Turntable Mats - Opinions

[plinius]

hey, i just LOVE the kef 104ab speakers. but a mat is something that one could spend a couple of bucks on like one from herbies. i have acrylic on my SOTA sapphire so i dont need one but then i have other mats for my kd500 such as the platter matter. my grace 707 has mo prob adjusting to different VTA heights so whatever mat i use is ok.

You are so right, the origional Thorens mat was always the Achilles heal of their design , it offers insufficient support to the record & should be descarded. The Herbies mat works extremely well with all the early belt drive Thorens T/Ts & is available in different thicknesses. I have the thickest one on my SOTA Sapphire & as yet, I have found none better:thmbsp:

 

[bobins08]

I spent some time yesterday swapping between the TD 160 mat, a diy cork mat, and a Technics rubber mat on my TD160.

I never cared for the stock mat but since I put the fluid damper on and then switched to LOMC I really cannot tell much difference between the three.

The Technics mat (Flipped over) seems to provide the most damping, maybe too much. Cork was ok. The OEM mat is the most lively and energetic.

I am sticking with OEM for now.

 

[Greyson]

I'm using a cork composite mat (cork with rubber mixed in) with a recess for the record label on my Technics.

The stock mat is nice but I think it provides a bit too much damping. I've had a few and in the end I prefer the cork mat, the rubber particles help give it some of the grippiness that the stock mat had.

 

[grooveman]

i use a Herbie's, which sits on top of the original rubber mat on my Dual 1229. To be honest, I don't really notice much of an improvement using it. But since it's not my daily driver, I'm not overly critical.

I also use a George Merrill "Gem Dandy" cork and rubber composite, which sits on top of a heavy rubber mat, on a vintage Teac-Lafayette idler. Both seem to work very well together. The rubber mat deadens platter ringing and the Gem Dandy helps tighten up the bass and provides a wider sound stage. I had to slightly raise the arm height of the Empire 980 arm to allow for the thicker mats. But there really seems to be some synergy going on with this mat combo. At least to my ears.

 

[doctor fuse]

I couldn't tell much difference between the stock mat on my Thorens 160, and a felt mat. But yesterday I slapped on an old Angstrom Ultimat and WOW! Tighter sound, more differentiation between instruments, nice liquid highs, and much less static noise (it is supposed to have anti-static properties).

There isn't much info available on the Ultimat. It is late 70s/early80s, and is apparently similar to a Platter Matter (unfamiliar with this mat). It is a smooth rubber, not the notched, ridged rubber stock Thorens mat style. I would recommend finding a similar mat to try. If you like liquid highs on your records.

 

[JamVal]

I found an Oracle Groove Isolator mat, new in the box, at a thrift store a few years ago. It was in a bin with LPs. They charged me the same price as an LP; $2.00
I had heard of Oracle turntables, but not the Groove Isolator mat.
The mat is flat, no texture, no concentric rings, etc.. It has a slight recess at the center the same OD as the label on an LP. Has a tacky feel to it, and seems to have a static charge that causes an LP to stick to it. Not much need for a weight or clamp. Sometimes the mat comes off the platter when removing an LP.
I think my PL-530 sounds better with this than the stock Pioneer mat.



I also have a Sony PS-4750 that has no mat: Here's a picture ( easier than trying to describe it ) A completely different approach.


I agree with WayneR - so many variables, and that's what makes the hobby so much fun -

 

[Eric Lloyd]

Most of the turntables I have used end up with a rubber Technics mat on them. A very thick one, such as off a SL-23 or SL-1200 or such like. My current daily driver, a Kenwood, already has a fairly hefty mat. I tried various felt mats - they always gave me static problems. I tried a cork mat someone loaned me - I couldn't tell much difference. But I guess it does make a difference. Now that I think about it, when I use record players with no arm height adjustment and I'm forced to use a thin stock mat I generally wind up putting an equalizer in the system. I suppose I could be imagining things, too, but it's kind of intriguing now that I can't unthink about it. BLAH! You guys are about to cost me more money.

 

[ehoove]

I currently own a modified TD160, and a fairly stock TD125MKII which both have Herbie's Way Excellent II mats on them after extensive trial and error. I use no mat on the Clear Audio Table.
Regards,
Jim

 

[Frank Sol]

Very subjective subject but aren't they all dealing with audio

Try a multiple material mat (really mats) 2 or even 3 different mats of different material on the platter - you may like

Currently on my KAB 1200 I have Kevin's Poly-Metal Mat & Technics Thin Mat & the thinnest Herbies -- I like the mixture for now

 

[enginedr]

I use 3 mats on my SP10MK2
A K-works ERSA mat ,Technics thin mat and a Boston mat 2

 

[Descartridge]

I DIYd this one after much R&D using a mat of polyethylene foam (from Mchaels) to which cork dots (from Ace hardware) were strategically applied.
For me it is the best for dynamics so far. I have tried nearly all types.
It was developed from this post and you may want to read it http://www.theanalogdept.com/spotmat.htm

 

[Luis.correia]

From my short experience.. I find that mats do not change the sound quality. I like the looks...

I use rubber, cork and leather mats because of the static.

 

[Frank Sol]

Luis

the thick heavy Technics mat did matter as to SQ on the Pioneer PLX1000 , right ?

 

[twiiii]

With todays FFT analyzers and sophisticated vibration pickups, you would think some one would develop and perform tests to settle questions like this. I use a center weight to help a leave tracking issues from warped records in the first place. Any mat that will suppress stray vibrations would be my choice. It should be easy to clean, not store an electrical charge, not attract pollutants. I can see where a textured surface such as SME uses or a treated rubber with a properly designed surface could be great. Right now I'm using cork trimmed to make contact with the entire record surface.

 

[hifitommy]

for those of you not old enough to remember Platter Matter, it is fairly thick, firm, slightly tacky silicone rubber with a tapered edge. usually battleship grey in color.

 

[danj]

the mat on the Dual 1249 I refurbished was hard as a rock and too far gone for the usual softening methods to help so I tried some different mats from my collection of over a dozen good ones. I settled on a cork mat, which is the same thickness as the OEM mat and has no sonic defects that I can hear. I will be using it from now on. My mat collection ranges from an Omega-One carbon fiber mat that's probably only 1/2 mm thick to the mat from a 70s vintage Denon DD that's fairly soft and heavy and several mm thick - and everything in between, including 4 different felt & felt+carbon mats that all seem effective. BUt I think the cork is best on my Dual.

I disagree with the notion that mats make no difference in sound as my experience prove otherwise - and it's not just the thickness and VTA changes that do it.