Platter Mat

[Thunderbox]

On recommendation I bought a felt mat to lay over my original rubber mat. This was supposed to help in absorbing and add dampening. The mat was quite high price for just felt! Question...don't know if the benefits are worth the static cling I am getting now, it even sticks to the album when I pull the album off the spindle! Any thoughts on felt and what about cork mats?? Are do you just stick with the original rubber?

Thanks guys.

Sounds like a humidifier may be needed.

 

[srs735]

After years of experimenting with all types of mats, I use Herbie's Way Excellent mats on all of my Thorens tables. No Contest and they come in different thicknesses to match your table or allow VTA etc.
Regards,
Jim

I've heard great things about the Herbie's Way, but haven't tried one yet. I need to try one and compare it to the RCC mats I bought from Gem Dandy.

Thanks for the reminder,
Stuart

Ahhhhhhh..... mats. In my opinion the sonic differences are minimal between good mats despite the "night-and-day-difference!" style claims. Yes there are differences but they are subtle at best. Even so, I've tried all the different types over the years --- I like cork the best except I've found it to have the most issues with static.
My favorite combination is my current, which is a rubber-infused cork mat on the platter and an acrylic mat atop of it. Quite thick however (4mm cork + 3mm acrylic) and I wouldn't be able to use this combo without adjustable VTA.
If you're struggling with static, try an acrylic mat - they are the best for controlling (mind you, not eliminating) static by a huge margin in my experience.

Great ideas. I have the adjustable VTA, but if I lifted it up that high I wouldn't be able to close the lid

I added a cork/rubber mat right after I got my new TT, and was pleasantly surprised that I heard an audible improvement.

Glad to hear it, I had hopes, but they were truly exceeded
Stuart

 

[dfunghi]

My fave are the deer skin Marc made when he worked on my AR. That said I have found very little audible change as long as the mat is proper fit. Of course my hearing being what it is keeps subtle flaws invisible to my ears. Maybe the nice part of hearing loss is not being too susceptible to subtle changes.

 

[baeron]

Deer skin is great,
Try it!