DIY turntable mat

[ricardoesq]

Hi, newb here, but due to a poor response at another website, I thought I'd give y'all a try. If there are any brave souls here, I'd be curious to hear your findings:

http://db.audioasylum.com/mhtml/m.html? ... 2Bsv%2B717[url]

Thanks for looking!

[pivot]

Combining the words "abrasive" and "turntable mat" just seem like a bad idea.

Think I will pass on trying this.

[JaS]

As part of some sort of sandwich mat it's an interesting material to try, but as something that is either in contact with the platter or the record, rather you than me

Regards,
JaS

[Tedrick]

The change in sound that is being reported could be due to a couple of things. First, silicon carbide has a specific gravity of 3.1 gm/cm3, which is greater than glass (SG = 2.65) and probably greater than most acrylic formulations. So the blade could be adding some beneficial mass to the platter. It's also possible that the silicon carbide layer is damping resonances in the platter, Unfortunately, the poster of this info does not identify his 'table, so don't know what 'table/platter he's using.

However, as JaS states, unless it's coated in some way to shield the abrasive surfaces, I wouldn't want a silicon carbide blade anywhere near my records or 'tables.

[Mick Pospischil]

I made a mat from an old Elvis record, figured it was a good material as it was the same density as a record. It works well, sitting on the heavy glass platter of my Systemdek. I routed out the label and the outer edge so the working area of the record sits flat on it.

[matt.madden]

I made this one from a yoga mat. Some king of closed cell foam, I guess.

The original rubber mat was warped. I tried to flatten it out but it still had a hump. This one is not quite as round as I would like, but it lies very flat. No hump.

[Judas68fr]

cork is a good choice too for DIY mat (done this with my DIY TT) : cheap, easily cuttable (good knives), and gives good results.

[DoomRider]

Does this not seem biblically retarded and slightly pointless to anyone else but me?

So you have to pay for a saw blade, then you have to pay for something suitable to cover it with so it doesn't scratch the living hell out of your records...
1. why wouldn't you use that money to buy a decent mat?
2. surely what ever you cover the thing in to stop it being abrasive would in turn effect the sound too?
3. if you're set on making a DIY mat then pick up a sheet of cork. I got a big sheet of 3mm cork for about £4 and made about 6 mats out of it. I've also used a 12" x 12" cork tile which was also 3mm but far more dense. Cost meer pence.
I'd really have to call bull$@!+ on anyone who could tell the difference between the cork or the blade to be honest.

[megatrends]

Does this not seem biblically retarded and slightly pointless to anyone else but me?

So you have to pay for a saw blade, then you have to pay for something suitable to cover it with so it doesn't scratch the living hell out of your records...
1. why wouldn't you use that money to buy a decent mat?
2. surely what ever you cover the thing in to stop it being abrasive would in turn effect the sound too?
3. if you're set on making a DIY mat then pick up a sheet of cork. I got a big sheet of 3mm cork for about £4 and made about 6 mats out of it. I've also used a 12" x 12" cork tile which was also 3mm but far more dense. Cost meer pence.
I'd really have to call bull$@!+ on anyone who could tell the difference between the cork or the blade to be honest.

I have to agree with you.

I got a couple of these and they're excellent. has mah turntable's name on it. MONOGRAMMED!

[VinylScience]

I have been wondering about the influence of the mat on the sound. A comparison of a technics rubber mat (40€) and a transrotor carbon mat (200€) has not been a revelation. So I came to the conclusion that it does not matter. But then I looked at the distortion using the HFTR 300Hz tracks used for tracking. Routing the signal through an I/O interface into the computer I can verify the spectrum. These measurements are tricky because the unavoidable occasional cracks and pops give rise to artefacts. Nevertheless on a clear day I took the rubber mat, measured the distortion spectrum, put the carbon mat and measured again. To my surprise the rubber mat showed a higher distortion than the carbon mat. Both mats have similar thickness (approx. 5mm) Wow... Perhaps there is an influence on the sound? Maybe on a good day I will be able to appreciate the difference?

But technically speaking the hard carbon mat generates less distortion, not significantly but measurable and therefore audible. As it appears now, the hard carbon mat is closer to the signal engraved in the grooves of our precious vinyl. If you look for a mod, here is an opportunity. Get a carbon mat. I cannot offer an explanation, only a hypothesis. I thought that the soft rubber material would absorb excess energy giving rise to less ringing. But the opposite seems to be true. On the hard carbon mat the stylus follows the vinyl grooves more accurately thus producing less ringing. Apparently, it is not a matter of absorption but of wave propagation. A hard material carries away the excess sound more quickly than a soft one thus leading it away from the center of vibration into the mat and the platter. The speed of sound in polymers is approx. 1000 - 3000m/s, that of hard matter like glass or copper more than 4500m/s. The sound generated by the vibrating stylus will propagate through the vinyl (low speed) and will be transmitted to the hard mat (high speed) more efficiently than into rubber (even lower speed). If the wave is reflected back from the vinyl-mat (soft-softer) interface it will interfere with the stylus motion thus enhancing distortion. If the wave experiences a condition of total internal reflection, which can occur at the interface from a hard to a soft material, all the energy will bounce back into the stylus. This is a hypothesis, if anyone knows more about it I look forward to your comments.

[Trackside]

I did some impact tests on various mats and the harder the better as far as reducing resonance however to my ears the worst measuring (felt) sounded the best to my ears.

[VinylScience]

Interesting. Could you describe in more detail which kind of tests you made and how?

[Alec124c41]

There is no question that the mat influences the sound. DIY mats with felt, cork, leather, shelf liner, and compare to solid rubber, soft rubber, etc. commercial mats - they will all sound different. To my ears, the soft rubber and thick, soft felt are the worst, with flabby bass.

Cheers,
Alec

[Trackside]

Interesting. Could you describe in more detail which kind of tests you made and how?

Comparing a FFT recording of a pink noise track on the HFN test record. No obvious variation in frequency response was observed. Then with the needle stationary in the groove I dropped a small object from a fixed height and observed the amplitude of and decay time. Felt caused the highest amplitude and longest decay - the hardest mat the lowest amplitude and shortest decay.