Record mats for vintage tts

to properly judge any mat you need to somehow insure it is not moving around even a little. if one is stable but another less so you won't know what the mat itself is actually doing.

maybe some double-backed tape, Elmers Glue, or light spray of artist's glue. something that lays perfectly flat and insures the mat will not shift at all.....and can be easily cleaned off without issues.

i'm using the Boston Audio Mat 1 on the 301 and it sounds better since i secured it. i have not compared the Boston mat to anything other than the stock 301 mat; no contest the Boston Mat is better. the Boston mat is made of a particularly slippery material and does slide easily on a metal platter.

I have had two different Herbie's mats on two different TTs. A standard Herbie's replaced the felt mat on an older LP12 and his thickest mat has now replaced a rubber mat on my LT-30. I just picked up (here on Audiogon) a vintage (year not use) EON Isolation mat. It seems like it has layers of isolation with a thin cork-type top layer. I can't use it because it isn't thick enough and suggests the use of a record clamp with it. If you're interested in it, email me. otherwise, I strongly suggest Herbie's mats.

Hi Lew, we use the Oracle mat for the model 208. Its a hellava lot better than the stock mat. The best mats were made by Warren Gehl of ARC some 20 years ago. They were pricy and hard to make, but they worked beautifully. Once you've heard one, you know what I say they are the best. Not many were made, and they typically take about $800-$1K when they turn up.

Boston mat is really very good in most applicatons