GEM Dandy R.C.C. or Herbie's Way Excellent II on a Harmon Kardon T60

[MCM_Fan]

I have purchased a second Harman Kardon T60 and the original mat is dried out, hard and brittle. My other T60 has a 5mm Herbie's Way Excellent II on it, and I have no complaints, but I have great respect for George Merrill and have read positive reviews of the GEM Dandy mat.

The original anti-resonant mat that came on the HK was 2.8mm thick. The GEM Dandy is 3.2mm thick and the Way Excellent II comes in a variety of thicknesses. Not really a show stopper as the T60 has adjustable VTA (although it's a total pain too adjust). I won't mention specific prices, but they are in the same ballpark.

So, does anyone have experience with either of these mats on an aluminum platter? If so, please share your thoughts. I admit I like the clean look of the Herbie's mat, but you can't see it when the record is playing.

 

[Tedrick]

I have a Way Excellent II mat on my Kenwood KD-500. This mat does a great job of dampening the platter.

 

[Blue Shadow]

Harman Kardon T60 and the original mat is dried out, hard and brittle.

I believe that is correct. But I did not know this table when new but the one I had was a hard mat and I think I read that was the way it is supposed to be.

I like the herbies way excellent.

 

[MCM_Fan]

I believe that is correct. But I did not know this table when new but the one I had was a hard mat and I think I read that was the way it is supposed to be.

I like the herbies way excellent.

Mine feels like it would crack in half if I tired to flex it and would shatter like glass if I dropped it on the floor. There was a layer of oil between the mat and platter that had leeched out of the mat. The mat that came on my Sony PS-X55 was the same way (including the layer of oil), and it actually did crack when flexed. The replacement I got from a forum member was flexible and could easily be folded in half.

I seem to recall ads for the HK that showed how ball bearings wouldn't bounce when dropped on the mat. I just tried that on mine and they definitely bounce, just like if I'd dropped them directly onto my kitchen counter top. If it was originally intended to absorb the impact of the ball bearings, mine is no longer doing so.

 

[MCM_Fan]

I have a Way Excellent II mat on my Kenwood KD-500. This mat does a great job of dampening the platter.

Yes, my first T60 came with a Herbie's Way Excellent II and I like it. Just curious how the GEM Dandy stacks up as it was supposedly designed specifically for damping resonances.

 

[MRL_Audio]

I have a T65C and use Herbie's with zero complaints. The original was so brittle it broke in pieces when I tried to clean it... Frankly I don't miss it.

 

[MCM_Fan]

I have a T65C and use Herbie's with zero complaints. The original was so brittle it broke in pieces when I tried to clean it... Frankly I don't miss it.

The Herbie's is definitely the safe way to go. Just last night, I mounted up my vintage Empire 2000E/III on my second T60 and listened to three of my best sounding, most familiar albums (Van Morrison - Moondance, Cat Stevens - Teaser and the Firecat and Heart - Dreamboat Annie). I played one side with a standard rubber mat, followed by the same side with the Herbie's. I repeated this for all six album sides. I'm usually a little skeptical about my ability to discern subtle differences between things like cables, mats etc., but in this case the differences were clear and obvious. The bass was a bit lacking and flabby sounding with the plain rubber mat. It was much tighter with the Herbie's, seemed more pronounced, and the lack of "flabbiness" also let the mids and highs shine through. That Empire has really nice, sparkly highs, without being overly bright or having any edginess - just a very musical sounding cartridge.

So, it's clear why the HK engineers went with a special non-resonant mat on their original design. Damping the platter resonances really does make a difference. Thankfully, the Herbie's mat is a reasonably affordable, readily available replacement that duplicates the advantages of the original, without the tendency to turn hard and brittle over time.

I'm still contemplating trying the GEM Dandy P.C.C. It would be fun to do a similar A/B comparison between it and the Herbie's, but for me, this is a hobby with a limited budget, so I may just go with the "known good" Herbie's. I'm not in a huge hurry. I can't currently run two tables side-by-side, but am in the process of refinishing a piece of furniture that will allow me to do so. Once that's done, I'll have to make my decision.

Warning: rambling sidebar ahead...

So, keep the comments coming. I'm glad to hear others like the Herbie's mat on the HK tables. I inherited mine on the T60 I bought in March 2019. In the end, that purchase has done more for my vinyl listening pleasure than anything else I've done. Not only is it a great table that works well with my vintage high compliance cartridges, it came with the Herbie's mat and an excellent vintage cart (Grado G2+) with a like new original stylus. I have made a bit of a habit of harvesting vintage cartridges from tables I see at Goodwill and on craigstlist. I buy the tables, remove the vintage cart, completely service the table, install a new cart (or other vintage cart with a NOS stylus) and resell the table (or give it to a friend or family member). The goal isn't to make money on the tables, it's to basically accumulate a collection of great vintage carts that I could not otherwise afford. Point being I've gone through a couple dozen tables over the last 2 years, and the T60 is, by far, my favorite. I liked it so much, that when one showed up on my local craigslist a couple months ago, I snapped it up even though it was missing the dust cover and hinges and needed a lot of work. I recently did a complete servicing on both of my T60s and they are working and sou ding great. Next up is completing the CNC phono stage I'm building, followed by the AVA power supply mod for both tables. For me, the Harman Kardon T60 is definitely a keeper, end game table. Such great performance for so little cash. Nice looking, too.