I just started using an acrylic mat with a felt mat underneath it. The acrylic mat is from Hudson Hi-Fi and the bass feels a little tighter now. It’s clear acrylic with color on the edges. So when light reflects off of it, the mat gives off a nice glow. I think it’s pretty cool. I got the green one because it kind of reminds me of the McIntosh glow. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075BNTDBB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
Gotta admit, I dig the look of those Hudson HiFi acrylic mats, but I'm skeptical they will work on my turntable. I have a Yamaha PX-2 that has a heavy aluminum platter that rings like a tuning fork when you flick it with a finger - I mean that baby REALLY rings. The table was purchased used and came with a Missison Sorbomat mat. It really deadens the platter, but it also seems to suck a bit of life out of the music. I tried an original thick rubber Technics mat, which was very lively, but the bass was a bit muddy (probably due to platter resonance). Finally, I tried a Herbie's Way Excellent II that seems to be a good compromise of the two. It doesn't deaden the platter as well as the Sorbomat, but better than the Technics. So, the bass seems tighter, but it also doesn't kill the dynamics the way the Sorbomat does. @jeffchisako what table/type of platter are you using with your Hudson HiFi acrylic mat? I'm wondering if it's a metal platter like my Yamaha. Also, when I think of acrylic, I think of a hard, rigid sheet of plastic. Intuitively, that that would seem to do very little to dampen the ringing of an aluminum platter. That has me looking at other alternatives (the Herbie's is normally used on another table). In addition to another Herbie's, I'm looking at the Merrill Gem Dandy and the Funk Firm Achromat. @Onrd what brand of acrylic mat are you using on your Technics? Other than the lack of static, how does the acrylic mat sound compared to the original Technics mat? Any problems with platter resonance?
I'm using the Hudson acrylic mat (black) on my Technics direct drive. I'm having no resonance issues at all. I'm also using a SME tonearm, if that makes any difference. I was previously using a German antistatic felt mat but have found the acrylic mat has tightened up the bottom end considerably. The original Technics rubber mat was terrible. I've been using this mat for over a year and really have no complaints.
I don't use a mat on my VPI, but I bought very similar, low cost cork/rubber mats for my 2 Thorens and they work great. I think I got mine off ebay, but they were each under $20.
My VPI Classic came with a mat, but the company recommends not using it. So I haven’t. Figure they would know.
Make a mat with whatever materials you have at hand, and see which sounds best, and keeps dust off, etc.
So my current cork mat started to dry out recently, and when I noticed some pieces of it were ending up on my records, I figured it was time to toss it in the trash. This was the mat that I initially used with the Project acrylic platter - the “cork” mat I mentioned on the previous page that I found made playback a bit dull: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B29YNGK/ What I’m not sure I realized (or remembered) until now is that the mat is actually a cork and rubber composite. I am going to give it another try and compare playback (since I’ve actually got a different stylus on here than I did the last time used it), but I am wondering if the problem was simply that this thing is considerably denser than the pure cork mat I replaced it with. To be fair, the cork mat I just tossed was 2mm and this SleeveCity composite is 1/8” so maybe that 1+ mm difference is significant, too.
Please read the thread depending on the marriage of cart and acrylic platter, playback can be noticeably brighter running without a mat.
Mats are just another area in TT accessories where you can end up spending way too much for what most likely will be very, very little (if any) audible difference. Don't overthink it, get one that is not too thick or thin that it will mess up your VTA range.......... and go with it. Rubber, cork, etc probably won't matter much, for me if the stock mat is still in good shape I just use that. I only change mats to accommodate cartridges that need a VTA boost either way. It really comes down to preference on what you like and what "looks" good - as stated many don't use mats too, though I am one who likes to use a mat for a number of reasons. But then again, I don't run any acrylic platters, mostly some sort of metal.
I've never been able to tell unequivocally that there are any changes to sound, when changing mats. My listening skills are pretty good, and my system is fairly revealing, too. The tactile and visual qualities are the only real things that make me choose one over the other, VTA being roughly equal.
I have nothing but praise for my Hudson cork mat, the record does not stick to it, it's beautifully made, works great, super value, and it looks very nice, exactly what you need.
Interesting. I’ve seldom heard a mat that didn’t make some difference, although admittedly there have been times where the difference has been negligible. I’ve had mats in the past that definitely yielded big improvements in bass response, and others that noticeably reduced vibration from the motor via the platter better than others. For my money, both my turntables have benefitted to varying degrees from some damping introduced by a decent mat - I actually swapped the mat from my Rega to my Pro-Ject this afternoon and tossed the heavier Sleeve City cork & rubber mat on the Reg and noted marked improvements from both turntables after doing so.
Looks good. The 2mm cork mat I mentioned earlier today was basically the same as what you have there and served me just fine until it dried out. A big thing with me and mats is that they’re robust enough that they don’t come off every time you flip a record, and after this thing dried out, all it did was stick to records.
Herbie's Audiolab Way Excellent II turntable mat @ $59.99, it has may satisfied customers, I own three of them, two are on acrylic platters.
Felt mats are static hell. Cork is better. But it looks like you have an acrylic platter. Don’t use a mat!
My new 1200G should turn up in a few days' time, along with a SS Zephyr MIMC Star ES cart...pretty excited...KAB fluid damper, Jelco HS-25 and Audio Sensibility Signature phono cable are also in the house, but anyway...currently running a Planar 6 with a Hana SL and since I am planning to run the 1200G first with the Hana SL, I have also got a BR-12 mat from Oyaide to enable me to set the VTA correctly with the Hana and I've put it on the Rega just to have a listen. I had already tried a rubber&cork mat a few weeks ago and it was terrible compared to the stock felt mat, like a badly congested nose and just lifeless, it was pretty shocking, especially since I hadn't really expected much of a difference to start with. Onto the BR-12...wow...now this is very different...the solidity, clarity and effortlessness it has brought to the sound is staggering. Also, with the stock mat I could have sworn that most of my records were warped. Now they run flat...is the stock mat uneven or does the Oyaide grip the vinyl that much better with warped records? This is without a stabiliser/clamp... (I've also got the STB-MSX from Oyaide, but haven't played with it yet). So this is on a Rega Planar 6, I have no idea how it does on other tables, I'll try it on the 1200g soon, but it would be hard to imagine that it would underperform on other tables.
I prefer a leather mat on a acrylic or glass platter. thin and flexible. the flexibility allows it to make more complete contact with the record and absorb vibrations and resonances that happen in the record as the stylus rattles through the groove.
I have a Gold Note Valore 425 Turntable, with an acrylic platter. I put a cheap felt mat on it for the reason that it sounded too high-pitched. The mat really brought the sound together for me. But, it could just be me....I get that acrylic is considered amazing and not to place anything on it. But, I have always coloured outside the lines lol.
