Post by michaelw on Jun 22, 2019 10:38:06 GMT 12
my bad, forgot about the original mat. come to think of it, the gta mat was more foam than felt too
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Post by Graham on Aug 9, 2019 11:19:01 GMT 12
As part of a recent turntable purchase I scored a 'vintage' Audioref Le Mat. It appears to be some sort of sorbothane rubber being rather heavy but flexible. I tried it on my thorens TD125 in place of the original Thorens mat and rather like the result. While the Thorens mat has an inner and outer ring that supports but elevates the record, the Le Mat has total contact with the surface of the vinyl. To my brief listening comparison session I can say it sounds different, but I'm not sure if it is better or worse. Just different
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Post by Owen Y on Aug 9, 2019 14:33:21 GMT 12
I've got a Methacrylate-lead-barium mat which I thought was AudioRef. But on 2nd thoughts, I think it's a Goldmund job.
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Pundit
Post by Dom on Aug 11, 2019 8:44:43 GMT 12
My Goldmund mat has writing on the relieved part, Goldmund Relief Mat, in capitals. I'd be surprised if it had once been there but rubbed off, but "ymmv".
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Post by Owen Y on Aug 11, 2019 19:44:04 GMT 12
Hmm is your Goldmund mat quite heavy? This one weighs 465gm (being lead-barium loaded). And is also designed I think, to suit the Goldmund Relief Clamp. I read that Sumiko cloned the Goldmund TT mat. [Edit: This one's also got peel & stick adhesive backing, in inner/outer sections.]
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Post by jon on Aug 12, 2019 8:49:51 GMT 12
Like the rest of you, I've been playing with mats since the year dot..
However I recently purchased two vibrostop mats - one gold and one silver, so 2.5mm and 5mm thick.
Each are excellent on their own. Stacked is slightly better. Sadly not being produced anymore.
Best summed up as less smear.
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Post by michaelw on Aug 12, 2019 11:28:59 GMT 12
vibrostop is a name not heard before... google time i had one of these on the old linn, much better than the crappy felt mat
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Post by jon on Aug 12, 2019 11:45:09 GMT 12
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Post by Owen Y on Aug 12, 2019 15:20:23 GMT 12
Record Interface Mat - that what this one is, I think....(argh my memory! ) (With Goldmund Relief Clamp)
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Post by Owen Y on Aug 12, 2019 15:24:20 GMT 12
These days I use a Reso-Mat by TransFi. On the last 2 TTs I have used, it seems to do everything.
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Post by michaelw on Aug 12, 2019 15:42:32 GMT 12
Record Interface Mat - that what this one is, I think....(argh my memory! ) (With Goldmund Relief Clamp)
oops clicked edit instead of quote
i thought my RIM didn't have a raised label portion but i was mistaken.
where did you get yours from ?
mine was from the old hi-fi news magazine accessories club
only pix of my linn are old polaroid scans
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Post by Owen Y on Aug 12, 2019 16:34:29 GMT 12
I think it was picked up randomly in some transaction... my memory is sometimes slow
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Post by michaelw on Aug 12, 2019 17:26:00 GMT 12
i stuck mine to the outer platter of the linn, still have the original RIM box and the linn felt mat
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Post by colinf on Aug 12, 2019 18:49:44 GMT 12
Quicksilvers bring back memories. They sounded great but the output stage design made the 8417s run at or above their design ratings and they were prone to terrible reliability issues. I’d modify them now and add a fuse in series with the output stage high tension supply. That way if an output valve decides to arc over it won’t result in a Chernobyl-style meltdown. I’ve been using a Loricraft cork mat on my 301 which seems to sound lively enough. Do you think a Reso-Mat could be better though? The best ‘mat’ I had on the 301 in the past was a shellac 78 record. The bass was great! But modern records with their raised labels made the coupling to the record changeable.
AMR-iFi R&D
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Post by Owen Y on Aug 12, 2019 19:09:57 GMT 12
It seems to be hard to find a 'best' mat that works with all TT set-ups & tastes.
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Pundit
Post by beeman on Aug 13, 2019 9:44:26 GMT 12
All this talk of mats got me thinking. I have just sold my un-restored Denon idle turntable. It has the original rubber mat on it. I currently use the Ringmat system on mine and have always been really happy with it. Before sending the old one off I thought I would re-test. With the old mat back on the result was graphic. Flat muffed lacking definition & space in the soundstage. It was like a blanket had been thrown over the speakers. I then introduced the Ringmat layers on top of the rubber. Better & better till the full system was installed.Took the rubber mat off & everything fell back into place. Haha oh well I guess if it aint' broke don't fix it applies. I would like to try a copper or hard mat some time out of interest.
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Pundit
Post by beeman on Aug 13, 2019 10:52:53 GMT 12
Owen that heavy mat of yours could be just the thing for my metal top plate Denon - interested in selling with the clamp?
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Post by Owen Y on Aug 13, 2019 19:37:53 GMT 12
Hi beeman - I'd better keep a variety of mats around here as I seem to be messing about with TTs a bit these days, sorry.
