Technics SL1200/1210 owners - which mat?

Thanks for the response. I have some more work to do.

I feel like Casper
Can someone tell me how a mat changes the tone? What are the physics behind it? Obviously these tweeks work, thousands are spent and volumes written. Are sounds really generated from platters/matts? Is it so subtle only a trained ear can hear? Pardon if I sound sarcastic, that is not my intention.

I tried the stock rubber mat upside down, it was a big improvement over right side up. However, the Boston Audio Design Mat1 was always better in an A/B swap with the stock. I even tried the BAD on top of the stock (both right side up, and up side down).

The Boston Audio Design Mat1 always revealed more detail and resolution. Individual instruments are easy to hear. Dynamics are more alive, and the lower end bass is tight. A more even handed delivery of the frequency range. The stock rubber mat is very obtuse in comparison.

Zenblaster, I'm not a physicist, so I cannot scientifically describe what is exactly happening, but just keep in mind the needle is tracing a groove that has bumps, and those bumps translate into sound. So contact with the needle is what it is all about.

Vibration control is critical to get the very best out of your components. If you haven't explored this path, you are in for a surprise. Your system is capable of quite more when you address these issues of dampening and vibration.

Oh, I forgot, I have the Technics on a Symposium Ultra shelf and it currently has Isonoe footers with out the sorbothene boots. Its a direct aluminum (top of Ultra) to stainless steel (Isonoe footer) coupling. Now the Isonoe has a viscus elastic dampening design similar to what the SME tables are hung on as an example. This gives the Technics a suspension.

I use a Funk Achromat on my 1210 M5G. I haven't tried the thick Technics rubber mat though because my table only came with the felt DJ slip mat. I was using the felt mat in combination with rubber drawer liner previously and the Achromat is an improvement over that. Current the rubber liner under the Achromat provides the best sound.

As to why mats change the sound of a table, I think that they all affect damping and resonance to some degree. Small vibrations from the bearing, platter, and air/speakers can travel through the record and into the needle. Because the principle of operation of a cartridge is on such a small scale, vibrations tend to be more damaging in a turntable setup than in digital. All I know is that mats do alter the sound to a degree that is not insignificant, for better or worse.