TT mats


I have a VPI Scoutmaster TT and am wondering if any of you can recommend a matt for the platter and why?
Thanks in advance
Steve



handymann

Showing 3 responses by jollytinker

To get back to the OP, I think your best bet if you can afford it is to try a number of different mats and find the one that works best for you. The various threads on this topic seem to demonstrate that people have different results with different mats according to the particular character of their system and its problems (i.e. the sources of disruptive vibrations or tonal inaccuracy). That makes it hard to generalize. 

That said my turntable is somewhat similar to yours (as is Stringreen's) so maybe my experience will help. The TT is a VPI Aries 1 with Classic Platter and a Teres Audio rim drive motor, among other 'mods'. I've tried the VPI rubber mat (overdamped and dull), Herbie's Way Excellent TT Mat (Way too trebly and harsh), Auditorium 23 mat (nice but a bit too polite), the new Oracle acrylic mat that supersedes the old Groove Isolator (also nice but a bit too glassy and well, acrylic-sounding), and no mat at all (also a bit 'juiced' in the upper registers).

In the end I settled on the Funk Firm Achromat. I like the theory behind it, and I found that sonically this mat far outweighs the other TT mats on my 'table. It sounds to me like it's doing what it claims. I use it with a VPI peripheral ring clamp, which seems to me to accentuate the impact of whatever surface the LP is resting on. I also just added a Stillpoints LPI after a period using the VPI center weight, and I find it to be a significant upgrade. I expected that to be the case because of the rim drive - it has to be adding vibrations to the platter, no matter how smooth the motor is. But I'd guess your experience would be somewhat different if you're using the standard VPI motor and belt. 
@bdp24  congrats on the new Aries. Unfortunately mine didn't come with the original platter so I can't answer your question. I got a classic platter bundled into the deal when I got the TT, along with a vpi acrylic platter installed by the original owner. I liked the classic better so I eventually sold off the acrylic one. Not sure how the acrylic compares To the aluminum/Delrin but the classic has more detail and dynamics and better midrange and lower end as I remember it. 

@bdp24 - yeah I bet Delrin would be a good material - seems pretty similar to acrylic and PVC in density. maybe it’s the cost?