Mat Material...............

I think that what mat works best will vary from table to table and installation to installation. This has to do with the various damping characteristics of the tables suspension, the quality of the bearing / noise transmitted from the drive assembly itself, how well the table is supported, how susceptible the table is to both air and floor-borne vibrations, etc... In effect, one could change mats and use them as "band-aids" to fix other problems that the table / arm combo suffered from. The end result might be some type of colouration ( reduced dynamics, softer transients, etc... ) that is more pleasant to listen to than the original components.

As a side note, Kurt mentions a very important aspect that many people overlook. The differences in thickness from one mat to the next can play havoc with VTA, etc... Unless one resets VTA after changing a mat, they are not so much hearing what the mat has to offer, but what the differences in VTA change. As such, for consistent performance and sake of even comparisons, you would need to adjust VTA for each mat and then listen. Sean
>

I think Sean is on point, there is no one answer to which mat material is best. What works for one TT may not work for another. With that being said, in the hay-day of vinyl, a lot of scientific research was done on turntables and their components. Kenwood's testing suggested sonic improvement as the platter mats progressed from rubber, to felt, glass,and ceramic mats. the use of an outer record weight and spindle mounted record weight increased the sonic performance greatly. If you accept this line of testing, the ridged mats should work the best. I use a currently use graphite mat with an inner and outsdie record weight, but intend to test a carbon fiber mat in the next week. I have also used the latest harmonix record mat with excellent results.

I have used a ringmat on a Rega P3, a Basis 2500, and an LP12. Why these little, skinny cork rings should work is beyond me, but I don't like the sound with the alternatives as well. I do find that I can tell the accuracy of my settings by how obvious a positive difference it makes.

A nice bonus is that I don't experience static cling, requiring me to peel the felt pad of the record.

My initial experience with a Ringmat was very poor. Come to find out that the better the isolation of the turntable itself, the less "synergistic" the Ringmat will be with it. As such, i would not recommend the use of a Ringmat ( or similar device ) with a table that offers good to excellent isolation. Such devices will probably work better with a table / installation that is more susceptible to outside interference. In effect, the damping or "give" that such a platter mat offers becomes part of the suspension and can help to make up for a lack of isolation from both air and floor-borne vibrations. Tables that offer excellent isolation from outside influences will typically work better with a more rigid platter mat.

That's why i mentioned the variables involved with the different types of suspension and support structure that one is using. You have to look at the big picture, not just what works in one specific situation. I learned the hard way i.e. by spending money and taking a step backwards in performance. Sean
>

My isolation is quite good. I'm using a Nottingham Interspace table with Dynavector Karat cartridge, Bright Star Audio Rack of Gibralter, and a homemade sandbox similar to a Big Rock.

Do you think a Mystic Mat (I hear it's recommended by Nottingham) could be a good choice? It's a carbon fiber make-up.