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MAT - platter material, thickness/ resonant frequency - thoughts please

I've read quite a few posts and threads and am getting a little bit overwhelmed  frankly. What I do not really see is any clear discussion/experience factoring in the difference of say:

1. the drive method - DD goes at the speed ie 33.3 - 45; belt 300rpm; rim (higher still but not sure)

2. platter material - Steel, Aluminium, Delrin all have different resonant frequencies

3. Suspension type - sprung vs rigid vs air vs sorbothane

4. platter thickness

I have been trying to get an OL2k mat for my SONY TTS 8000 (to no avail) for instance as I read in a HiFi News article by Tim Jarman that one can try other mats but the OL2K is the best overall. 

As such logic clearly means that some mats work with some decks better - and as such i can imagine they are rubbish on another deck hence some experiences would be akin to having a salmon and banana sandwich which are not destined to work together.

I am throwing this out for some distilled advice and experience upon the following decks:

1. MAt for Sony TTS 8000

2. Mat for JVC TT101

3. mat for acrylic platter (Amazon Model One) (just experimenting)

I have a few candidates:

a. Ringmat

b. Tenuto

c. Boston

d. pigskin (cut to size)

thanks in advance

 

lohanimal
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 

Any platter designed correctly will not resonate regardless of what it is made from.

A well designed mat has the mechanical impedance of vinyl and has relief for both the label and the edge of the record. Any floppy soft mat is bad. But, just as important is the way the record is clamped down. Vacuum clamping IMHO is the best followed by reflex clamping of which the Sota Reflex clamp is an example. SME and Kuzma do it by having a clamp that screws onto a threaded spindle.

A properly designed suspended (isolated) turntable is always best. Examples are SME, the Stabi M and Ref 2, Basis, Sota, Avid and Dohmann. I personally prefer belt drive. It can be just as accurate as DD.  Isolation and proper record clamping are more important from a sonic perspective as long as the drive is executed correctly. 

fuzztone's avatar
fuzztone
5,598 posts
 

Whichever way you go I recommend the Origin Live (thin) mat on top.

mattmiller's avatar
mattmiller
1,497 posts
 

Im not a fan of record mats...wool,cork,vinyl,rubber they all cause static electricity, or worse they dull the overall sound. If you cant lay the record down right on the platter with a good clamp why bother. Nothing says stability like a slippery wooley mat on a glass platter....geez dont get me started Roy Gandy!

I like tables where you dont use a mat:

www.michell-engineering.co.uk/michell-gyro-se-turntable

 

Matt M

antigrunge2
1,403 posts
 

Rim and belt drives only work with the inertia of very heavy platters, DD‘s tend to be light for obvious reasons. My best results come from a very heavy acrylic platter with a Verus rimdrive. I use a Millenium  carbon fibre mat and clamp with carbon fibre lining on the LP side. The logic of the mat and clamp is to damp resonances of the LP itself, so: yes, mats have a purpose

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