £150 than 10x that on the Orb.

Also awaiting any day soon my Pathe Wings panzerholz record weight.

The vinyl flat is supposed to be very good.

I bought the Orb 10 years ago, so I have had a lot of use out of it and the price has long been forgotten. More so these days as so many new releases are dished as record plants don't seem to understand QC and how long 180 gm records need to cool for.

funny, I no longer use rings and record weights - don't seem to need them and prefer the sound without.
 

spiritofmusic

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XV, this is all a little experiment for me. I may well find that if I undish my records via Vinyl Flat that I'll have little use for the ring and weight. As things stand, the ring is bringing up the SQ a little.

I could easily have spent £8-10k on a complement of KL ultrasonic, Furutech demag and flattener, Clearaudio ring and fancy record weight. I'm going to have spent no more than £2k on the same items, but different brands, Degritter ultrasonic, Walker demag, Vinyl Flat, Sound Foundations ring and Pathe Wings weight.

Good bargains in our Brexit challenging times LOL. And fulfils my love of finding new companies, small and boutique, w amazing performance to price ratio, and excellent customer service.
 
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Bwaze

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I was prepated to order a SoundFoundations outer ring, but then I found this:

Copyright Infringement using images and a review
of the Universal Stabilizing Ring​

There is someone on the www who manufactures a stabilizing ring. There is nothing wrong with that. But he uses images from my web site and this page. On top of that he puts a link on his web site to the review in Positiv-Feedback Online and pretends that the review is about his ring, while my design is unique because it a sandwich construction. So I have sent a message to him:

Dear Sir,
It is only recently that I come across your pages and see that you are using images from my site and also are linking to the review on Positive Feedback Online which is illegal. First of all you did not ask for my permission to copy images. Nor did you confer with me on the possible use of the name Universal Record Stabilizing Ring. Let alone the fact that you link to the review.
You suggest that your ring is a further development of my sandwich design while it is definitely not the case. Furthermore by using the content of my pages, you suggest that the Award I won is also valid for your product.
I urge you to remove the images you copied from my Universal Record Stabilizing Ring page: http://www.soundfountain.com/amb/ttring.html
Let me know what you are doing about this copyright infringement.
In the mean time I will notify positive-feedback online about the illegal use of their review of the product for wich I received an award.
Sincerely
Rudolf A. Bruil
www.soundfountain.com


Of course Mr. Bruil didn't invent outer ring, and SoundFoundations Universal Record Stabilizing Ring (USRS)-MK2 is a bit different (made out of single piece of stainless steel), but this is really shady.

SoundFounations still uses link to a review that was written for SoundFountain ring, as if it reviewed their own product:

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue20/ursrclamp.htm

I don't know if SoundFountain ring is still being made, and it was about twice as expensive as SoundFoundations.in ring...
 

XV-1

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I was prepated to order a SoundFoundations outer ring, but then I found this:



Of course Mr. Bruil didn't invent outer ring, and SoundFoundations Universal Record Stabilizing Ring (USRS)-MK2 is a bit different (made out of single piece of stainless steel), but this is really shady.

SoundFounations still uses link to a review that was written for SoundFountain ring, as if it reviewed their own product:

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue20/ursrclamp.htm

I don't know if SoundFountain ring is still being made, and it was about twice as expensive as SoundFoundations.in ring...

You are correct. What an A-Hole. he clearly created his Indian site to sound like SoundFountain, which has been around for years.

The Indian copy and paste guy certaibnly would not get a cent from me with this very shady behaviour.

well spotted :)
 

spiritofmusic

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I can't deny this doesn't look good. Apologies for promoting, in all innocence.
 
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Bwaze

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Hey, I only found this because I really researched outer clamps and accidentaly stumbled upon SoundFountain page with very extensive descriptions, and also a warning about infringement.

I think SoundFountain page is from 2015, it's interesting that he doesn't say which Indian company or individual is guilty of this infringment, but it can't be other than SoundFoundations.in.
 
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spiritofmusic

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Bwaze, you'll know the choice for rings is not exactly wide, hence my excitement at finding this product.

For unrelated reasons, I'm finding I'm not using the ring. The way my linear tracking arm works with a manifold over the platter means it's proving impractical to use the ring. C'est la vie.
 

bonzo75

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Bwaze, you'll know the choice for rings is not exactly wide, hence my excitement at finding this product.

For unrelated reasons, I'm finding I'm not using the ring. The way my linear tracking arm works with a manifold over the platter means it's proving impractical to use the ring. C'est la vie.

Sorry, but the website confusion aside... You were recommending a product after your usage that you are unable to use?
 

Bwaze

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Mar 15, 2016
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If I understand correctly the only thing centering this "USRS" ring is record, right? So if a record is not centered, the whole 800 grams is off centre too?
 

spiritofmusic

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It's a device that's borderline unusable on my tt. My linear tracking arm runs on a rail a few inches above the platter. Additionally the cart sits just a couple of inches from side of platter when at rest. All of this is totally unlike a tt w usual pivoted arm.

So, I had to be extremely judicious sliding the ring on and off lps, and this has proved impossible to get right each time, I've already clipped my cart once or twice. Would be same situation with the Clearaudio or VPI rings. No problem in other situations.

I still stand by my report on SQ.
 

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