Platter mat insanity

@slaw Thanks. 
The actual link is here.
Interesting 5 dot support on small mat with a brass? weight.
I believe this mechanism, like my own efforts above, to yield cleaner reproduction. It may not suit all recordings but it excels on those that do.

@slaw I can't find any info on Sprey's mat. I may try mounting the brass screws to a disk. I don't use clamps as I find they deaden the sound slightly.

Steve, I have done some more tests using different recordings (including my aforementioned spouse in the listening session). The results as you suspect do vary depending on the recordings. Older live recordings sound excellent. Newer mixed recordings sound "messy" and "more 3D" and "echoy" according to my spouse. She preferred most well-recorded live jazz with the vinyl off the platter and other recordings on a soft rubber mat (with consequently softer presentations) Now, one could argue that what she was hearing was more insight into poor recordings. I don’t know. We compared many of the tracks to Tidal.com hifi equivalents which was another story.

@terry9 I tried the Boston graphite mat. Beautifully made but killed the sound - sucked the life out of it. Sent it back.
@sleepwalker65 Rubber sounds like rubber. Rubbery and like rubber sounds.

Looked at this critically last night. 
Notes:
1. The LP is not stable at all while perched on the strobe disk. Not that I don't know but as @slaw pointed out, the label recess is absent.
2. I ruled out any VTA issues for certain.
3. I removed all mats (10" EP and strobe disk) and tried 3 tiny 5mm high stone tiles between record and platter. Same result with previously noted improvements. (Music became slightly "harder" as the material suggests)
4. Rooting through the workshop, tried 3  tiny flathead brass bolts with screw heads on platter under the label, thread end up. This was quite stable and gave very good results. I am going to explore this path in more detail.

I would agree with you if I didn't hear what I hear. It isn't a brightness or an edge to the music masquerading as additional information from the grooves which you might get with what you describe. It is an opening up of the soundstage and a removal of noise and confusion. Bass is much cleaner, yet goes deeper when called for. Audience sounds are improved and dynamics more real and almost startling. The instruments take on more color with piano hammers and cymbals presenting texture where with a mat there is none. I'll give it another test tonight.

@islandmandan Dan, I'm delighted you hear and (perhaps) approve of the strobe disk effect. 
PS... I never got around to doing the AF idler review due to the above. Anon.

@bdp24 Good to see Vic is hopefully bringing the Terminator back. He did stop building the Salvation and hopes to make the arms in Russia?
@lewm Yes. I’m aware of the Resomat and have been intrigued by Vic’s ideas on no clamping etc. I tried lots of mat ideas a while ago including felt floor protectors but the result was always a softening and muddying of the music. This is the first time trying no mat as such under the LP. I suspect that even the Resomat points may stabilize and damp the record enough to reduce the impact of lable area only support.

@jnorris Actually, my wife is a classically-trained musician and I trust her ears over your suspicions. I played the same track twice without telling her anything. 20 seconds into one of them, she commented on the difference. 

@jnorris Hmm... so I did. Getting old is no fun. Whenever I see a comment like yours contributing nothing, I want to punch a wall. In fact, what is the point of your existence? I am detailing an observed phenomenon and passing it on so others might try it for themselves.

Dan, as a friend told me once when I asked him if he was still interested in women, he may be old but he wasn't dead! Looking forward to your findings.

@lewm I tested for VTA. While it had some small impact, it was nothing like the improvements wrought from the 4" disk. The Resomat and Trans-Fi have sadly ceased business.
@islandmandan Dan, well aware of your setup! I’ve been wary of the weight of the copper as we’ve discussed a while back. I would be delighted if you can do the strobe disk test - don't bother with adjusting VTA initially. Just dig the opening up of the music!

My wife never listens to the gear but I called her down. Using "The Gifted Ones" / Dissy Gillespie, Count Bassie, Ray Brown, Mickey Roken (Pablo 2310.883), she was amazed at the difference.
This is not a simple case of ringing or undamped vinyl. It is a removal of a pretty thick veil, and a release of the music heretofore suppressed. Please try it.

I tried the same experiment on my other 401 system. Same result to a slightly lesser extent as it's not as revealing as my main setup. 
Naked platter > 10" vinyl EP > 4" plastic strobe disk.