Best mat for standard 1210 platter

[AFX]

I'm leaning towards the 1210 achromat but it is a rip off for a piece of plastic. Thoughts?

[Macca]

Compared to what you can spend it is not that pricey so I would not call it a rip-off. A lot of people rate it and use it. I've not tried one personally. I use a cork/butyl job with a label recess. I thought it was a distinct improvement on the stock mat and I have swapped back to check that finding more than once. They are about £20 on eBay.

[DSJR]

All these things are giving a middle man a living as well as the actual manufacturer, so in retail land, £70 for a squidgy circle of 'plastic' is about right. Seeing as I'm a pauper and tight with it, a cork mat is very cheap and seems to work on top of the stock one, lightening the sonics a little and minimising the heaviness IMO. You don't really need a label recess, as the techie platter is ever-so-slightly dished from near the edge to centre(by 1mm I understand) although the mat should be undercut slightly if the stock one isn't placed underneath as there's a slightly raised bit at the perimeter of the stock platter. I still swear by the Chizwizard cork mats for a tenner on fleabay

Another cheap mat is the NAS Spacemat, which currently flogs out at around £20 I think. A very dense spongy substance with no 'skin,' this one deadens disc 'ringing' (tap a playing record with and without it - quite a difference in my experience) and some decks love it.

Have a play with the cheap options to see what you think. If you them feel the need to spend a ton or more on a 'posh' mat, then you'll have some experience to back up your purchase choice

[AFX]

Compared to what you can spend it is not that pricey so I would not call it a rip-off. A lot of people rate it and use it. I've not tried one personally. I use a cork/butyl job with a label recess. I thought it was a distinct improvement on the stock mat and I have swapped back to check that finding more than once. They are about £20 on eBay.

I'll repeat - The best part of £100. For a piece of plastic.

[AFX]

All these things are giving a middle man a living as well as the actual manufacturer, so in retail land, £70 for a squidgy circle of 'plastic' is about right. Seeing as I'm a pauper and tight with it, a cork mat is very cheap and seems to work on top of the stock one, lightening the sonics a little and minimising the heaviness IMO. You don't really need a label recess, as the techie platter is ever-so-slightly dished from near the edge to centre(by 1mm I understand) although the mat should be undercut slightly if the stock one isn't placed underneath as there's a slightly raised bit at the perimeter of the stock platter. I still swear by the Chizwizard cork mats for a tenner on fleabay

Another cheap mat is the NAS Spacemat, which currently flogs out at around £20 I think. A very dense spongy substance with no 'skin,' this one deadens disc 'ringing' (tap a playing record with and without it - quite a difference in my experience) and some decks love it.

Have a play with the cheap options to see what you think. If you them feel the need to spend a ton or more on a 'posh' mat, then you'll have some experience to back up your purchase choice

The cork does seem to be popular but i don't like the look of it! Could the cork be used underneath a felt mat?

[Andrei]

Ty, I'm going out on a limb a bit here but I am going to recommend a mat that I have not tried. Have a look at this: http://www.oyaide.com/ENGLISH/AUDIO/...og/br_one.html
It is new to the market.
First, let me say that the choice of mat is dependent on the platter. In this case you posit the standard platter. The standard platter is only partially damped by the rubber underneath. It is not good in part because the rubber has been imperfectly applied, ie not evenly bonded to the underside of the platter. Also not good because the rubber used is not the optimal damping material. You can see, or rather hear, the difference for yourself by removing the platter and holding it by the magnet assembly and then hit it with a spoon. It acts as a resonating board. The optimal solution is an aftermarket platter or, in my case, a DIY damping solution underneath. However that is easier said than done and most don't want the expense or hassle.

With the above in mind it does seem worthwhile to get serious about an aftermarket mat, especially as the Technics mat is not great. The 'butyl rubber' strikes a chord with me as I have used a commercial butyl (Dynamat) for damping computer cases, my car, and hi-fi gear. It works very well. I already have the achromat and the Origin Live mats, and both are good. But if I was buying a mat now, especially for an undamped platter this is what I would go for.

By way of makeweight, I have used Oyaide products in the past: headshells, headshell leads, and cables (analogue, digital, and tonearm) and find them to be a respectable brand (albeit a bit pricey).

[AFX]

Hey thanks Andrei - you've given me lots of advice in the past too so I'm very grateful. I would probably try using dynamat underneath at some point. That oyaide mat you've recommended looks good and not too expensive - but it looks like its meant to work with the MJ-12 and not directly onto the technics platter?

[AFX]

Ty, I'm going out on a limb a bit here but I am going to recommend a mat that I have not tried. Have a look at this: http://www.oyaide.com/ENGLISH/AUDIO/...og/br_one.html
It is new to the market.
First, let me say that the choice of mat is dependent on the platter. In this case you posit the standard platter. The standard platter is only partially damped by the rubber underneath. It is not good in part because the rubber has been imperfectly applied, ie not evenly bonded to the underside of the platter. Also not good because the rubber used is not the optimal damping material. You can see, or rather hear, the difference for yourself by removing the platter and holding it by the magnet assembly and then hit it with a spoon. It acts as a resonating board. The optimal solution is an aftermarket platter or, in my case, a DIY damping solution underneath. However that is easier said than done and most don't want the expense or hassle.

With the above in mind it does seem worthwhile to get serious about an aftermarket mat, especially as the Technics mat is not great. The 'butyl rubber' strikes a chord with me as I have used a commercial butyl (Dynamat) for damping computer cases, my car, and hi-fi gear. It works very well. I already have the achromat and the Origin Live mats, and both are good. But if I was buying a mat now, especially for an undamped platter this is what I would go for.

By way of makeweight, I have used Oyaide products in the past: headshells, headshell leads, and cables (analogue, digital, and tonearm) and find them to be a respectable brand (albeit a bit pricey).

Hey thanks Andrei - you've given me lots of advice in the past too so I'm very grateful. I would probably try using dynamat underneath at some point. That oyaide mat you've recommended looks good and not too expensive - but it looks like its meant to work with the MJ-12 and not directly onto the technics platter?

[Andrei]

That oyaide mat you've recommended looks good and not too expensive - but it looks like its meant to work with the MJ-12 and not directly onto the technics platter?

Hmmmm. They do say: "Then we have started to produce its option item which enhances the performance of MJ-12." The MJ-12 was very slightly curved but was meant to be flattened by a weight, so I think the BR-ONE should be flat. If it is flat then I see no problem with using it. Under the heading 'Features' it is all in Japanese, which is all Greek to me, so not much to be gleaned there. It seems safe enough but someone said "I know not 'seems' " - Hamlet?

[Macca]

As an aside I always wonder if this whole 'ringing platter' thing is a total red herring. Fair enough it gongs if you hit it with a spoon but that is not something I tend to do whilst playing records. You sit a mat on it you sit a record on that, it rotates at a sedate pace, the stylus traces the grooves, what is happening there to excite any resonance or ringing? I would say absolutley nothing.