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Member
Post by codhead on Jun 25, 2020 6:36:46 GMT 12
I too have experimented with mats. Really liked the Achromatic on a Linn Sondek I had. They are a bit expensive though. Now I use the Resomat on my Salvation deck. It looks a bit weird to be putting your valued vinyl on a series of points but I am over that now.
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Post by foveaux on Jun 25, 2020 16:28:14 GMT 12
Here's a viewpoint from Touraj Moghaddam (Roksan and Vertere) in his whathifi interview: www.vertereacoustics.com "Can you explain the way you isolate the record surface from the environment?You cannot. The best you can do is to support the record in a manner so it does not adversely affect its ‘state’. By this I mean to keep the record as unaffected as possible by its support system. That’s why I never use clamps or vacuum-suction and so on. There is absolutely no need for those.
The stylus is unable to ‘move’ the record while it’s being played due to the huge momentum of the disc rotating relative to the mass and compliance of the stylus or cartridge. And any attempt to make the record flat would be insufficient as the surface and the groove will still be moving up and down and sideways (in and out). This is an issue for the tonearm or cartridge to deal with, not the turntable. In the past, for record support, I had used highly fibrous materials as a mat, which effectively provides a layer of air under the record. The fibres support the record, holding it effectively up over the platter surface. In my recent designs at Vertere, I’ve been using a thin layer of acrylic bonded to the platter top. This actually contacts the record underside in only a few tiny spots, again effectively providing a thin layer of air. This way the record is as unaffected in its state as I can make it. Of course if in future we come up with a better solution, it will for sure be implemented."
My underline. March 2020: www.whathifi.com/au/features/touraj-moghaddam-the-man-behind-roksan-and-vertere-talks-turntables-and-cablesAs always its horses for courses, the 'minimal support' system that Touraj uses successfully for his TTs, will challenge many viewpoints, me included. Just as the Well Tempered gantry/filament system for their tonearms did, until I heard it. Interesting the Vertere DG-1 uses a thread bearing, a take on the WT philosophy? From the DG-1 brochure: Thread bearings The same goes for the bearings allowing the arm its horizontal and vertical movement: there aren’t any – well, not in the conventional sense! Many solutions have been sought over the years for these precise bearings, but for the DG-1 we have developed a very simple solution: twisted nylon threads – one for movement in the horizontal plane, and two for the vertical axis. These threads have many advantages, not the least of which is simplicity: they exhibit none of the stiction – or initial resistance to movement – of conventional bearings, are super-light and noiseless, and the twist of the thread controls and damps the movement of the arm. Completing the arm are a stainless steel counterweight and tracking adjustment weight, giving a total solution that’s as simple and elegant as it is innovative.Owen recently posted on the new Vertere DG-1 TT: audiofi.net/2019/08/no-ordinary-plug-and-play-this-vertere-dg-1-turntable/
"I see music as a lifetime affair." [Rory Gallagher]
"Free - I miss that band, but when I look back, we were very young" [Paul Rodgers]
848 posts
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Post by Citroen on Oct 19, 2021 12:59:03 GMT 12
Soundeck PM Platter Mat compared to felt, leather and cork mats plus the Origin Live & Hexmat mats
Aluminium sandwiched mat. Not sure about the benefits of aluminium.
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Pundit
Post by peter0c on Oct 19, 2021 13:14:39 GMT 12
I guess one way to resolve the mat issue is to decide which type sounds the worst (possibly easier than deciding the best) and then figure out what it is about the structures or what they have in common makes it so. Then choose the opposite! I suspect that different interfaces will sound different on different types of deck e.g. rigid, suspended. Might be going back in history here but I have a Sonic Research Precision Deck Interface SA-3 (unused) which doesn't show up in Google searches. I bet there are loads more.
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Post by andrewp on Oct 19, 2021 17:56:10 GMT 12
Maybe...just work on the thinking that different mats will be just that..diffeent. Not better or worse..just different. Anyway..Im just off to dust my speaker cable lifter uppereree tower things..
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Pundit
Post by harvey on Oct 23, 2021 20:53:47 GMT 12
I have an OMA graphite mat on order for my SP10. Will report back in due course.
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Pundit
Post by Gryffles on Oct 24, 2021 1:22:27 GMT 12
Has anyone tried the Spec Corp mat?
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Post by michaelw on Oct 24, 2021 11:31:24 GMT 12
I have an OMA graphite mat on order for my SP10. Will report back in due course.
Awaiting your findings...
I've used a few mats on my SP10 and have found two that work well - an NOS original rubber mat and the puresound gunmetal.
Rubber for user friendliness, puresound for sonics.
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Post by andrewp on Oct 24, 2021 14:20:49 GMT 12
OMA graphite..golly that's flash. An exciting addition for you hopefully. If you dont like it Ill sit it on my OMA/401 as I'm sure it will look the business!
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Pundit
Post by harvey on Oct 24, 2021 14:58:08 GMT 12
Yeah, well I wasn't planning on spending that much but hey what else am I going to spend my holiday money on...
I figured OMA have a lot of experience with the Technics decks so should know what works best. Doesn't hurt they look cool too.
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Post by andrewp on Oct 24, 2021 16:26:58 GMT 12
Way cool..Good on you.
I went to their site after reading your post..then I went to the medical cabinet to get more heart pills!
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