Lenco L75 turntable mat

[Stryder5]

What's the consensus on different mats that anyone has tried?

Seeing that for other turntable's users have been trying metal mats thought I would try LP direct on platter.
I think it sounds rather good.

Gary

[gninnam]

Always found that I got good sound from the original rubber mat myself.
Tried cork, felt and few others but always ended up back with the original one.

[Wakefield Turntables]

I've gone bonkers with mats on the Lenco. I started with a standard mat and then experimented for quite some time and ended up with a trio of mats consisting of Oscars Gimp mat + 3mm cork and then the original mat, this lasted for over a year, I then went onto the SPH mat, tried the Tenuto and finally ended up the Crystal mat.

[Stryder5]

I've gone bonkers with mats on the Lenco. I started with a standard mat and then experimented for quite some time and ended up with a trio of mats consisting of Oscars Gimp mat + 3mm cork and then the original mat, this lasted for over a year, I then went onto the SPH mat, tried the Tenuto and finally ended up the Crystal mat.

I'm sure you kept the VTA the same with each change .

[brian2957]

I've tried quite a few mats too and always end up using the original rubber mat . I will get a Crystal mat to try when funds are available .

[DSJR]

For a stock GL75, nowt at all wrong with the one it came with. the GL78 mat is good too imo. My take is that heavy rubbery ones may be better than a light foam Spacemat or Funk Achromat or any of the acrylic discs out there, as these seemed to take some of the power out of the sound (I'm rapidly realising that 'sonic truth to the master source' is the last thing many vinyl lovers want, so anything goes basically)... I didn't try cork when I had one set up.

One type I found DIDN'T work at the time was the wool/felt Linn and Rega mats. As always, ymmv on that.

[Wakefield Turntables]

I'm sure you kept the VTA the same with each change .

Yes, painstaking as it was.

For a stock GL75, nowt at all wrong with the one it came with. the GL78 mat is good too imo. My take is that heavy rubbery ones may be better than a light foam Spacemat or Funk Achromat or any of the acrylic discs out there, as these seemed to take some of the power out of the sound (I'm rapidly realising that 'sonic truth to the master source' is the last thing many vinyl lovers want, so anything goes basically)... I didn't try cork when I had one set up.

One type I found DIDN'T work at the time was the wool/felt Linn and Rega mats. As always, ymmv on that.

I agree. Have you ever read any of the discussions on the LINN forums with respects the to weave orientation of the platter mat . The LP12 was an excellent deck when I owned one but now I'm happy that I've moved on.

[DSJR]

I can't really discuss the LP12 without a healthy 50:50 dose of love and loathe... Thirty odd years ago, I was swapping the mat round and claiming to hear a difference, belts upside down and inside out (there is a slightly smoother side when new and the smoother side used to be the 'better' side I recall) and even went as far as 'directionalising' the fuses (shades of another forum here ).

Then I heard a Spacedeck with RB300* at half the price sound 'rather better' than an LP12/Ittok (same K9 stylus used) and it kind of made a mockery of the whole thing for me. Current spec LP12's have changed a lot - as well as looking similar - and they DO now sound an awful lot tauter and clearer these days than I remembered.

* Rega 8 aside, I still find a Spacedeck was one of the few turntables able to make a stock RB300 sing out in a highly musical sense. To me, this deck didn't 'sit on' the RB300as many other popular models did - and everyone blamed the arm, which I don't think was totally fair. Rega have altered the arm mountings since and tweaked the arm-tube casting inside to make it better with more normal turntable types.

I'm going off on one again - apologies all...

[Wakefield Turntables]

Well I never heard the thing about messing around with the belt, that's a new one. I have never tried a felt mat on the Lenco and I don't think I want to. I always think back to some of the big JAP decks where metal and glass have been used as platter mats and then I think of the Tenuto platter mat, they must have been doing something right. I currently run three decks, a 301, 1210 and a Lenco 75. Two of the decks run metal platter mats (301/1210) whilst the 75 has a crystal mat plonked on the platter. I've never heard the 5mm versions of the Tenuto or SPH mats but supposedly they eek a little more detail.

[Stryder5]

Back to part of my original post

Anyone else tried direct to platter?

Gary