Chakster
I was referring to you slagging off member Slaw.
Really, we’re discussing his product and not his personality, but you came here again with your pointless comment, buy his product if you like it. With the same success you can use a piece of paper between your platter and your record. I don’t believe soft mat can be effective in any way on any turntable. See below why i think so.
But no you chose to blithely ignore the true meaning of all of the posts directed towards you. Have a great day
Post must be addressed to the product and its properties, not to the members.
********************************************************
I want everyone to understand why a soft mat is useless (no matte rubber, cork, felt or something else).
And i can add more information about my favorite mat again, because finally i was able to get English manual instead of the Japanese manual.
FROM THE ORIGINAL
SAEC SS-300 (ENGLISH) MANUAL:
"The conventional turntable mat is made of soft material such rubber, in the belief that soft cushion will effectively filter out vibrations between the turntable and puck-up stylus.
***A lesson from an old tradition:
In certain Buddhist ceremonies a bell or wood block is used which sits on a cushion. The cushion, being softer than the bell or wood block, does not prevent the instrument from ringing when it is struck. It merely damps the vibrations somewhat so that they are of shorter duration (that is, they decay faster) than in the case of bell or wood block suspended in the air.
The record disc and turntable platter used in conjunction with a soft mat are in state resembling that of the bell or wood block on a cushion. As the stylus oscillates in the record groove, the disc having a certain elasticity, it caused to vibrate slightly. Depending on the size and other physical properties of the disc, these pulsations vary in frequency from 100Hz to 400Hz. If the turntable mat is softer than the record disc, it will deform along with the vibrations of the disc. The Sympathetic vibrations are of sufficient amplitude to cause an audible low resonance peculiar to record playing. Likewise the turntable platter, when a soft mat is used, vibrates sympathetically and contributes to the problem of low resonance.
***A classically simple solution:
After two years of development, the audio engineers at SAEC have produced a completely new turntable mat which solves the problems of the conventional soft mat. The new SS-300 Solid Mat is of material harder than any record disc. Placed directly on the turntable platter, the Solid Mat by its mass and hardness cancels sympathetic vibration of the platter. Likewise a record disc in immediate contact with the Solid Mat is prevented from vibrating. Where as the conventional soft mat merely damps sympathetic vibrations, the Solid Mat reduces these vibrations by 10 to 15dB compared to the conventional mat, thus effectively eliminating the problem of low resonance.
***We did it our own way:
This new component brings us an important step closer to the realizing a technical ideal of record-playing. For a record to be reproduced perfectly, the stylus and its cantilever must oscillate with no interference from vibrations of the other record-playing components. Thus not only the headshell and tonearm but also the turntable platter and record disc itself should be completely oscillating.
The famous SAEC tonearms with their patented Double Knife Edge design are the only tonearms made that have solved the problem of tonearm resonance. This was accomplished by radical departure from conventional approaches.
Again with the SS-300 Solid Mat, SAEC has turned conventional wisdom on its head to solve the problem of record and turntable resonance.
*** Turntable Solid mat. Model SS-300:
The holes is the mat are made not to cause resonance in the radiant direction on the plane of the turntable.
Aluminum alloy - using special surface treatment (rough surface).
The solid mat is so shaped that may be used for many representative record players and turntables.
The resonance of a turntable itself (resonant sound from turntable), which could not be eliminated by the conventional type turntable mat made of soft material like rubber, is prevented by using the SS-300 solid mat, which creates a state of non-resonance through its interaction at its critical point.
The Solid Mat must be placed directly on the turntable platter. Do not use a soft mat between the Solid Mat and the turntable platter, since the Solid Mat will then be caused to resonate either independently of or jointly with the soft mat. Similarly do not place a soft mat between the Solid Mat and the record disc!
Under ordinary condition there will be no problem of slippage, since the SS-300 Solid Mat has a special nonslip surface.
-Do not place a stabilizer weight on the record disc, as this will deform the disc and reduce the effectiveness of the Solid Mat.
-Use reasonable care in placing record on the Solid Mat. Do not place/remove records while the turntable is rotation.
-Do not drop the Solid Mat, since any crack or deformation will reduce its effectiveness. "
-SAEC Corporation
********************************************************
P.S. For the same reason Micro Seiki engineers made
CU-500 (2.7kg copper) mat for their best turntables, i will repeat again that solf/flexible mat is u-s-e-l-e-s-s. Let’s say truth about product, i have nothing against a person who produced soft mats, i just think it’s the worst material ever for the mat. Seems like the engineers of two Japanese companies (SAEC and MICRO SEIKI) share the same opinion and i trust them more than the DIYers.
There was a test in Japanese magazine and SAEC SS-300 was next best after Micro CU-500. Everyone who is serious about turntable mats should considering SAEC Solid Mat (870g) for audition.
