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Vinyl turntable mat?

Anybody tried a vinyl turntable mat?
Some turntable manufacturer (Project?) had a turntable plater coated with (melted) vinyl. And  - it makes sense?
If you want to get rid of the resonanses in the vinyl - pass it on to some other piece of vinyl.
Then I read about the reso-mat (?) - wich was resting the LP on 10-15 small cones so that it was suspended from the platter(mat). I have to confess - I bought the argument; resonants will occur in the vinyl - so let them dissapear on the other side of the record instead of trying to minimase the impact it has when forced back into the cartridge.
Made sense to me.
So - I did a little experiment. Sacrificed a (crap) LP and glued small bits of standard furniture floor-savers (?) on to it.
(It was self adhesive - so if I ever get the urge to listen to Amon Düül:'Almost Alive' - it can be retrieved :-) )

The result?
Clear music. Extreme articulation. Immense detailed reproduction. Every hit of the triangle is articulated. Every instrument has it place in the picture. Nothing souns muddled. Did the ultimate test (Mothers of Invention: Weasel's Ripped My Flesh - Title track; identified 5 more instrumental parts :-) )
My poor, old RCD-971 is blushing in the corner. Making excuses. (and it's brilliant!)

OK - so I'm using a pretty detail-oriented cartridge; G-1042. 
Wich nobody else seems to be using. (If you want to hear every detail on your vinyl - you really should make it a contender..)

But - I digress. The vinyl mat. The reso-mat.
Air as the best medium when it comes to damping internal resonanse in vinyl.

Any thaughts?
baltus

Showing 2 responses by baltus

baltus OP
8 posts
 
Hi millercarbon
You said: ''What I did not notice is anything about how you readjusted VTA for the increased record height.''
I really don't know how to respond to this. I used the vta adjustment on the arm mount - I turmed it clockwise so that the arm was level with the vinyl.
If I understand the rest of Your post correct; it is important to the sound that the resonants in the vinyl is fed back into the cartridge?
If You look closely to the original mat delivered with the SL1200, it has 4-6 ridges wich the vinyl rests on.
To be honest; I really don't understand Your point.
baltus OP
8 posts
 
Sorry for the confusion. The G-1042 is the cartridge; Goldring G-1042.
The cd player is the Rotel RCD-971.
Of course I'm not making any statements about what is ''The Best''.
I thought it was self-evident that my description of my experience was exactly that. So here's the disclaimer: The description in the opening post of my impression of this mat is a description of my impressions of this mat.
Clear enough?
My question is if anybody has any thaughts about what is the best way to deal with the inherit resonanses in the vinyl?
Some means that the best way is to let them resolve on the backside of the record into air. Others use felt, or glass, or acrylic. Or vinyl.
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