What are the audio differences you hear with turntable Mats.

No_regrets, I probably shouldn’t have mentioned the L07D. In original form, the stainless steel mat was referred to by Kenwood as a “platter sheet”. It’s integral to the platter and constitutes a significant fraction of total platter mass. The direct drive system is tuned to include the 5 lb mass of the platter sheet, which is why I asked the machinist for a copper mat of approximately the same weight. Very different from choosing a mat for a belt drive LP12.

No_regrets, I do hope you like the Sakura/Boston mat. I auditioned about half a dozen after market mats before I settled on that one. But I do not claim to have a huge and comprehensive experience with the myriad of available choices. Also, I have 5 turntables to feed. Three of them have the graphite mat. On a 4th TT I use an SAEC SS300 metal mat (Victor TT101) and on the 5th I use a solid copper mat. This is the Kenwood L07D which came with a 5 lb stainless steel mat; I had a 5 lb copper mat made to replace the SS. I hate to admit It, but the change to copper made a big difference on the L07D, I think because copper is a superior EMI shield.

no_regrets, I do use a both a weight (about 250g) and a clamp (SOTA) with Boston Audio mats (two different turntables).  However, with a bare platter surface that is concave or dished as mentioned above, I don't know how that would work out as the graphite is not very flexible, if at all flexible, so it would not readily conform to a concave platter surface. And there would be a remote danger of the BA mat shattering if too much pressure was applied at the spindle over a concave surface.

Good to know that the BA mat is still available. I missed that point in your earlier post. I think Chakster also bought one from Sakura.

Atmasphere’s explanation makes perfect sense, and that’s where I’d begin if I were a beginner. But with his hypothesis as a model there is still wiggle room. Which is to say there are other materials that approach the suitability of acrylic and which might be preferred after audition. Whether you also use a clamp vs a weight and the mass of any chosen record weight, these also affect results. I have never liked rubber or felt mats. I do like the now unavailable Boston Audio graphite mats which probably are similar in hardness to acrylic, and yet I don’t like acrylic. I guess if there were only one best answer to this question, we would all be using the same record mat, and there would not be such a big market for such a wide variety of them.

A platter mat is like subtle seasoning in your food. All types are subtly different from one another, and you as the diner need to figure out what’s best in your system.