Turntable Mats?

[REDone]

I have just cut a 10" disc of cork mat to compare .. Very nice but not sure if there is a huge difference to the standard mat yet .. First observations are that I wouldn't rush to spend £15 30$ on it

Well I eat my own words .. After trying it out on a lot of my favourite albums there is a definite improvement & certainly worth doing especially if you don't have to spend too much for the cork .. (I'm lucky here as I have a pack of 12" tiles left over from corking the bathroom floor)

Generally speaking I would say it was more articulate allowing extra nuance to be heard in the music.

 

[thisOne]

...I at least wear my leopard skin thong, you know, in case someone comes to the door.

Hopefully it's real, 'cause if it's synthetic you might get a static discharge there

 

[Herbie]

This mat has made exactly zero difference in my static problems, in fact, when I removed it from the mounting material(don't know what that is) it was shipped on, it immediately started crackling from static.

Hi. Static must be pretty bad. Fortunately, the severest static problems seem to be seasonal. I've found it sometimes beneficial to apply anti-static spray on the carpet around the audio rack and around cabling, etc., just the regular grocery-store variety spray.

Claims that the Way Excellent Mat helps with static are from several customer comments and reviews. The mat tends to draw lint etc. from the record (better to be on the mat than on the record, and the mat is easily cleaned by dabbing with masking tape or wiping gently with a damp cloth or paper towel).

Go figure, here is part of a comment from one customer: "I'd pay twice this amount for the static relief alone!" And, from a post on this forum: "the improvement in static and cleanliness is well worth the price."

2. Upon removing the mat from the package and realizing I just paid $50+ for this, it seems ridiculous. A thin piece of foam with a thin piece of rubber on top for $50? Ouch.

Way Excellent II Turntable Mat is available in twelve thicknesses from 2mm to 7.2mm to accomodate just about any turntable. Materials are not common foam and rubber. The materials, especially the silicone-based composite on top, are pretty dang expensive. I could make a similar-looking mat from common materials for about eight or ten dollars, but it wouldn't accomplish a similar sonic result.

Best regards,

Steve Herbelin
Herbie's Audio Lab

 

[Shackman55]

Ok one of those subjects that everyone has an opinion on. Personally I happened on this one while reading a post on another site, I was ordering some other things so I figured what the heck, now let me say it does have a strobe disk attached and if things haven't changed (And I don't think they have after having emailed the manufacturer) it is 50hz I just peeled it off.

http://www.sleevetown.com/turntable-mat.shtml

1 for $12, 2 for $19 Who could say no to two! I have among the other 5 or 6 TT in my livingroom, my last Turntable purchased back in the day, an Hitachi HT67 DirectDrive, it has always been prone to static build up more than my others. I am guessing it has to to due with among other things the plastics and paints used in the plinth. I live in a fairly dusty old farm house and with the sun beating down I can watch the record acting like a vacuum drawing the dust to itself (Kinda weird to watch, good thing I don't do drugs anymore) with the mat in place, it is either now indifferent and I think I have even seen the dust move away from the album. Don't know the tech on it, just what I see. If for no other reason than less dust attraction, I have put one on all my tables. You do have to watch your levels however. It is going to affect that and you either have to lower the river or raise the bridge so to speak.
BTW I love a thread that spans 2 decades!!

 

[DrMux]

I'm trying a $9 anti static mat I got off Ebay soon. I'll post about it. If not remind me. Made in Germany.

Just noticed the one at sleevetown is the same.

 

[Shackman55]

Yes I have seen those on ebay as well as many other sites, seems by the time you pay the shipping it always seems to work out to that $12 or darn close. I chose to support sleevetown/sleevecity whatever they are calling themselves these days.

 

[DrMux]

True. Either way if it works it's worth $15-20 in my book.

 

[iamthejeff]

I bought one of Herbie's mats and did a blind test to see if I could tell the difference between it and the stock rubber mat on my turntable. Turns out I couldn't. I wrote a quick blog post about it, along with samples of the recordings I used to test: http://iamthejeff.com/post/4/herbies-way-excellent-ii-turntable-mat

I'd be curious to see other people perform blind tests with other turntable/cartridge combinations.

 

[StuartB]

Isn't static also a result of the type clothes you wear & the type of carpet you walk on? I know it when I wear man made fibres. Not saying you should be naked wearing big rubber boots when you put a record on but it may help

I found this thread while searching for input on turntable mats. I tried the above recommendation. I did not find a significant improvement in sound, but surprisingly my wife did.

 

[FONSguy]

I have 3 "carbon impregnated" felt type mats. I have no idea where they came from , perhaps FONS? They do work, and I've never had to spray anti-stat stuff on them. I used 2 of them in my DJ days as slip mats.

 

[marcmorin]

I found this thread while searching for input on turntable mats. I tried the above recommendation. I did not find a significant improvement in sound, but surprisingly my wife did.

Just a side note on the mat on your table. I used both the mat you supplied, and my deer hide combo. Did you get your new stylus yet?

 

[capt.chaos]

I think my tables sound better without a mat.

 

[91r100gs]

Have been very happy with the ProJect IT cork mat that I bought from a vendor in the UK. Arrived in perfect condition and it REALLY reduced the static I incurrred. Highly recommended. A good $20 investment.

 

[iLUVanalog]

I personally don't buy any of that mat bullshit. Turntable makers have been using rubber for DECADES, so why change it? I don't have a fancy mat on any of my turntables....just the rubber mats that came with them. Why fix something that isn't broken???

 

[marcmorin]

I personally don't buy any of that mat bullshit. Turntable makers have been using rubber for DECADES, so why change it? I don't have a fancy mat on any of my turntables....just the rubber mats that came with them. Why fix something that isn't broken???

..........and they all use the exact same one?...........any reason(s) they don't?..........if it weren't broke on the Sony PS-X6, why did the PS-X7 come with a silicone gel-filled badder type? Wanna make an AR XA sound like a Crosley? Throw an AQ sorbothane on it.......that will cure that annoying spacious 3D image. Just sayin

 

[iLUVanalog]

What are you doing? I didn't say they all used the exact same one, did I????

All I said was that for decades turntable makers have been using rubber for their mats (which is a FACT). I am acutely aware that not ALL turntable makers use rubber mats.....just 99% of them. Some use mat material other than rubber, and then there are those (like VPI) that use NO mat.

Don't read what you think I MEANT....read what I SAID.

Sound improvements from a record mat? Sounds totally subjective to me.

 

[Catcher10]

Cool thread! On a previous table I went the DIY route and you can go to the large home improvement stores and they have cork mats already cut as rounds for planter bottoms.....They make a 12" round, all you have to do is drill the spindle hole, I think they are 6mm thick so you need to make sure you have enough spindle height.

I also tried using the 4" cork rounds to get that "floating" LP effect and decouple the platter as much from the vinyl.
Both options worked well for me and I did notice a reduction in overall noise, like motor noise as the table I had was a direct drive and was noisy in general.
I will post some pics on what I was doing on ym old table.

My current Music Hall table I am using the Music Hall cork mat which also suspends the vinyl off the platter, I hear zero noise of any kind but I suspect that has very little to do with the mat, only reason I bought it as the supplied felt mat is a pc of trash.

Here is pic with the 12" cork DIY mat

Here is pic of my experiment with the 4" cork rounds