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View Full Version : Advice on Achromat Platter Mat please.



Qwin
27-10-2016, 09:44
I've read a lot of good reports from people about the Achromat, but I've never actually seen one in the flesh.
Is it a piece of rigid Acrylic or does it have some give to the material?

I have a 38mm thick Acrylic platter that supposedly needs no mat, if the Achromat is the same rigid material, it won't work for me.

I'm using the Denon 301 MkII cartridge and the combo has great punchy and deep bass and sweet top end but the mids are so so, a bit recessed. I know its not the cartridge as I've heard it sing on other decks.

Before anyone suggests it, I have a linear tracking arm that is fully adjustable, with VTA adjustment having a scale to read off, I can get pretty close to optimum from just measuring a new mat thickness and adjusting to suit, the final tweeking can be done on the fly. My Phono stage is also fully adjustable and for instance, is infinitely adjustable on the fly for impedance between 10 and 1200ohm. So I can be confident I've zeroed these in to the sweet spot.

Because of my dissatisfaction I've been experimenting with some mats I have lying round, with these results, bear in mind this is within my set up YMMV:

3mm Felt - Warm detailed Mids, clean top end, no bass, or at least very dull and lack of punch compared to the bare Acrylic platter.

2.5mm Leather - Very soft made from a welders apron. Way too dull all round, sucked the life out of the music.

3mm Cork - Best tonally overall, nothing stood out or seemed lacking, very neutral. I would only rate it 4 stars across the board though. Although its the most even handed I've tried to date, it still doesn't excite me enough if you know what I mean. The best elements of the other flawed mats are better.

What mat has anyone else used with this cartridge?
Jimbo - I would have PM'd you with this question, but your inbox is full.

Any suggestions on mats that might suit this combo?
I don't want to spend too much!
I'm thinking maybe the cork/rubber mix, or even a 1mm Felt. I think the 3mm felt is damping too much, in the same way the very soft leather damped everything. So a fairly stiff compound having some give, or a thinner more transparent interface to couple to the Acrylic at a guess?

brian2957
27-10-2016, 10:12
Have a look at this mat Ken , it may be worth considering . Myself and Andrew ( REXTON ) use one of these on out Lenco GL75s https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fonotek-TURNTABLE-MAT-1-5mm-Platter/dp/B0184AYTHW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1477563080&sr=8-1&keywords=fonotek+mat
Hope all is well BTW :)

Wakefield Turntables
27-10-2016, 10:20
I used the achromatic 5mm version and this was bettered by the resomat which is cheaper and generates no static charge thus less dust on your records. I then moved forward to the analog studio crystal mat which costs approximately £70 and is a better mat than the achromatic or the resomat.

Ali Tait
27-10-2016, 10:45
Yep, try a Resomat, great for the price.

Qwin
27-10-2016, 11:17
Thanks for the tips guys ;)

No one tell me if the Achromat is rigid Acrylic?
I'm curious.

CageyH
27-10-2016, 11:20
No, it is not rigid.
It has a bubble like structure to it.

Qwin
27-10-2016, 11:27
No, it is not rigid.
It has a bubble like structure to it.

OK, thanks for that, you can't tell from pictures.

CageyH
27-10-2016, 11:29
It is pretty stiff, but it is not solid acrylic is what I meant to say.

CageyH
27-10-2016, 11:30
Funk detail here - http://www.thefunkfirm.co.uk/styled/page21/page21.html

Qwin
27-10-2016, 11:47
Funk detail here - http://www.thefunkfirm.co.uk/styled/page21/page21.html

Yes, I saw the Funk page fro Achromat as well as others, it just says Acrylic, Perspex is Acrylic so that's what I thought it might be like.

RESOMAT - Presuming that's Reso-Mat from Trans-Fi Audio, I have Vic's linear tracker so that might have been the ticket, I see a problem though regarding thickness, it holds the record 5mm off the platter, by the time you get a decent thickness of vinyl, 180g+ my spindle wouldn't be long enough, 3mm is the max I can accommodate. - pity!

Macca
27-10-2016, 11:52
I have an Achromat and a Resomat. The Achromat is as stiff as a board. It does work well on the Techy, though, not tried it on anything else. The Resomat I wasn't keen on (again, only tried this in a stock Techy). It certainly changed the sound but whereas with the Achromat the impression is of reduced colouration (compared to the stock rubber mat and a cork/butyl mat), the Resomat was just a different colouration. It might appeal to some tastes, but not for me.

Qwin
27-10-2016, 12:27
I have an Achromat and a Resomat. The Achromat is as stiff as a board. It does work well on the Techy, though, not tried it on anything else. The Resomat I wasn't keen on (again, only tried this in a stock Techy). It certainly changed the sound but whereas with the Achromat the impression is of reduced colouration (compared to the stock rubber mat and a cork/butyl mat), the Resomat was just a different colouration. It might appeal to some tastes, but not for me.

I tried making a multi point contact mat a few years back, your description was similar to what I found on my DIY jobbie, different sound, not necessarily better.

Qwin
27-10-2016, 12:50
Anyone got experience of the Origin Live mat?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Origin-Live-Upgrade-Platter-Mat/dp/B00B72DO4E/ref=pd_sbs_107_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=TCZVMEW2GCQ8TQ1NBBTW

Macca
27-10-2016, 14:57
Ken, if you want to try a Resomat you can have mine, will sort you out at MiBO.

Qwin
27-10-2016, 15:47
Ken, if you want to try a Resomat you can have mine, will sort you out at MiBO.

Thanks for the offer Martin but the Resomat will be too tall in my case.
My spinde only protrudes 7mm and the resomat is 5mm tall leaving just 2mm for the record, which isn't enough.

rdpx
27-10-2016, 16:33
Grant (struth) has a 3mm Achromat for sale I believe. It's yellow which I think would look great, although you may disagree. I think he wanted around 50% of new price which is not bad to be able to try it out. I would imagine if you didn't like it you would be able to sell it on to someone else...