What are the audio differences you hear with turntable Mats.


I have always used a felt mat on my Linn Basik turntable that has an Akito tonearm and Rena Exacta 2 cartridge. What audio differences can one expect with different mats? Felt, rubber and acrylic. 

joscow

Interesting. I wonder if an Acrylic mat without the adhesive would be an improvement over the stock 1200g mat

@aberyclark The stock Technics mat is junk IMO/IME. So yes.

@ghdprentice While I agree with your statement, I've found in practice that once you hear a mat that's working right, its pretty obvious.

Here's a tip to know if that's the case: when you set the stylus on the rotating LP, turn the volume all the way down and see if you can hear the stylus in the groove. If the platter pad is doing its job it will be hard to hear; easy to hear if the platter pad is out to lunch.

One of the other good things of Acrylic platter mat's is you can use them to set your Anti skate.

@atmasphere 

 

That makes sense, if by that you mean, if it sounds better, then you can make appropriate adjustments to optimize it. 
 

I have to admit, I am very shy about throwing my turntable out of perfect adjustment. My audio guy adjusts it.