TW Acustic Turntable Mat

There is no comparison between missile design and a turntable. A missile's ultimate aim is to travel along certain vectors hit the target then explode. It's fairly easy to know whether you've failed or not. :)
Neither is a missile sensitive to the minutest mechanical vibration.
Turntables, indeed any pieces of hifi equipment, are subject to human perception and we could write a book on that subject and still not hit the target. ;)

The variance of a turntable's physical situation coupled with the relative effects of feedback and the variability of ancillaries in combination, not to mention the adjustability of each, means that the mechanical behaviour of the system is far from clear cut. It can vary and may require tuning/optimisation, even though one is buying a series of finished products.
This is the nature of turntables and it has always been this way. Go on any Forum and you will see countless threads aimed at extracting the best from any turntable.
True some manufacturers try to remove uncertainty by incorporating the tonearm and even the cartridge but optimisation of that turntable's situation still applies. I've had variable results with "complete" suspended tables (e.g. Linn) depending on floor construction, what platform was used, how the cables were dressed and what mat was used.
(..and we're not even touching on arm damping or all the regular adjustment parameters.)
Because it is a sensitive mechanical system there is no limit to influences that can affect it so any extra effort is always worthwhile.

I don't own a Raven AC but my understanding is that it was designed to be used with a mat, and an appropriate mat is supplied.
Many turntable designs other than TW-Acustic also incorporate the mat.
Are detractors attacking TW-Acustic or the engineering qualifications of customers who use mats in general?

TW is to be used with or without a mat depends on the owners system and preferences.

Hi Ebm....
No offense, the AC mat recommendation was merely the view of my local TW supplier. ;)

The "official" position seems to be Raven AC with mat, and R1 withOUT mat, although, in the beginning, I seem to remember the R1 was supplied with a Millenium Mat until it was rationalised away.

Perversely, I use my R1 with a mat (but not the Millenium because I bought my TT after TW stopped supplying mats) while plenty of folk seem to prefer their AC without one! ;)
Ah well...if it makes us happy.... :)

Functionally, the Zanden has more in common with the Millenium mat (dual layer, hard side-soft side) than it does with the Achromat (hard outer shell, cellular interior)
Kind regards,

Moonglum, thanks for the description. I saw the picture of TW/Zanden mat and it has a different colour but otherwise I can't tell if there is any other difference. However, the Zanden mat that I tried had only the soft rubbery material single layer so it sounds like it is different from TW/Zanden with dual layer soft/hard side.

Suteetat

The description from the TW site states this

Yamada-san of Zanden Audio, Japan, has developed a 5 mm thick compound mat for us, and it has totally won us over. The mat consists of two different layers of rubber. The harder of the two compounds sits directly on the turntable’s platter. The softer upper surface generates adhesion and thereby creates a perfect connection between record and turntable. The incomparable dynamics that distinguish our turntable from the rest remain fully unnrestricted, but the musical reproduction appears clamer and more composed because there is now no perceptible pickup noise at all. In addition, the mat lends the music an aura of silkiness and exclusive musicality.

So from the above descrition it is a one sided mat, but dual density with the soft layer intended to face up.
Right now I am using my TW with out a mat. I only have experience with the Millenium mat. But I will eventually get the new TW/Zanden mat one of these days.