A new Turntable Mat.

[buckeye56]

Need to replace the warped original rubber mat for my Technics SL D35 turntable. Don't want cork or felt. Yes, my mat has sensor cutouts, too hard to find exact replacement. Sorry for this dumb question, but what's the diff between silicone and rubber, and which would work best on my TT? I've read the above posts about the Funk mat, but not spending $99. Thanks for your help.

 

[cg123]

I've always found the rubber mats that came on my Japanese tables to work fine. Replacing them why?

 

[buckeye56]

I've always found the rubber mats that came on my Japanese tables to work fine. Replacing them why?

It's warped, causing my tonearm to skid across the album on return. Believe me, I'd rather not have to replace it.

 

[Audiofreak71]

It's warped, causing my tonearm to skid across the album on return. Believe me, I'd rather not have to replace it.

Have you tried sourcing an oem rubber mat maybe on eBay?


Audiofreak71

 

[cg123]

It's warped, causing my tonearm to skid across the album on return. Believe me, I'd rather not have to replace it.

Well, that's a whole different story. But like Audiofreak71 asked, couldn't you get an OEM replacement if you liked the one you have?

 

[baconbadge]

Everyone has their own personal preferences with all their various equipment. I went through a mat thing years ago and eventually settled on a Herbie's mat on my ProJect. Cork mats sounded too harsh to me on MY system. The only real way to find out is to try a bunch of different ones and see what you like. ePay usually has random cheap mats you could sample. Static can also be an issue too with some mats.
That said, don't overthink it... or you'll send yourself right to the loony bin with this nutty hobby!

 

[buckeye56]

Well, that's a whole different story. But like Audiofreak71 asked, couldn't you get an OEM replacement if you liked the one you have?

Have you tried sourcing an oem rubber mat maybe on eBay?


Audiofreak71

Hi. My mat has cutouts for sensors, to detect albums and 45s. so that's the problem. I can probably skip it and just not play my 45s. But, here's a question, what is OEM and is it a specific type or brand? And any diff between quality of silicone and rubber or is one better for a vintage Technics? I've looked for the same on Ebay, using the mat's numbers, but no luck.

 

[buckeye56]

Everyone has their own personal preferences with all their various equipment. I went through a mat thing years ago and eventually settled on a Herbie's mat on my ProJect. Cork mats sounded too harsh to me on MY system. The only real way to find out is to try a bunch of different ones and see what you like. ePay usually has random cheap mats you could sample. Static can also be an issue too with some mats.
That said, don't overthink it... or you'll send yourself right to the loony bin with this nutty hobby!

Yep, indeed!

 

[Audiofreak71]

Hi. My mat has cutouts for sensors, to detect albums and 45s. so that's the problem. I can probably skip it and just not play my 45s. But, here's a question, what is OEM and is it a specific type or brand? And any diff between quality of silicone and rubber or is one better for a vintage Technics? I've looked for the same on Ebay, using the mat's numbers, but no luck.

Your best bet is to find someone that’s parting out a deck like yours and maybe had the original mat, others it may be hard to specifically find the oem mat for your table. Otherwise go aftermarket, there are many different types of mats that may fit your need, from cork to felt , leather , carbon fiber , acrylic and graphite.


P.S. you may be able to modify the above mentioned mats (except the graphite) to fit your table and it’s sensors.

Audiofreak71

 

[JoeESP9]

Hi. My mat has cutouts for sensors, to detect albums and 45s. so that's the problem. I can probably skip it and just not play my 45s. But, here's a question, what is OEM and is it a specific type or brand? And any diff between quality of silicone and rubber or is one better for a vintage Technics? I've looked for the same on Ebay, using the mat's numbers, but no luck.

OEM is short for Original Equipment Manufacturer. IOW, the same as what was originally supplied with the TT.

No one has mentioned Acrylic mats. Many TT's have an acrylic platter. Some think an Acrylic mat couples the LP to the platter, especially Acrylic platters, better than anything else.

 

[Carbon13]

Jake's deerhide mats on Amazon. Really nice.

 

[Audiofreak71]

OEM is short for Original Equipment Manufacturer. IOW, the same as what was originally supplied with the TT.

No one has mentioned Acrylic mats. Many TT's have an acrylic platter. Some think an Acrylic mat couples the LP to the platter, especially Acrylic platters, better than anything else.

I did


Audiofreak71

 

[just dave]

Suede is the best mat for my money.

 

[cg123]

Hi. My mat has cutouts for sensors, to detect albums and 45s. so that's the problem. I can probably skip it and just not play my 45s. But, here's a question, what is OEM and is it a specific type or brand? And any diff between quality of silicone and rubber or is one better for a vintage Technics? I've looked for the same on Ebay, using the mat's numbers, but no luck.

Sorry, OEM is an abbreviation for Original Equipment Manufacturer.

 

[gadget73]

I have a Herbie's on my Thorens 160. Had it sized to exactly match the original so the 45 adapter still fits in the original location, and I matched the thickness as well so I didn't have any VTA concerns.

 

[coonmanx]

Back in the day...

My Dual 506 not only sat on its own table with Sorbothane feet but I used a Sorbothane turntable mat as well. I never had any issues with it at all. I don't know if it did anything or helped in any way but it was cool.

 

[8xlaxx]

Another vote for the Herbie's mat. Have owned several.

The only shortcoming of the Herbie's is that it collects quite a bit of dust if not covered. One can certainly use the TT's dustcover... or in my case (no dustcover), just use the thin, circular white sheeting material that comes along with the Herbie's mat for shipping. Works great!

 

[Zygmo]

Deer hide? Fawn, I assume?

 

[coonmanx]

I had to go do some Google Fu because I forgot exactly what sorbothane product I had back then... The isolation table was the Mission Isoplat. And I beleive they also made a turntable mat.

Pretty sure this was the box that the isolation table showed up in...



And this was the actual isolation table that I had. One of the originals. Dark black with black feet. There were no plastic covers on the feet so the material would flatten a bit over time, just as in the photo...

 

[gadget73]

On my list of hopeful eventual upgrades is to get the piece of granite countertop I have cut into a reasonable size and parked under my Thorens. Not the faintest clue if its actually going to do anything productive but the material was free, so hopefully I can get it cut for low cost and make this an easy experiment. If it sounds like garbage I won't be out much.