Best turntable mats.
- Thread starter Bob C
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doctor fuse
Super Member
I can never decide which mat I like best. I have:
- an Ultimat by Angstrom (heavy black rubbery mat from the 80s)
- a grey, soft rubbery Music Mat (from the late 70s or early 80s)
- a generic felt mat
- a generic cork mat
- a Mission silicon mat
Plus random rubber mats, plus the stock Lenco, Rega, Denon, Technics, Thorens, Akai, CEC, etc mats.
- an Ultimat by Angstrom (heavy black rubbery mat from the 80s)
- a grey, soft rubbery Music Mat (from the late 70s or early 80s)
- a generic felt mat
- a generic cork mat
- a Mission silicon mat
Plus random rubber mats, plus the stock Lenco, Rega, Denon, Technics, Thorens, Akai, CEC, etc mats.
Another possible snake-oil source, where it's hard to discern what's factual. Seems that any type of mat can be/is better than every other mat design -- rather like cables. Like cables, it probably depends upon the particular TT, but like cables maybe being system dependent, how does one know where to start? Feed the economy and just keep buying more TT mats & cables?
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
We did turntable mat comparisons. The choice is turntable specific to some degree but the Herbie's seems to always sound pretty good.
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doctor fuse
Super Member
I’ve experimented with cutting out dots of leather, cork, sorbothane, etc (which I had lying around) to get a sense of what sounded like what, which material (if any) helped alleviate static and noises. Sometimes I think the record on a bare metal platter (especially dished platters) with a good clamp sounds best.
It really depends on the table on what mat or weight/clamp works best. The best thing you can do is experiment for yourself of various types, you should be able to tell the difference for sure. I have used Cork, cow leather, lamb, graphite, acrylic etc.
On my Nottingham table Graphite was the best hands down with my Thorens 125 cork worked best, my ARXA lamb is the best and my Teres Audio with its 30lbs acrylic platter no Mat sounds best. I did try the graphite mat on the Teres and it sucked the life out of the music and pushed the soundstage forward. So there is no one answer to your question you have to experiment yourself and decide with your ears.
As far as weights that someone asked about the answer is the same as above however I will say this, I have found that with a suspended table clamps work best and mass loaded tables work best with heavy weight and weight/clamp combo, but again experiment yourself and don’t listen to the naysayers saying it’s a waste of money, as long as you’re having fun and hearing changes is all that matters but you won’t know it unless you try. Good luck
Audiofreak71
On my Nottingham table Graphite was the best hands down with my Thorens 125 cork worked best, my ARXA lamb is the best and my Teres Audio with its 30lbs acrylic platter no Mat sounds best. I did try the graphite mat on the Teres and it sucked the life out of the music and pushed the soundstage forward. So there is no one answer to your question you have to experiment yourself and decide with your ears.
As far as weights that someone asked about the answer is the same as above however I will say this, I have found that with a suspended table clamps work best and mass loaded tables work best with heavy weight and weight/clamp combo, but again experiment yourself and don’t listen to the naysayers saying it’s a waste of money, as long as you’re having fun and hearing changes is all that matters but you won’t know it unless you try. Good luck
Audiofreak71
billyz
Super Member
Of all the mats I have tried I prefer the Funk Firm Achromat by a wide margin. Felt, rubber, stock, Herbies and more. It has outperformed all the others on a Linn LP12, Sansui 2050, Pioneer, Technics and my Lenco L75. Whether I ran a MM or MC cartridge.
I have not tried Cork .
I have not tried Cork .
There are so many posts on AK where people are asking "what's best?". What are the best bookshelf speakers? What's the best cartridge under $200? What's the best tube amp? What's the best turntable?
If there was a best turntable mat, wouldn't everyone know and wouldn't everyone have got one? I think I've seen every material conceivable proclaimed as the best by someone on a forum. There is no consensus. Just look at the responses so far to this thread.
Schroedinger
Cars and Guitars
I have a suspicion that a lot of the audible differences between turntable mats come down to changing thicknesses without changing setup parameters like VTA.
You may well be right.
