I'm so done with felt mats, because of the lint.

My LP12 has always had it's OEM felt mat on the platter but I'm sick and tired of all the lint that gets adhered to the records, and that especially is irksome since I've spent a good deal of time using my DIY wet cleaning machine system to clean all of my record collection and place the cleaned records in MOFI record sleeves. Now when I put a record on the TT and give it a quick dustoff with a carbon brush, the record plays w/o dust, but when I turn it over, there is a substantial amount of dust & lint coming from the Linn mat.

Today I received and installed a cork/rubber mat, but that also transfered material to the records--this time it is tiny bits of cork! I wrapped that up and will send it back to Amazon tomorrow.

So now I'm on to other materials. Leather or silicone? Neither will shed, but what about the sound? For an LP12 I don't want too much weight, or I'll have to take the bottom off and reset the springs--ugh.

PS: Oh, and I tried a NEW piece of felt (NOT Linn) and it also sheds, so it's not that my Linn mat is problematic simply because of it's age (1985).

 

I've never understood the hate for plain ol' rubber. I use the stock rubber mat with my modded [fluid damper, etc.] 1200MKII and it sounds just fine. And I'm primarily a headphone listener when it comes to vinyl.

 

Keep in mind, rubber is heavy and means a lot of fiddling time with the Linn suspension, so I'm not inclined to use rubber or silicone and I don't want to affect the sound more than needed to avoid the dust/lint issue.

 

I also use the stock rubber mat. No issues

 

There is a kind of mat which is more like Tyvek. It's felt-like but it won't lint up.
I got one as a free promo ad thing from Rhino at B&N a couple years ago. (I don't use it.) There's at least one on ebay at this second. Apparently there's a Led Zep one too of the same type. It's thin but works. The other side is white.

 

I haven't used a felt mat on my LP12 in over 10 years. I used an Extemephono non-felt mat for a while, and then tried the Herbie's mat that I bought for my SL-1200.

jeff

 

Can't say that is a problem for me.

There's just a minor irritation of the felt mat sticking to records when they're lifted off the turntable.

 

Can't stand felt mats. If you used a TT with a plastic platter you would not want to have one again. Linn started with a rubber mat and then decided felt sounded better (or at least claimed it). Every other UK TT followed like sheep except Michell.

 

True that rubber will be heavier. But why not try it anyway? There should be enough suspension travel that the platter will suspend a little lower, and the resonance of the suspension a bit lower.... this should be an improvement to isolation and stability. If the suspension is near bottoming out, only then would it need adjustment.

 

Stock rubber mat for me too

 

Not necessarily. The rubber mats for the 80's era Technics belt drive tables are thin and light.

 

Thanks for reminding me. Someone gave me a really cool looking Ortofon DJ mat that used to do this. Looked great but no thank you!

 

Try washing the cork/rubber mat and see if that doesn't fix the shedding problem.

Deer hide is said to be an excellent material for mats, but I haven't tried it. Cork works for me on my AR, although static can be an issue in winter.

 

I love the rubber Denon mat that came with my turntable. I do have to perform a quarterly rinse with lukewarm water to remove debris build up, all part of the fun I guess.

 

I have an acrylic platter on my 'table and I don't use a mat at all. I didn't like the felt mat when I had a table that came with one; I think it was static that caused it to lift up with the vinyl. I haven't had any problems with cork; my DIY RCM uses a cork mat, and haven't had any issues with transfer at all. I would recommend the rubber or a composite; hopefully the trial and error won't get too expensive, but it's necessary sometimes. Good luck!

 

What about an acrylic platter mat? I use them in the winter and they completely solve the static/cling problem. I don't believe I can hear a difference in mats anymore, so I have been using the mats that are most practical. That means felt in the warmer months because they allow me to spin records on and off the player without shutting down the motor. As the air cools and dries it becomes acrylic mat season in my house. I own multiple mats of multiple different materials and felt/summer with acrylic/winter has been my most effective answer.

 

Herbie Mats. Excellent...

 

Stock mat on the Technics 1200GR. I went to a lighter cork mat and lost a lot of definition and clarity*. Went right back to the rubber and it all came back.

*VTF, VTA, etc - accounted for.

 

I've never had any issue whatsoever with my cork mat. I love it. Leather mats work well too. (I have 2 of them, again no issues.)

 

I have a felt mat on my low-end Rega P1 and have never had a lint issue. Might be because I use a ZeroStat on my records when I play them.

 

I loath felt mats and have tried very many different materials but now i am very happy with my Vibro Stop mat. It is really good but might be too heavy for our OP.

 

My felt on my Rega RP8 is fine. Nothing to get hung about.

 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Scotch-L...35&wl11=local&wl12=52400268&wl13=2894&veh=sem

 

If I were going change from my felt mat, I’d be most interested in the Herbie’s Grungebuster mat.

 

I just clean mine with a lint roller now and again...