In early November, looking at a little shootout of mat/clamp combos.
My existing Acoustic Revive RTS-30 mat/Origin Live Gravity One puck, versus
Stack Audio Serene mat/Serene Stabilizer, versus
Hexmat Absolute mat/Absolute clamp, versus
Black Forest Audio Däd!Mät/Däd!Clämp.
I'll let you all know how this goes.
These things are all *hugely* system dependent. I really get on with the AR mat, but I totally get why you wouldn't.
The Spec mat is too thin for my set up.
Yeah I know what you mean but with the Verdier's magnetic levitation its fine. I think the extra mass created by the 1 kilo Puresound is actually a good thing in my particular situation.
1kg would crush my bearing, lol
500-600g is the very limit of a mat/clamp or puck in my system.
Thus ruling out gunmetal etc.
And no thinner than 3mm, ruling out the Spec.
The OMA graphite mat is precision machined from an extremely high grade of polycrystalline graphite, not amorphous carbon, which is graphite dust in resin. Our
The OMA graphite mat is precision machined from an extremely high grade of polycrystalline graphite, not amorphous carbon, which is graphite dust in resin. Our
The Audiosilente and OMA graphite mats, also the discontinued Boston Audio one, are all too heavy for my particular TT.
The Spec one too thin.
Leaving me with my shortlist as already drawn up.
Another case for me where the Stillpoints v2 came out in my system as best. I did a clamp shootout last year. Tried the 7 or 8 I’ve purchased over the years. I liked the v2 the best, as did the two others who helped with the listening.
The Stack Audio Serene mat at 3mm is also likely too thin for my specific needs.
Leaving the 7mm Hexmat Absolute and 5mm Black Forest Audio Däd!Mät as the ones I'll compare to my 5mm Acoustic Revive RTS-30.
But I'm still very curious about the Stack Serene Stabilizer puck, so this will go into the trial.
Corby's Audio in Ontario, Canada has a carbon fibre mat. corbysaudio.com.
It is available on the website. No weight is mentioned. It is CNC machined and as I recall fairly thick. I am sure Don would be pleased to fill you in on its details if you contact him.
Milenium carbon mat + puck is a good choice when need more resolution and refined bass.
Without the puck, static electricity may build up. The LP sticks to the mat when lifted. This can lead to serious damage to the cartridge if it suddenly comes loose.
Thanks for your suggestions, gentlemen. Partly my choice of shortlist is driven by ergonomic concerns (mat must be 5-7mm, weight combined with clamp/puck no more than 500g), price (examples like the OMA graphite mat too pricey), and ease of sorting trial/no quibble return policy.
I had tested a few mats about 18 months ago and didn't hear much difference to just playing records on the aluminium platter of my VPI Super Scoutmaster. Since then I have upgraded my cartridge and after listening to that podcast I decided to give the Les Davis constrained layer damping mat that I had bought a couple of years ago another try. This time I heard an improvement using it, especially with the ring clamp on the turntable. So that led me to buy the newest version which is twice as thick at 2mm. https://ocean-audio.com/products/les-davis-audio-soul-mat-2-mm I have not tested that yet. The Les Davis mats weigh very little.
At some point in the next couple of weeks I'll try various combinations of the Achromat, the Soul Mat, and both together with and without the ring clamp. Differences will probably be subtle and this sort of testing always seems frustrating but small improvements in vinyl playback are worthwhile..
