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Proper mat for a turntable

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It's endlessly debated. I tried a felt mat but went back to the stock rubber mat on my Thorens since I didn't notice a difference.

I'd focus on getting the best TT you can afford and then deciding if a new mat is something you want to explore.
 
Mats can change the subtleties of the sound of a table, I know my Linn Sondek sounds a bit different with the felt mat vs. the Ringmat vs. the Herbies, and with the Herbies, different thicknesses can sound different...

Most of the time I use the Ringmat, and will sometimes switch it for the felt or Herbies, but for me the best balance comes usually from the Ringmat...

If you've never seen a Ringmat, it's made of paper and cork rings, the Herbies is a foam material, I think it's silicone, and felt, well, there are claims that wool felt sounds different from polyester felt, but I wouldn't know, I just have the stock Linn one, whatever that is...
 
The felt one is (mainly) for DJ scratching use since you can slip the LP on it... called a slipmat.
Rubber ones are stock (mainly).
 
Cork, rubber, felt, and silicone are all the same, no advantage or disadvantage from one to the other. Some turntables have no mat, and they sound just fine.
 
moinau: Anyway, as we're in the analog region, it would make sense that different materials have different sonic properties. Try using clay one day.
You speak French?
 
soviet123 said:
The felt one is (mainly) for DJ scratching use since you can slip the LP on it... called a slipmat.
Rubber ones are stock (mainly).
Click to expand...

Not necessarily...

Linn, Rega, even different Music Hall and ProJect tables all have felt mats...and they are DEFINITELY NOT DJ stuff....
 
There is a guy on ebay selling mats for $15.00 thay look realy nice. I all most bought one then. But the next day was walking through wallmart looking for a material to cover some bass traps and i found this weaved rubber like rolls of drawer liner.After I finished the traps i found i had some left over the perfict tt mat i cut to size and there it is the exact thing he is selling.I orderd one of his to compare.There the exact thing and i like my way of termnation better than his.With a low flame a slite scorch and there it is same matt with a better edge.
I know the one i bought was a waste i gave it away.
 
soviet123 said:
moinau: Anyway, as we're in the analog region, it would make sense that different materials have different sonic properties. Try using clay one day.
You speak French?
Click to expand...

Hello soviet123,
You are quite right, different materials do have sonic properties of their own.
Putting different materials on a platter or just using a glass platter while playing your vinyl will give you a different sound if, a big if, there is a transmission of sound from the motor or the idler wheel or a rumble through the plinth via the motor that eventually your tonearm/cartridge will pick-up and transmit. If your TT is properly isolated, there shouldn't be any difference.
Now mind you, there is a lot of snake oil in audio like, mat, interconnects, turntables, et cetera, et cetera....
On my turntables, I don't find any differences, but, this is just me.

Oui je parle et comprend très bien Français. Je suis né à Saint-Henri, il y a trèssssssss longtemps.
 
glum said:
There is a guy on ebay selling mats for $15.00 thay look realy nice. I all most bought one then. But the next day was walking through wallmart looking for a material to cover some bass traps and i found this weaved rubber like rolls of drawer liner.After I finished the traps i found i had some left over the perfict tt mat i cut to size and there it is the exact thing he is selling.I orderd one of his to compare.There the exact thing and i like my way of termnation better than his.With a low flame a slite scorch and there it is same matt with a better edge.
I know the one i bought was a waste i gave it away.
Click to expand...

If that is the "Sonic Bliss" mat, we just had a thread where several of us reported damage to our vinyl from some kind of chemical reaction with the rubber material. It does sound good on my table, or maybe it's just because it was set up to the proper VTA with that mat, but I can't justify getting spots all over my albums, some of which are worth hundreds of dollars, in order to keep using a $15 mat.
 
glum said:
There is a guy on ebay selling mats for $15.00 thay look realy nice. I all most bought one then. But the next day was walking through wallmart looking for a material to cover some bass traps and i found this weaved rubber like rolls of drawer liner.After I finished the traps i found i had some left over the perfict tt mat i cut to size and there it is the exact thing he is selling.I orderd one of his to compare.There the exact thing and i like my way of termnation better than his.With a low flame a slite scorch and there it is same matt with a better edge.
I know the one i bought was a waste i gave it away.
Click to expand...

Take your best album, set it on that stuff overnight and see what happens....

That stuff is crap...not that it doesn't work well, it does, but it screws up vinyl like nobody's business...it all depends on how fast the plasticizers leach out of the material...sometimes it only takes a short amount of time, but usually overnight will show you what you are dealing with...

.
 
Well, I guess if it's basically a "preference" thing, I'll do as goldwax suggested. Work on getting a better turntable and worry about the mat at a later date. I'm not having any issues that I'm aware of with the felt mat I have now. My original question was borne out of curiosity than anything else.
 
Well from my limited experience, the mat can make a big difference. I am currently using one from Sleevetown (no affiliation) I think it was 2 for 18 bucks or something like that. Since I was ordering sleeves from them anyway, it was negligible for the shipping. If for no other purpose the drop in static pops alone has made my little Zerostat sit unused in months. The only downside I found was the strobe disc that comes attached is only for 50hz. So I peeled it off and it is stuck to the side of my cabinet. As to the DIY types there are several threads here, dozens most likely, about those. Using the shelf liner with self stick cork dots on it is my next DIY venture. The plus side there it that if there is any leeching of chemicals from the foam self liner, it will be stopped by the cork.
 
i use an original diskwasher antistatic felt mat on my dual 1245. the static charge that used to build up on the record when played with the original rubber mat was so strong the record would try to jump back to the turntable! on my b&o 3300 i use cork dots. i didn't like the idea of the record sitting right on an aluminum platter, and you cant cover the markings on the platter or you mess up the record detection system. wouldn't want to lose an expensive stylus by accidentally letting the tt put the needle down on an empty platter. so far all my other tts have their original mats.
 
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