Turntable Mats?

What do you use as a turntable mat? Why? If you have tried multiple mats what are the sonic differences?
1. Acrylic
2. Cork
3. Rubber
4. Felt
5. Other
6. None

 

Rubber. It came with my turntable.

 

I feel it's totally turntable dependent. I'd never use a felt mat on my SL1200 but think felt is the best sounding mat for my RP6.

 

Funk firm Achromat, wanted something besides the stock felt on my Music Hall 2.2, and got a great deal on it.

 

I've Michael Fremer and others advise against using felt mats because they believe that felt mats attract dust.

 

I use felt because it came with my turntable, but I’ve used all the choices, including “other” (I once stuck self-stick silicone dots on a glass platter). I always return to the felt, and have no problems with it attracting dust. There’s always either a record or a dust cover protecting it.

 

Fremer recommends a lot of things. Never had a problem with felt and for Rega tables with the glass platter they are the best sounding option, in my opinion and many others, including Rega. I find that rubber and cork over damp Rega platters. The only other mat I've heard that I like on them is the Herbie's mat and I found it to just be a little different not necessarily better.

 

I normally just use the OEM rubber mat that comes with the turntable. For my Gemini PDT6000, I made a cork mat out of a 12" x 1/4" square tile that Walmart sells in packs of 4 in the craft department for around $5. It looks WAY better than the crappy damaged foam/felt mat that it came with and the added thickness was beneficial in the arm height adjustment.

 

There is rubber on the vintage Dual 1219's.

It appears to be a felt mat that is on my Vinyl Nirvana, Thoren's TD-160 Super (Midnight Edition). Since the Midnight Edition has a black painted platter, the felt matches perfectly and seems to be the proper match for that platter.

 

Cork & rubber composite on my Thorens TD160 super. Better bass weight and detail than the many others I’ve tried. Next best is a home make leather one.

 

Bare acrylic platter on my Pro-Ject Xpression III and a rubber mat attached to my Dual 721. The two tables are so different, I cannot attribute a sonic difference to the mat.

But the Dual and its rubber mat do a far better job of concealing small LP warpage when it is spinning!

 

Rubber, as it came with my turntable.

 

Nothing on my Concept.

I use a NoneFelt on my Music Hall.

Stock Rubber and everything else.

 

I have 2 Regas. Both have the the stock Wool mats. Not sure how it would attract dust with either a record or the dust cover in use. I like Fremer, but dust will fall on every mat.

 

Deer hide and leather are my favorites.
I’ve also had really good luck on some tables with the Merrill Scilia lead mats.
On my JVC I use a deer hide mat over a foam one and that’s a really good combo for that table.

 

Acrylic on my Music Hall MMF 5.1, recommended by Music Hall and dealer

 

For those that use felt, don't you find that it creates static? When I first bought my mmf 2.2, it was winter, and dry in the house. All I had to do was put a record on the table and take it off and it would be full of static. When I got rid of the felt, I got rid of the static.

 

Deer hide leather mat: Premium Deer Hide Leather Turntable Mat - Handmade in Los Angeles | eBay

 

I use a glass mat with a felt covering for my direct drive turntable instead of a rubber mat and it makes a big difference.

The glass mat blocks any rumble and noise from direct drive motor so the stylus and cart track smoother.

 

Cork, as I always had a lot of static electricity issues with felt.

 

What he said. I used a Sorbothane mat on the glass platter of my Systemdek IIX with great results, and would not think of using that on my Linn LP12 instead finding the stock felt mat works beautifully in my setup. Try as many as you can and see what works for your tastes.

 

I've tried cork, leather, felt, rubber, acrylic, DIY various, and have settled on acrylic as my favorite platter/mat material. It's been brutally cold and dry here this winter already, and with any other mat material I would have a terrible static and cling problem, which is nonexistent with acrylic. No static, no cling to the records that come off of the platters, and I also think it sounds great to boot. The rubber mats were also good in the static/cling department, but I feel like they deaden the sound, at least that's my perception. I now have my various mats living in an extra sleeve in the basement.

 

I use a Groovetracer Delrin platter with no mat on my Rega RP6. Delrin Platter

I use a mat made by Zandan Audio (Japan) for TW Acustic for my reference turntable. platter mats

 

As mentioned by @Guitarded , on the CA Concept i don't need one.

But my previous table was a Pro-Ject Essential II and it came with a felt mat, which stayed on it until i replaced it (for the better) with a cork one. I felt there was a slight sound improvement and I said goodbye completely to static buildup.

 

Herbie's Grungebuster on top of an acrylic platter with a lead top. Not sure what the Grungebuster material is but completely eliminated any apparent audible benefit from clamping. Needle chatter basically nil. Never was that that comfortable with the vinyl right on the lead topped acrylic platter and then the lead insert cut scuffed in such a way as it was almost certain to cause damage to the vinyl so I went looking for a solution.

I never liked a felt mat. I had one on a Rega once. Maybe it was the table more than the mat , but that table chattered like a parakeet and the felt mat was a static nightmare. I'd never want to live with one of those again. Never loved a rubber mat either. Maybe just purely psychological but hard rubber just seems, well, bouncy, I dunno how will that terminates vs. reflects energy. I've always been curious about the Achromat but haven't tried one.