Anybody used a Ringmat?

[Eoin]

I picked up a new Ringmat 330 XLR today from Sevenoaks Hifi in Camberely today (next to the excellent record shop 'The Rock Box'.

They're clearing out loads of old shock and there's literally piles of old cables and stuff around. Tried to buy some Chord speaker cable but they wanted a bit of money..

Anyway they had an Ringmat 330 XLR Mk II (sounds impressive, eh?). Basically looks like 9 1/2 inch piece of rice paper with some cork rings on it. I remember that it's supposed to be good, but has anybody had any success with one? I haven't tried it yet.

Paid £2.00 for it so nothing lost if it's no use. On an Ariston RD80 which normally has a rubber mat.

Here's some pictures (not mine).

[Eoin]

Nobody heard of this? There are cork rings on the reverse side but not in the same place so it's like a sort of little suspension.

[Alec124c41]

I've heard of them, but never tried them. At that price, I would. They retail for fairly hefty prices.
Let us know what you think of it.

Cheers,
Alec

[Mark E Smith's Dentist]

You got a bargain at £2! Even if you don't like it there are plenty of ebay suckers who'll happily give you £20 for it.

I had one of these a couple of years ago. I tried it on 3-4 turntables with disappointing results but for some reason it worked really well on a Garrard 401 - this may be because the original mat was awful - but it pushed the midrange out in just the way it needed to be. The difference between this and the 401 mat is still the most profound difference I've ever experienced between two mats.

So to sum up, it does something. Whether you like it is down to taste/preference. And at £2 it's a steal either way.


JT

[sb11]

I use one an "anniversary model", on the glass platter on my Systemdek IIX, sounds much better than the stock felt mat. Waiting for comments around replacing the glass platter
Agreed it's worth a try for £2, you can't go wrong.

Stuart

[Eoin]

Thanks for the replies. It's an odd thing, I'll try a comparative listen later.