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
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 |
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 |
A platter pad needs to do two things: control resonance in the LP and minimize resonance in the platter. To do the former the mat has to be the same hardness durometer as the LP so all frequencies are absorbed by the mat. If the mat it too soft or too hard there will be colorations as a result. IME its a good idea to have the platter treated to be non-resonant. Generally speaking an amorphous material like acrylic or metal will not suffice on its own. Technics recognizes this in their current machines and so their platters have damping materials applied. |
Two excellent turntables! The Sony will be difficult if my experience at attempting to “improve” a PS-X65 is typical. The original oil-filled mat you reference is pretty much unobtainable at this point. Interesting read on their approach: https://www.vinylengine.com/library/sony/total-system-technology.shtml The JVC may prove to be more responsive although it appears the original mat was 1.) sized to fit within a recess in the platter 2.) features a slight dish profile suggestive of using a spindle weight or clamp. With a properly dialed in system, any changes will result is sonic differences so remain objective. |
