Turntable slipmats

[senguptamitava]

Hello Everybody,
Do Slipmats really effect the sonics of a TT? Whats your opinion?
I want to replace the felt mat of my TT with a rubber mat. Can anyone give me an idea where to get it from?
Regards,
Amitava

 

[greenhorn]

my experience - putting a rubber mat reduced the highs. Couldnt notice a difference in the bass.

 

[prakashsubbanna]

Interesting observation. @greenhorn.

 

[Record Player]

I use a felt and a rubber mat on me 1200 and I find the bass to be much tighter. The rubber at the bottom and the felt over that which helps the static to stay away as well.

As I am suing two mats, I need to ensure the arm height is just perfect to get best results.

Cheers

 

[Shivam]

I have tried various mats with my Linn LP12 and I find the 'felt' mat most suited to it. A lot depends on the turntable. ProJect turntables with acrylic platter sound the best without any mat. With most technics turntables, I find the felt mat on top of a cork mat as the best option.

Whatever mat you use, make sure to adjust the VTA.

 

[VinylShakti]

Has anybody had any experience with Cork mats? I believe they are very good.

 

[Shivam]

Has anybody had any experience with Cork mats? I believe they are very good.

I have tried cork mats. They somehow seem to increase the rumble. I like them only on Technics turntables as a rule and with a felt mat on top along with the cork.

 

[jls001]

Whichever mat you choose, please make sure that there is good friction between the mat and the platter. Otherwise you can lose torque and this could result in unstable speed. I've faced this issue when using an acrylic mat on top of an acrylic platter.

But when properly coupled, the acrylic mat sounded lively, though it somewhat accentuated pops and ticks on older records. I replaced the acrylic mat with felt and regained traction but lost out on the liveliness.

Rubber gives a balanced sound (to my ears).

I would love to try leather in future (don't know where one can get quality hide in Mumbai).

 

[prakashsubbanna]

Most of TTs as on date must have dished out rubber mats for ages on the platter & must have considered the most optimal material which conforms to resonance parameters & grip on the platter etc. for best music output.

Felt and cork materials are known for ages now...I wonder why it was not a norm & OE on the production line.

If it were then, would like to know which TTs carried those materials as slipmats other than rubber.

 

[soulforged]

Felt mats may result in more static IME...

Another thing you need to keep in mind while changing the mat is the VTA...if your TT does not let you adjust the VTA (like my Debut III), be careful not to pick up something which is thicker/thinner than your current mat. This would not just affect your sound but also have affect stylus wear...

 

[myriad]

You can look at BR-One Turntable Mat

Oyaide audio accessories and cables, distributed by Black Rhodium

 

[senguptamitava]

My TT, AT LP120USB, has a felt slipmat. The main prob I really face with this is that it tends to collect dust and thus a record once cleaned and played on one side collects dust on the other side leading to clicks and pops. Will this be avoided in a rubber mat?
Regards,
Amitava

 

[Record Player]

My TT, AT LP120USB, has a felt slipmat. The main prob I really face with this is that it tends to collect dust and thus a record once cleaned and played on one side collects dust on the other side leading to clicks and pops. Will this be avoided in a rubber mat?
Regards,
Amitava

Honestly, I don't think this will change much. In India, dust is the inevitable.

I would reckon you get your self an anti-static record cleaning brush.

 

[jls001]

Use dust cover when not playing records

If you don't have a dust cover, take off the felt mat when not playing and store it inside a large envelope or zip lock plastic bag.

 

[VinylShakti]

Honestly, I don't think this will change much. In India, dust is the inevitable.

I would reckon you get your self an anti-static record cleaning brush.

I agree. An anti-static brush has made a huge difference to my listening pleasure. You can get the Audio-Technica one for a deal on Amazon. Don't know if they deliver to India though.

 

[senguptamitava]

Thanks to you all for your valuable replies. I will definitely try an antistatic brush. Will post my experience after that.
Amitava

 

[Anil kumar]

I agree with Record Player, definitely brush helps to minimize stylus wear by removing dust on record. I recently bought sleeve city's carbon fiber
record brush, i am quite satisfied with it. Most importantly, LP should be cleaned with ipo & distilled water before using the brush if the LP is too dirty, better not to contaminate the brush.

I also bought these anti static round bottom LP sleeves, they are quite good. Most of my Japanese pressed Lp's came with these sleeves.
They are die-cut for a perfect fit for a12 inch record and made by a Taiwan company. I replaced the old sleeves with these after cleaning with distilled water.

Sites for vintage specifications

 

[Dr.Bass]

Here is a really good mat I recently discovered:
Trans-Fi Audio - Reso-Mat

 

[VinylShakti]

Wow! this 'mat' really is revolutionary. Need to try this.

 

[wlg]

My felt brush bought in japan in 1985 still going strong