Since you received no responses before, I will respond, however, I will qualify this as being a secondhand response from my turntable dealer. (I am somewhat of a newbie to analog, so I will definitely defer to the more knowledgable people on this site.)
I purchased a used Basis 1400 TT, and it came with a brand new nonefelt extreme mat ($25 new, I believe), still in the package. It arrived via UPS and I brought the entire package to Brian at The Analog Room in San Jose, CA to have him set it up, as I was purchasing my cartridge from him. (His reputation proceeds him as THE expert in analog in our part of the country). When I showed him the mat, he threw it back in the box and said not to use it, that it would sound better without it.
Since I have a RB 300 tonearm, which does not have an easy VTA adjustment, I have never experimented wtih it based on his recommendation. I trust Brian, and it does sound fantastic without it. (In fact, I am going to be giving the new mat to a friend (he loved the sound of my system so much, he too bought a TT), so he can exchange it with his felt mat which came with his TT).
These are my thoughts on the matter.
Good luck in your research!
I purchased a used Basis 1400 TT, and it came with a brand new nonefelt extreme mat ($25 new, I believe), still in the package. It arrived via UPS and I brought the entire package to Brian at The Analog Room in San Jose, CA to have him set it up, as I was purchasing my cartridge from him. (His reputation proceeds him as THE expert in analog in our part of the country). When I showed him the mat, he threw it back in the box and said not to use it, that it would sound better without it.
Since I have a RB 300 tonearm, which does not have an easy VTA adjustment, I have never experimented wtih it based on his recommendation. I trust Brian, and it does sound fantastic without it. (In fact, I am going to be giving the new mat to a friend (he loved the sound of my system so much, he too bought a TT), so he can exchange it with his felt mat which came with his TT).
These are my thoughts on the matter.
Good luck in your research!