Should You Use A Cork or Felt Mat On Your Turntable?
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- We call these widgets for your turntables: different types of mats including felt, cork, rubber, other and some even prefer to play nude on their platters. But which sounds the best? We dive in.
audibleeleganc...
#hifi #audiophile #homeaudio #turntables #turntable #vinylcommunity #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylrecords #mats #turntablemats #corkmats
Neither, Japanese rubber is superior to anything else!
Not necessarily. You have to look at a turntable as a whole. Sometimes compromises are made where aftermarket things can help but this is more the exception rather than the rule.
Yep heavy rubber mats have superior damping.
Some mats have certain special features that can be worth it though, like the Oyaide BR-12, which is concave towards the center.
That one is great for flattening mildly warped records during play when used in combination with a clamp or weight.
@@QoraxAudio That is assuming you have VTA adjustment on your arm. If not, a change in mats may screw up the VTA. It can go both ways on that which definitely changes the sound and not for the better.
@@audibleeleganceinc Yes the lack of VTA adjustment is definitely an issue on many entry level turntables.
That's why I always advice prospective buyers to check if a turntable has VTA adjustment and only buy one that has.
Not only for different mats thicknesses, but also for different cartridge heights.
Good topic Lou. Thank you.
You are most welcome.
I don’t understand how the cork mat changed the timing of the music just by the material. Did the thickness of the mat have something to do with that rather than the cork material itself? Maybe the tracking angle wasn’t aligned with that thickness? Other reviews have commented that cork tends to provide a warmer sound but this is the first time I’ve heard of a potential timing issue. I have a uturn custom TT and they recommend a 0.125” mat on the platter to optimize the angle and they actually sell a cork mat for this. I think a little more explanation in this video would have helped.
Some might challenge that the VTA can change the sense of timing too, which, I agree with you it does. No, the thickness did not appear to be any different than the standard Rega mat.
Many people do not listen for rhythm, pitch first but go to tonal emotion as their guide. Well, a great singer with a lousy band is not a great experience. So, it's hard to explain this without a bit of personal interaction. I teach this and many customers thank me for it. I have already done videos in our catalog trying to address this approach and to give some basic guidelines. So, please check them out. I sincerely can not repeat this topic again and again as I have some really critical problems going on with my wife's health.
The final point being, simply listen to it and not the words written by a reviewer who claims this or that about any given product. If it works for you, and it can, great. However, do not simply assume that anything commercially promoted is not without bias or intent.
@@audibleeleganceinc good luck to you and your wife. Thanks for the recommendation. I just looked at your video history and put a bunch of them in my queue.
"Should You Use A Cork or Felt Mat On Your Turntable?"
- Neither.
Use heavy rubber instead for improved damping.
I am sorry, but I completely disagree with one size fits all approach. If it worked every time, then why doesn't everyone do it? Because it does not work every time.
@@audibleeleganceinc Well, it's mostly because rubber is associated with cheap and old.
Many turntables came with it because it's such a great choice, but people tend to remember it from their parents crappy BSR changer and similar.
That gave rubber mats a connotation of "belonging to old garbage turntables".
Another reason is static charge: if the platter isn't properly grounded through the spindle and a rubber mat is used, you'll get a ton of static charge buildup, because it can't discharge through that platter/spindle to ground.
In those cases a rubber mat does more harm than good, but the root cause actually lies with the lack of grounding at the spindle (i.e. bad electrical design of the turntable itself)...
The primary goal of a mat is to minimize/dampen transfer of vibrations from the platter getting into the cartridges, and minimizing reflections of vibrations through the records caused by the stylus tip itself.
That's what rubber does best.
However, what type of rubber is up for debate... depends on the frequency of the vibrations that need to be damped the most.
Stiffer rubber is better at damping higher frequencies and more flexible rubber is better at damping lower frequencies.
There's a middle ground that works quite well overall though...
Felt promotes static electricity which brings dust.
Enough dust problems with these idiotic 180g records.
And cork looks cool
And on Rega turntables, sounds like hell.
@@audibleeleganceinc my P3 has a cork mat and I really like it
@@musicman8270 Well, the one we had ruined the rhythm completely. It only took about 4 counts and it was over. Certainly it changes things tonally but if the rhythm and pitch is destroyed, who wants to listen to a wedding reception band?
@@audibleeleganceinc sorry but I've used a rubber mat, the included rega mat, and the cork mat. And I could not tell any difference whatsoever.
When I got rid of my old P3 and bought a new Technics I was surprised at the difference.
Sold it and bought a new Rega P3.
Never heard that big a difference in tables before.
Mats, not so much
Another "Little Visits With Lou". As always, well done. What's wrong with rubber, the one that came with the table? What if you can't adjust VTA, with the replacement mat lifting the record?
When you talk about pressure on the bearing, how might that apply to the bearing of a belt drive? The weight of the platter still challenges the belt drive motor but it's not the same as with a direct drive, no?
Oh, I am not really into direct drive issues as most of them have lousy bearings anyway.
@@audibleeleganceinc So, I'm curious to learn more about belt-drive TT's. I'd assume there's a bearing in the motor, but that motor doesn't bear weight, per say, it would be torque. Additionally, on a belt-drive TT, I'd assume there's a bearing under the platter as well; that it's "free-wheeling" yet still has a bearing sustaining it?
@@zizendorf not sure I understand your question. Please restate it differently.
@@audibleeleganceinc Is it accurate to assume a belt-drive turntable has a bearing beneath the platter and one within the motor that drives the belt? That the critical function of that ball-bearing related to added weight on the platter would more stress a direct drive turntable than one that's belt drive?
What goes for the mat also goes for those 5 lbs record clamps. They are really popular, but you have to worry about what that extra weight is doing to the platter bearing.
Yes, I discussed that in an earlier video.
@@audibleeleganceinc That's right, I believe you did.
And also, is it a good idea to couple the record more to the platter with a clamp/weight? Thinking it could transfer more noise into the record.
@@Bipen2 As I covered in an earlier video, I am not a particular fan of turntable platter weights "clamps" as they increase the pressure and temperature on the main bearing. If they are part of the original design, then I am more comfortable. I have heard their advantage but I think it is because it is an integrated part of the design. I too have pondered the noise question but I do not have a device that could measure that and I suspect it varies from table to table.
Bearings are built to last and should last a long time.
I can't imagine a five lb weight affecting steel bearings that bad.
Never had bearing problens with TT, even one that was over ten years old