Does a turntable mat make any difference?

@atmasphere 

I was figuring 20 ohms at 100 Hz where I start rolling off.

@jjbeason14 

I would just toss it, it is probably garbage anyway. The plastic protractor that came with my MoFi Beatles set was crap.

I have 5 different mats and they all sound different.  Even the two mats that are made of felt sound different from each other.  The mats are also all different thicknesses, so there is that.  Even though I have the capability to adjust VTA on my head-shell, it is cumbersome, so I set it to sound best at a certain height above my platter and then substitute different mats for different records to achieve that approximate height by looking at where the record sits relative to the spindle.  I await the lecture on the small difference in cantilever angle that changes in height of the record at the platter will make.  I know what I hear, and it makes a difference to me, although some cartridges seem much more sensitive to VTA than others.

YMMV

kn

Yes, they do and you can forget about any specific recommendation from this thread unless they have your turntable, maybe arm combination.  There are simply too many variables.

Anybody try the somewhat newish turn table mat from Synergistic Research? They’ve also developed a record weight that seems somewhat confusing. They must be the best because they cost way more than any other record mat/weight on the market.

IIRC, I measured 50 ohms impedance on my SLs at 100 Hz. But don’t hold me to that until I get home from from Vieques (a small island near Puerto Rico) and consult my data. (It might have been 50 ohms at 50 Hz.)