Depending on your ears and the resolution of your system, all mats will sound different. Partially because of the way it either dampens the record (like felt) couples the record with a platter similar to vinyl, such as Basis, or leaves the record on a naked surface, such as the older VPI Scouts and such. No mat at all. Mats also may change the sound due to a change in VTA due to thickness. I've experimented with several mats and found no mat that works in every situation. The Herbies mat was great on my Music Hall, but horrible on my Linn. So you just have to try. Static is another issue. I used to have a static problem, which I found I could cure with Gruv Glide, although many people don't want to put any substances on their records. That's up to you. But I'm not sure another mat will cure the static issue.