Marco, have you metamorphosised into Jimmy Hughes?

Look, the herbies mat is available in the US in different thicknesses and sizes for "normal" turntables as well as the techie. Primarily, the herbies can lighten the tone a little and restoring some neutrality to a big-n-beefy presentation, something many far eastern solid-plinth decks can have, including the current Techie's ancestors. Placed on top of the stuck-on Dual 701 mat, I found it made the sound slightly cleaner, but with the Thorens 125, it killed the sound, making everything too lean and "wimpish" to my tired old ears. As we discussed earlier, mats do have characteristics and really ought to be matched to the particular turntable in an ideal world.

I too have admired and respected Arthur's thinking over the years, although the execution of old PT products and the frailty of the Tarantella was off-putting to a dealer who preferred a quiet life

I'm sure the Achromat is an excellent piece of kit. Too expensive for me to try right now and I don't believe I have a dealer friend currently who could get me one (). Having a "mat" with a similar characteristic to vinyl seems to make sense and I wish you well in your rediscovery of your LP collection. In fact, I suspect the Techie sized version may even be good for other decks too, as the raised/thicker edge of many LP's may be better accommodated.