Mat for Rega P10

I am happy to report that I received Herbie's mat on Friday and it works perfectly! No static and it is a pleasure not having to worry about the mat lifting every time I change a record. As far as looks go, it looks like a record is on the platter from any distance.

It seems to sound a bit more open, but my cartridge is just about approaching the 50 hour initial burn in period, so the improvement may be due to that. 

For me, game over. Can't believe someone would spend $650 for a mat. $60 was plenty for me and I am extremely happy.

Hey Steve - you should try the tru lift arm lifter from Integrity hifi (only sell through dealers) and you won't have to sorry as much if a record is still playing. Once adjusted, it works great. Not cheap (around $300) but I really like it (except when I forget to resist it - it takes time to get used to an extra little step).

Today I received the Herbie's Grungebuster mat.  It's a no go.  I think it may be the worst sounding of all mats that I own.  It's significantly heavier than the Herbie's Way Excellent II mat.  The Grungebuster seemed to suck the life out of the music.  I also compared the Teac Washi mat to the Way Excellent II mat and again the Way Excellent II mat won.  I hear more information while retaining an engaging musical sound with the Way Excellent mat.  I think everything sounds best with that mat including soundstaging, imaging, and dynamics.  I think I would pay $150-$200 for the improvements that the WEII mat brings to the table over the others.  The fact that it's only $60 makes it a bargain.  Based on sokogear's post above on his Rega P8 and my comparison on the P10, I highly recommend the Herbie's Way Excellent II mat for both glass and ceramic platters on Rega TTs.  The Teac Washi mat took second place but imo it's a distant second.  

One more thing that I would like to add, the Herbie's website is a bit misleading in regards to their Grungebuster mat.  Last week I called their office and spoke with Robert regarding my P10 with its white ceramic platter.  He recommended the Way Excellent II mat even though the description of Grungebuster mat on their website says it's for ceramic platters.  I told him that I would order both mats and return one or both depending on how they compared to my other mats.  It turns out he was right on with his recommendation of the Way Excellent II mat.  The sound quality difference between all mats that I tried was easily heard in my system.  I used tracks off  Doug MacLeod's "There's A Time" 45rpm on the Reference Recording label for my comparison.  I'm glad I found this thread on Rega mats because I upgraded the SQ significantly from my TT for only $60.  

smatsui-forgot to thank you for introducing me to Herbie’s mat. I wouldn’t have done the research and would still be unhappy with the mat. I really am thrilled with it’s solid feel without being too heavy and complete lack of any issue changing records.

i agree with your mat analysis 100%. We’ll see if I can return the TEAC..

I would recommend taking a look at the Tru lift tonearm lifter. Can’t believe I lived without it for the +\- 20 years I’ve been using a manual table.

@sokogear, I'll take a look at the Tru Lift tonearm lifter.  Thanks for the recommendation!  I'm returning the Teac and Grungebuster mats.

@arturgorniak, I recommend that you try Herbie's Way Excellent II mat (2mm thick).  The SQ improvement over the Teac is very significant.  Since sokogear and I have both mats and we came to the same conclusion in two different systems, I'd be surprised if you don't agree.  The only thing that you have to lose is return shipping if you don't like it.