Turntable Mats, What do they do?

What I've found missing in previous TT mat threads is the why. There are lots of TT mat threads but none seem focus on why a mat works better. Which led me to wonder, what is the job of a TT mat?

So instead of voting for you favorite, tell us why you chose a certain mat. For those that understand the physics, can you explain to us, are we trying to couple, or isolate? If isolate, from what, internal, external, both?

And also, how do we test for which is better? @avanti1960 had a suggestion a few months back about testing for clean bass. I like that idea. Anything else to listen for?

 

A turntable mat will influence the effect of vibrations induced into the LP by the stylus/groove interaction and by sound waves and other vibrations present in the listening environment (including the program material being played). Those vibrations reflect off the surfaces of the LP and off the platter and find their way back to the stylus; i.e. "feedback". Mats and clamps change the interface (via coupling or isolation) between the LP and the platter and this alters the vibration signature in both amplitude and frequency. For any one of us -- and any particular mat design -- the result may sound "better" or "worse". Generally, I'd think the effect is one of greater clarity or definition, but I'm not sure how to describe what that would sound like. I suppose there is a way to measure the effect, but I've never seen it done.

My turntable has a "bare" acrylic platter and came with the recommendation to always use the screw-on clamp. It sounds fine to me that way so I've never experimented with using a mat (which would also require an adjustment in VTA). Since it does not have a dust cover, I use a felt mat to keep the platter clean when not in use, so that is an alternative job for a mat.

 

I'm new to turntables, but I have a stock felt mat, a rubber mat, and an acrylic mat. What I think is that certain mats fit certain albums better than others.

Yesterday, I listened to a little bit of Stadium Arcadium using the acrylic mat, and the "dry" production mixed with the acrylic mat hurt my ears. It sounds very hard as opposed to smooth/warm/spacious. I haven't listened to the album with felt or rubber. Anyway, I then listened to a little bit of Rage Against The Machine's Battle of Los Angeles with acrylic. Not painful to listen to (because it's not dry), but it lacks some warmth/smoothness/spaciousness compared to when I listened to it with my felt mat. I digitalized tracks from the album using both mats and compared, so it's not all in my head.

The rubber mat I have seems like a good fit for super-bright albums, because it dulls them a bit.

So, my opinion is that certain albums benefit from certain mats, and certain mats can make certain albums less enjoyable to listen to.

 

The primary function is to provide a protective mating surface between the disc and the platter.

 

No offence but you might want to try some well recorded albums before you draw any conclusions. Anything you mentioned suffered from really bad mastering (you also mentioned 'hardwire' in another thread, which is actually one of the worst mastered albums of the last 20 years). I don't think any mat can save these from sounding bad but I can be wrong of course...

 

i think Stadium Arcadium has a good master. Theres a vinyl rip of Dani California on YouTube that sounds less hard than the sound I got. I also love the sound of Battle of LA because I can follow/hear each instrument very clearly. Anyway, i acually listened to Hardwired a couple days ago using the rubber mat and I actually liked the sound, especially after listening to Rainbow’s Long Live Rock N Roll (maybe the worst-sounding major album Ive ever heard). I’m planning to listen to System of a Down’s self-titled with the acrylic mat. I expect the muddy Drop-C guitar tuning sound to be tighter. Like I said, I’m new to turntables so what do I know?

Anyway, when I played guitar, I never liked playing dry or having a tight sound. I think those who like dry tight sounds would like the way Stadium Arcadium sounded to me.

 

I mistakenly thought the Stadium Arcadium on vinyl was as bad as the cd, but apparently it is a completely different and much better master, my mistake!

 

I use the stock rubber mat of my turntables. Every time I have too much static I think of trying a different one but I spend the money on another record instead.

 

Pretty sure Steve did it.

 

he def. mastered the copy i have

 

@Apesbrain got it right.

A good platter pad helps control resonance in both the platter and the LP. If you can hear the stylus tracking in the groove easily without amplification, its a sign that the platter pad isn't doing much. A good platter pad will have the same durameter as the vinyl so that any energy on the backside of the LP is absorbed and converted to heat. That's not much heat, but the result is lower distortion (clearer) and more impact in the bass.

 

So a good test would be to play an album without amplification and choose the mat that gives the most quiet playing when you listen closely to the stylus?

 

^^ Yes.

 

If I am understanding the explanations, the mat is isolating the two objects platter from the vinyl and absorbing vibrations between them? With the absorbing converting vibrations into another energy, heat.

 

On most turntables, the mat is a fairly dense rubber compound which is really not very effective in preventing rumble from being transmitted to the disc and ultimately the pickup. Foam may be marginally better but the simple fact is that a platter mat is no match for a turntable that had not been well designed to isolate rumble in the first place.

 

I have used rubber, felt, cork etc and the Funk Firm Achromat is in my opinion one of the best, a little pricey but well worth it.

 

A felt mat is cushion. You can drop a record on a spinning platter if it has a soft felt or wool mat.

 

Some background into what triggered me to thinking about how these work.
Last year I played around with some cheap isolation. I have more plans for work on that over the winter.

For years I've run a Herbie's Way Excellent mat. This mat has a short indent for the record label. I'm not sure why, because labels are usually narrower than the vinyl. Combined with my TT being supplied with a clamp (MMF7), using the clamp even slightly would cause the record to dish where the edges would pull off the mat. The clamp seemed pointless to me in this scenario.

Recently I toyed with a spacer (rubber o-ring) on the spindle to raise the center of the label allowing the use of the clamp. However using the clamp caused bass bloat. Not what I expected. I was expecting a warmer sound from reduced highs that might have been caused by vibrations that were now reduced. Not slow bass bloat.

I'm guessing the clamp with the mat was coupling everything together and transferring any vibrations as rumble, played back as exaggerated bass bloat.

Looks like some other mat options are on my list for someday.

 

This is the first time I’ve read someone mentioning this issue of dishing with a clamp. I had mystery dishing on a number of records before I realized I was doing what you’re describing. I got another mat without the recess. Now the record lays completely flat and the clamp does no harm. I’m usinga thick cork mat with a thin leather mat on top (the cork alone sounds a bit thin on my set up). I replaced a heavy stock leather mat.

 

A mat can help "tune" a less than ideal tonearm / cartridge miss-match at resonance frequency. It can let a tonearm sound its best with respect to the cartridge and turntable even with a good match.
It's another "mod" that unfortunately you have to cycle through a bunch of them to find the right one. Kind of like cables