Mike New platter, Oyaide MJ-12 mat & STB-MS stabiliser arrive at Marco Towers...

[MartinT]

mainly because the Achromat is rigid and somewhat slippery, and so skids around the place like a DJ slip mat, with the resulting sonic consequences!

You were the one advocating double-sided tape! I'm possibly going to try Vaseline to achieve an even better bond with the platter.

[DSJR]

Glycerine instead?

[Clive]

If you don't mind re-applying it every so often you'll find spray-mount works, it's a spray on glue used for temporarily sticking card to walls.

[MartinT]

Good ideas, chaps!

[Marco]

Hi Martin,

You were the one advocating double-sided tape! I'm possibly going to try Vaseline to achieve an even better bond with the platter.

Lol - yes, when the stock platter is being used, which the Achromat seems to 'adhere' to better, even without the use of double-sided tape. Using the latter simply improves the 'bonding' effect further.

I agree though that Vaseline, or possibly Glycerine, would be even better. However, the copper surface of my MN platter is too 'slippery' to start with to facilitate any attempt at bonding the Achromat to it.

Also, with the Achromat being 5mm thick, it creates a 'sponge' effect on the platter, when a record is placed on top, which has absolutely no 'give' in it whatsoever, even with the Bruil weight sitting on top, therefore the net result is a sort of slippy, spongy 'discus' that floats above the surface of the platter with the record on top - not good!

What you want is for the top mat (whatever it is) to adhere firmly (couple) to the record and platter underneath with no slippage whatsoever, like the Herbie's does, but one which imparts a more desirable sonic signature. It also needs to be thin. This is why I'm going to try the Blue Horizon and Origin live mats, which I think could do the trick. Another would be the thin rubber-type mat that's used on SME T/Ts.

Basically, all you want the 'top mat' to do, presuming an MN platter is in the equation, is to 'cushion' the record from the metal surface of the platter while the Bruil weight bonds it tightly to the surface, whilst imposing minimal sonic signature of its own, in order to prevent 'chatter' between the record and the metal surface of the platter.

In any case, for me this is simply a trial, as with the MN Copper Composite Platter there may be no need for further mats of any type. At the moment, I can detect no effect of any 'chatter'. The only way I'll know if this is anything to worry about is if or when the 'effect' is removed by the use of a 'top mat', as described above.

Do you see what I mean?

Marco.

[theophile]

Marco,
thanks for documenting your adventures in mat/platter land.

Things become interesting when(beyond which turntable one owns)one's turntable mat and/or the platter material/profile rears it's head as the limiting factor.It tells me that your system needed attention at the 'Source' link of the system chain.The rest of your system is obviously passing the Source resolution along nicely.

One of the biggest reasons I elected to purchase my turntable was the equipment options which the turntable was offered with.The standard platter is 6.5Kg.The motor is designed to be used with the optional 'gunmetal' platter which weighs 18Kg.This infers that when using the standard platter that the motor and the bearing itself are both operating under conditions for which they are greatly over-specified.The gunmetal platter sells in Japan for a higher price than the stock turntable,and available examples usually sell within minutes of being listed.This tends to indicate that whatever the gunmetal platter contributes to the sound,one could fairly conclude that purchasers are prepared to pay big bucks and wait for years to get one that they must be certain that it will be worth their while.A gunmetal platter for this turntable is a one trick pony.If word got around that they sucked,one would be stuck with them.

I have the stock 6.5 Kg platter(a finely machined delight),but would dearly love to own a 16.5 stainless steel platter which one can purchase in Japan.

On the subject of mats,have you ever looked into the 'cork/foam spotmat'?

[MartinT]

Also, with the Achromat being 5mm thick, it creates a 'sponge' effect on the platter, when a record is placed on top, which has absolutely no 'give' in it whatsoever, even with the Bruil weight sitting on top, therefore the net result is a sort of slippy, spongy 'discus' that floats above the surface of the platter with the record on top - not good!

Yes, I see. In my case the Achro has such a tight hole over the MN bearing that it's a snug fit without slippage and the double-sided tape keeps it in place. I will try eliminating the tape and using Vaseline tonight to create a tighter bond between the two materials and will report back.

[Marco]

Well, it'll be a chance to get the Vaseline out again for a different purpose than usual!

Seriously though, what you need to keep in mind with the purpose of the top mat, is to create a coupling, rather than a decoupling effect between it, the record, and the platter underneath - and to remember that ANY slippage is a no-no. We're not DJs doing 'scratching' in a night club!

Marco.

[chris@panteg]

Vaseline ? you surprise me Marco ' i thought you were a KY jelly man

[Marco]

Only the edible chocolate-flavoured type, Chris! Hey, what about KY to bond the mat??

Doncha just lurve thread drift on AoS!!

Marco.