Turntable mat? suggestions

yes it is.. took lots of mats and money. but this one seems to get it

 

4 months later and still its great!

 

Wow, that went by quick.

jeff

 

I really like my Herbie's as well. I have one on a Rek-O-Kut B-12H and second on a Technics SP-15. On the R-O-K the difference from the (modern issue) "stock" rubber mat was vast. Even with the rather decent mat that came with the SP-15 there was a noticeable improvement as well. I run a deerhide mat on my Ariston RD11S and that works nicely on there, but it wasn't so great on either the R-O-K or Technics.

 

played def leppard high n dry and Donald fagen nightfly tonight.. sounding great..

 

Listening to something sort of "polar opposite" at the moment, some medieval choral music by Guillaume Dufay. Same mat, different table (Rek-O-Kut B-12H, Nottingham Ace Space arm, Benz Glider H cart). Amazingly beautiful result.....

 

I'm a big fan of the Auditorium A23 mats and the George Merrill RCC Mat. There are two versions of the A23 mats, one is a thin version about 1mm and the Hommage is about 2mm. The George Merrill mat is a rubber/cork compound and is same mat used on the R.E.A.L. 101.2 and his Polytable. It's about 1/8 inch thick. It's the cheapest of the 3 mats. All 3 sound and look great, highly recommended...

 

I have the Moo Mat that has a cork back. It was supposed to eliminate static if I remember correctly? It does not but is much better than the stock felt one plus it looks cool on my red Music Hall 2.2LE.

 

I was going through the post wondering about the Moo Mat, and saw your post, my local dealer carries these, and was wondering about them, they look cool as heck.

 

I am wondering if you're still happy with your Herbie's mat. A comment further up in this thread said something about dust and lint sticking to the mat and suggesting the use of a lint remover (roller) to clean the mat. Did I understand that correctly, and has that been your experience?

 

If it's the In The Groove lint remover, avoid it like the plague. Safest bet is a little dish soap and water rinse with a lint free terrycloth or microfiber towel to dry it off.

 

Is that a paella or a jambalaya you've got on your turntable?
I thought I was careless just to spill some pot noodle on mine.

 

Why would that be a problem?

 

The way a mat like this works is that it creates a resonant cavity beneath the vinyl disc that colors the sound. Not a bad thing if that's what you want, but understand what forces are at play here. (You also would not want to use a record weight with one of these mats for what should be an obvious reason.) Whereas Herbie's mat or other similar approaches will deaden the sound and create the illusion of more focus or detail. Typically this approach also thins out the sound a bit, but it's perceived as more transparency or more clarity. Eliminating vibration may, to a small extent, clean up the sound but at the expense of some of the bass bloom, which is part what makes vinyl sound warm and rich. Or it may also seem to extend the depth of the low end, depending on the mat, by killing the boom and therefore increasing bass definition. The animal skin mats seem like they'd be a great choice and a great material to work with, but they actually don't sound very good. Another aspect that contributes to mats changing the sound is, as jupiterboy pointed out, small changes in VTA. I suggest that the goal should not be to kill resonance, but rather to tune it in such a way that appeals to you. Vinyl playback, like it or not, is a resonant, acoustic system similar to a musical instrument. In my experience, the turntables that are the cleanest, quietest, most deadened and isolated sound thin, bright, sterile, 'cd-like' and not very musical. A major contributing factor that is responsible for the "classic vinyl sound" that everyone seems to be chasing is actually pleasant distortions resulting from a boomy and somewhat live turntable adding it's personality to the recorded information on the disc. So when we accept that this can be a good thing and stop fighting it, that is the point at which vinyl can really start to work and sound magical. Would you build a violin out of heavy chunks of steel, glass, acrylic, brass, etc? No. It would sound like crap. It must breathe and vibrate and dance and sway. That's where the music comes from. Vinyl playback is not neutral or accurate. It's colored. It has flavor. And it's pure analog, as we know, which is extremely charming.

So if you are someone who wants more detail, more air, more separation, and a more precise image, dead mats would be a good choice. If you want more warmth, more bass, more liveliness (this doesn't mean "sparkle" or "brightness"), and more punch, choose mats that do not couple as well to the vinyl surface or those that create empty spaces beneath the vinyl surface. These are generalizations, though. Of course, it's best to listen to everything and decide for yourself. And finally, there is also a point at which too much space beneath the vinyl or decoupling from the platter destroys the sound. An example of this is the turntables, such as the Transcriptors Hydraulic Reference, where the platter features a series of pods that suspend the record in mid air so essentially there is no platter and no mat. Under these extreme conditions and in the absence of any real coupling to the drive system, the sound once again becomes utterly lifeless, bright, thin, lean, ragged and just plain awful. Coolest looking, but one of the worst sounding turntables ever made:

 

PS...after posting above, I just read the Positive Feedback review of the Herbie's Mat, which states:

"The Herbie's Way mat eliminated the most audible effects of the platter, dropped the noise floor, preserved more inner detail, tightened up the bass (which was also a bit thinner in comparison with the stock mat but tauter) and cleaned up the highs with additional detail and shimmer."

Exactly.

Therefore, I think it's important to point out that if you order a Herbie's Mat because a few people in this thread have claimed it sounds better or is an improvement upon their previous mat without having adding any specifics beyond that point, this is what you will be getting. It's not going to make your vinyl sound warmer or fatter or smoother, assuming that is what you want. The reason I steer away from products like this is a matter of personal taste. I find that a lot of records sound pretty thin and nasty, particularly certain old jazz pressings or rock records from the 1960s and 1970s. As far as I'm concerned, they need all the help they can get. If I want inner detail, tight bass, a lower noise floor, and shimmering, extended highs, I play the cd.

 

I've had the Herbie's for about 5 years. Last month I bought Jakes Deer Hide mat, and on my system the Deer Hide is better than Herbie's.

 

How so?

 

Immediately I noticed the bass tighten up, and the highs sound better. I kept swapping back and forth between the two on multiple records and every time the Deer Hide just sounded better. I was amazed really. Now that's in my set up but the reviews for this Deer Hide mat have been great so obviously other people are hearing the sonic improvements.

It's really hard to put into words, things just sounded more natural and rounded. They are $40 so it's not a lot of money to try it out.

 

Kashmir Cork Turntable Mat - Audiophile Mat for Vinyl Record LP's - Pure Cork | eBay »

Amazing mat that I felt significantly improved sound quality over the stock felt that came with my TT.

 

Have two of these for two of my turntables and really like them. Can't say I hear much difference but adds a little pizazz to the turntables and much better than the felt mats I originally had

 

What he said.

The black mat shows all dirt. I run it under the tap with some dawn. Rinse, pad dry the big drops with a lint free cloth, then let air dry.
I don't like to think of what may be on a cork mat that had never been cleaned.