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So I replaced the original Garrard 401 mat with an EP

So I replaced my original Garrard 401 mat with a 10" record.

Years ago, I had tried the Boston graphite mat and it deadened the music. I’ve messed around with cork tile, paper, little brass rings, 12" record, no mat, and kept going back to the old mat. The 10" record on the other hand is interesting...reduction of smearing, damped and woolly bass. It’s not that it was badly smeared and soft, but it definitely tightened things up and improved (increased) the highs.

Any stories to tell?

128x128noromance
noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,898 posts
 
Thanks for the recommendation. Reading about the Spec+ gave me an idea.
I just swapped the 10" vinyl record (Daughter - His Young Heart EP) for a 10" shellac 78.
Wow! All the improvements listed above even more pronounced:
1. Lower surface noise
2. Improved depth
3. Hearing further into recording
4. Better focus and more neutral.

normansizemore
601 posts
 
noromance,

I played around with several mats and found the original Garrard mat on my 301 sounded best. Same with my Dual 1229. I do like the original Oracle Platter mat and will use it occasionally.  A audio buddy of mine recently bought a solid copper mat and I was really impressed by it.

I also like your idea of using a 10Ep. I have some 78's and might give that a try as they are very rigid and flat.  It seems that the softer the mat the warmer the sound. The harder the more dynamic. 

N.
noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,898 posts
 
@normansizemore 
Yeah, I thought the general consensus was leave the original mat. But I have to admit the improvement is not small. I've swapped between the original, the 10" vinyl and the 78 using a number of tracks. Considering I've a stash of old shellac 78s, I think I'll repackage them as a miracle mat for $300!!


noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,898 posts
 
I meant to follow up earlier. I've been swapping between all 3 and have gone back to the original mat for the moment! The oddest part to all this is that sonic improvements depend on the record/recording. The changes to the sound depending on which mat is used are ridiculous - making most records sound utterly different. Depth, timbre, space, tone, clarity, blackness, silence all vary. In fact, so much so, I wonder which one is correct!

harold-not-the-barrel
895 posts
 
ORACLE GROOVE ISOLATOR especially when used as it was meant to be with the original DELPHI/PREMIERE platter, is a killer combination. Actually mat/platter becomes a very tight unit and this is the magic of early ORACLEs, with soft suspension to be exact. They totally went wrong with that hard mat from MK IV with stiffer suspension. To be honest, it sounded awful back in the day and I never looked back.

I have a GROOVE ISOLATOR on one of my DIY projects. Using vinyl record(s) as mat is a very good idea too IME.
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