Felt mats or not
default -- Tue, 02/10/2009 - 09:38
A Few months ago I purchased a Project Debut III.....Swapped out the cartridge for an Ortofon Red and use a speedbox. However would like to replace the felt mat.....Any suggestions? Or perhaps I should just swap out the aluminum platter for one made of acrylic and no mat at all.....Thanks for any suggestions. mark
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I wouldn't recommend removing the felt mat Mark, as it performs the function of 'damping' the aluminium platter and thus 'de-coupling' the vinyl from resonances within the aluminium platter.
If you wanted an acrylic platter, you should have bought a turntable designed with an integral one. i personally don't like the sound produced by bare acrylic platters although bonding dissimilar materials (eg copper, aluminium or stainless) to the acrylic makes a huge difference...eg the Clearaudio Statement.
If you want to experiment with alternate mats on your aluminium platter, there are a wealth of rubber and carbon fibre mats from which to choose. Good luck.
I agree with Halcro. In the 70s/early 80s, you had many attempts to replace the LP-12's felt mat, mostly with no improvement (or you improved one area and messed up others). Most people eventually returned to their felt mat.
for all metallic platters the best is:
pure graphit carbon mat from audiotekne.
the best damping in industry used for trains in tokyo.
joe
president
Thanks guys....Halcro I wasn't thinking of placing the record on bare aluminum platter....you're not the first not to like an acrylic platter. But will try a different record mat just to play around with it. Zeb...Had an LP12 years ago and never changed the mat either.... Joe I'll look into graphite.....and now just an aside....Most of my serious HiFi gear I gave back to kids after my divorce 12 years ago...and for most of those years just listened to music on my I-pod....Then it happened....waiting for a train I picked up an issue of TAS....and guess what?....Yup it started all over again....But this time I did a twist on it....How cheaply can I listen to music and stiil be happy. So I didn't ask for the Totem's back but found an old pair od Boston Acoustic A40's in the basement.....got a modified t-amp.....a friend tossed me an old NAD pre-amp. I added an Oppo disc player and the turntable.....Now the funny part.....I haven't listened to a CD since the turntable came...Oh here's something you all should try if you listen to FM.....for $90 bucks go out and get a Sony XDR F1 HD tuner...promise radio will never be the same for you guys.....LOL I think I've just become an expert on cheap high end sound. Thanks again guys.......mark
This is an interesting discussion for me, as I've just ordered a new Marantz TT-15S1 turntable. This TT, as you may know, was built by Clearaudio and includes the Virtuoso Wood body MM cartridge. It also has an acrylic platter and the trend seems to be to NOT use the provided mat. Most of the opinions I've received trend along the same line. I would like to decide this "mat" issue prior to taking receipt of the TT, as I want to instruct my dealer of my chosen method. Any further opinion or advice is most appreciated......John
Hi John!
I was wondering if I'd see you over here. A belated welcome!
I am not an expert in acrylic platters as there is just something about the sound of them that doesn't quite 'ring' (pardon the pun) true to me?
As I interpret the various feedback from designers and users, it appears that unlike traditional platters which mostly comprise a metallic top surface (or glass for Rega) which requires 'damping' or isolation to prevent any sound vibrations within the platter from being tranferred to the vinyl record, acrylic platters (being somewhat less resonant than metal or glass....especially in the thicknesses usually employed) do not require such damping and may in fact benefit from the close coupling of the vinyl to the acrylic. In this case, a clamp may also be beneficial?
But hey.........you lose nothing by experimenting with all sorts of mats and without? It doesn't seem to be a question to be decided before the purchase, but one which can only reasonably be determined by you after the event?
I'm in the "no mats on acrylic platters" camp, but I agree that it doesn't hurt to try both with and without. Of course when testing, the VTA must be corrected to account for the difference in height (the thickness of the mat).
As good as my original Well Tempered 'table with acrylic platter sounded, I improved the "sound" of the table with a Ringmat. That doesn't work AT ALL with my Nottingham 294. The improvement a mat makes (or doesn't ) is very likely dependent on the 'table it's used with.
This blog is a real contribution to the debate. I think you are right on.
You could try the millennium carbon LP Matte(www.m-puck.de) . Its carbon fibre on one side and felt on the other. Its very good. I also have a Funk Firm achromat which works well as well as the standard 3mm graphite mat on my Simon Yorke S7 which has a steel platter. The Funk is the best value but if you can afford it you can have your cake and eat it with the millennium. Good luck! Have fun!
You could try the millennium carbon LP Matte(www.m-puck.de) . Its carbon fibre on one side and felt on the other. Its very good. I also have a Funk Firm achromat which works well as well as the standard 3mm graphite mat on my Simon Yorke S7 which has a steel platter. The Funk is the best value but if you can afford it you can have your cake and eat it with the millennium. Good luck! Have fun!