It's now time to ditch your Sound Hi-Fi/Herbie's mats...
...and fit the new best sounding option for the SL-1200/1210!
Gentlemen, I give you the Funk Firm Achromat ('1200')....
Over a year ago when I was testing various mats for my SL-1210, I tried an Achromat, and whilst it was good, ditched it in favour of the Herbie's/Sound Hi-Fi mat, which at the time seemed to make more sense of the music being played.
*However*, that was before Arthur K (someone whom I've always respected as a knowledgeable audio designer) made a new version of the Achromat which fits the lip on the platter properly of the SL-1200/1210....
It all came about because Arthur wanted me to listen to his new FXR tonearm, which he's sent me to evaluate (and which I will review on AoS in due course), so in conversation he told me about the new Achromat for the SL-1200/1210, and I asked him to send me a black version along with the FXR.
When using the 'special edition' Achromat, designed for the SL-1210, one immediately notices how snugly it fits the contour of the platter - it 'hugs' the edges very securely, creating a platform which optimally supports the full surface area of the record, ensuring that both record and mat correctly and securely interface with the platter.
To my mind it does this a little more effectively than the Sound Hi-Fi/Herbie's mat. What the Achromat achieves, too, is to dampen the platter more and remove the slight element of ringing that exists with the Sound Hi-Fi mat before a record is placed on the (stock) platter, and this together with the Achromat's classier appearance (its slightly shiny black surface really complimenting the glossy speckled finish of the 1210MK5G) inspires more confidence, thus giving overall greater user satisfaction.
However, all that pales into insignificnce when the Achromat is fitted and the needle hits the groove of your chosen record, in this instance Frank Sinatra's live set in Paris from 1962, an Original Master Recording from Mobile Fidelity.
The album starts with some gentle clapping from the audience and an introduction in French from Charles Aznavour, which then builds into a crescendo of clapping, as the musical accompaniment from the orchestra swells before Sinatra breaks into his first song 'Goody Goody'....
With the Achromat in place, the initial clapping has an acute vibrancy and a real sense of skin hitting skin, and Aznavour's voice is palpable and 'real' with a sonorous tone to his vocal delivery that combines to capture a sense of the venue, making one feel part of a genuine live performance - and when the band kicks in, and the sound swells with a venemous grumble, one can almost 'feel' the sense of the occasion before Sinatra's gentle honeyed tones envelop the room and set the stage for a memorable performance.
Switching to the Sound Hi-Fi/Herbie's mat, one is immediately aware of the initial clapping taking on a muted, 'thuddy' quality, as if the audience were suddenly wearing gloves, and Aznavour's voice that previously had sounded so palpable and 'real', was now somewhat reedy and metallic-like, almost as if a new microphone with a different tonal presentation had been substituted.
The band had also lost its joie de vivre, no doubt in small part due to the 'thickening effect' the Sound Hi-Fi/Herbie's mat imbued in the presentation of the recording, and so voices and instruments were stripped of their natural colour and vibrancy, all in all making for a poor facsimile of this live recording, and thus losing the realism and sense of occasion that the Achromat had previously so deftly reproduced.
Let me make this absolutely clear: the sonic presentation of these two mats is poles apart, and I was shocked and stunned at just how marked the difference in musical presentation was with my T/T when either mat was used, not to mention at the realisation that with the Sound Hi-Fi/Herbie's mat, I had been for the last year and a half listening to my records half-cocked!
One of course must allow for the fact that results will likely vary from system to system (or turntable to turntable), but I'm confident that the majority of people will achieve a significant sonic upgrade by changing to the Achromat, unless in certain instances the presentation of a turntable (and system) has been 'tuned' to accommodate the more muted sonic signature of the Sound Hi-Fi/Herbie's mat; in which case, don't blame the Achromat for simply telling the truth!
There is obviously something in the design of the Achromat which allows recordings on vinyl to 'breathe' and really come alive, which the Sound Hi-Fi/Herbie's mat stifles in comparison. Don't get me wrong, the latter is a still a good mat, but quite frankly the 'Achromat 1200'. specially designed for the SL1200/1210, makes it sound rather broken.
I can't wait to hear what the Achromat sounds like in conjunction with the copper mat, when I get one!!
For a technical explanation of the design of the Achromat, I would refer you to the Funk Firm website: http://www.thefunkfirm.co.uk/achro.htm
All I will end by saying is if you really want to hear what's on your favourite records, then one of these babies is an absolute must. Quite simply, you will not spend a better £72 on your Techie - so buy with confidence!
Marco.
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Originally Posted by Shuggie
