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Mats - Rubber vs. Felt or the combination of?

N

ndurantz

New Member
Hello All,

Revisiting this forum for the first time in quite awhile as I am now fully into vinyl and it is my preferred way to listen. I am still using my Pioneer PF-12D I picked up back in 2013 and had a question about using a felt mat on top of the rubber mat that came with the table. Would the difference in height make a significant difference in how the stylus would ride in the grove? If yes (in a negative way), can I just use the felt mat directly on the platter without the rubber? It seems that felt is often preferred over rubber for its acoustic dampening, but have also read about leather. Looking forward to hearing others thoughts.
 
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Why not just try the various options and see how it sounds to you? Can that arm adjust height? If so you can mess with that as well. Some of this depends on the cartridge and stylus being used as well. Let your ears do the walkin’!
 
MRL_Audio said:
Why not just try the various options and see how it sounds to you? Can that arm adjust height? If so you can mess with that as well. Some of this depends on the cartridge and stylus being used as well. Let your ears do the walkin’!
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I don't think I can adjust the arm height. I did try it with just the felt mat and I ended up turning down the gain on the pre-amp a bit as the sound was not distorted, just a bit overwhelming? I am not sure how to describe it other than just a bit too much. Despite this, I was hearing some amazing depth in the recording I hadn't before. Opted over to digital listening for now and will go back to some vinyl later in the day for some comparison.
 
There are also cork mats, thick and thin. I have a thinner one that has the label depression. It's only $14. I've had it a couple years, no problems. I've read that some of the cork and rubber ones shed rubber particles. I have a thick rubber one on my other table. Never tried any high end mats. I don't think you want a slip mat unless you're a DJ.
 
If your arm height is not adjustable you should try to keep your mat or mats thickness to where the tonearm is level while on the record. If you swap cartridges that can change. I keep a few mats around of different thicknesses for that purpose
 
Mats are tt specific as to what is best.

The herbies way excellent mat was the best sounding of the 4 we tried on a Thorens TD-160 Super.

So try some and see what you like.
 
On my Pioneer PL-518, I had a good original rubber mat, but wanted to see what all the fuss was about regarding cork. I got a piece of cork (it's probably 1/8 in. thick or 3 mm. for those who measure that way) at a local home improvement store and made a cork mat without spending a bunch on it. Then, I experimented. Rubber alone, cork alone, cork under the original rubber mat, cork on top of the original rubber mat. The first three didn't seem to make much difference, but cork on top of the rubber mat was a distinct improvement. My thinking has been that the rubber mat needs to be in contact with the aluminum platter as it dampens the platter best. Adding the cork may have simply changed the (non-adjustable) VTA for the better, with the cartridge/stylus combo I happened to be running (Shure 97xE & Jico SAS).
 
And I'll add if the tonearms not level and your cartridge is close to 90° in the vertical, don't worry about it. SRA is just as if not more important.

Don't get caught up in the platter mat material thing as this could cost $$$. Another rabbit hole.
 
Another vote for Herbie’s mat. Significantly huge SQ improvement over the cork, felt, and stock rubber mats I’ve experimented with on my Kenwood KD-5077 and Victor QL-Y5.
 
I went with a Record Happy cork/rubber combination mat that I've been happy with compared to the cheap felt mat. It helps improve static, and even think it tightened up the bass, but that could just be my imagination.
 
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On my Technics SL1200MKII and SL1210MK5, I use a mat sandwich, using the stock, hard rubber mat as the base and top it off with a .09" thick EPDM open cell sponge mat (50 durometer). Its a great combination that offers record support, while not killing the sound. The stock rubber mat stops any kind of platter ringing (if there truly is any).

I am not a fan of felt.

If you think cork is an acceptable mat material, Vinyl Styl has a nice one that even has a label recess. Best to get these from Ebay. Just search for Vinyl Styl mat.
 
I have rubber mats for my 2 Kenwoods. One of the Kenwood's does not have variable height arms, so I use various thickness rubber mats to adjust VTA.

I did find using double-sided scotch tape to couple them to the metal platter did reduce ringing when I taped the platter.
 
So many great replies. Thanks everyone!

Sounds like I first need to get a VTA measurement tool? Then mess around with different thickness and materials to see what sounds best?
 
ndurantz said:
So many great replies. Thanks everyone!

Sounds like I first need to get a VTA measurement tool? Then mess around with different thickness and materials to see what sounds best?
Click to expand...

You need one of these to check VTA and cartridge azimuth.

71fuTlWbf0L._AC_SL1500_.jpg
 
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