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?
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?