HiFi Subjectivist ¦ Audio Forum ¦ NVA User Group

I guess after Dutch Leather, the logical step must be Dutch Rubber...

Really glad you're enjoying the 'new' turntable, my only surprise is that it took you so long to get to Tin Drum. It's one of those albums where there isn't one surplus note, less is most definately more.

Well you never asked my advice, I would have said get yourself a Funk Firm mat, they do come up quite regular on forums, never the less, I hope the Tonar does it for you so will be looking forward to your findings

Seeing the difference that the vintage Akai rubber mat made on the Debut, it got my curiosity aroused. I had never really given much thought to the effect of turntable mats before

Having read that old rubber mats can begin to disintegrate and leave particles on LP's (although there is no sign of that here), I started to look at mats in general. The thick felt mat that came with the Logic appears to be good quality - but the rubber significantly boosted the overal dynamics. Cork was a possibility but not sure about them, then I found leather mats and that really intrigued me.

Tonar products are Dutch-made and easy for me to get hold of - also they are quite affordable and the company has a wide range of vinyl-orientated accessories, so I reckon that they know what they are doing.


If this works out then I can always consider a higher-end (Funk?) mat at a later date.

I found the Funk Firm mat to be an improvement when I had a Rega 6.

On all my other t/ts, I've preferred the Ringmat.

Thats weird, I love the Ringmat on my Rega P3, in fact it's probably the one useful tip I got from a hifi mag back in the olden days.

A mat interacts with the platter. What the platter is made of is fundamental.

A pink triangle doesn't need a mat it wasn't designed for one. However the archromat labours under the misapprehension that it will turn all turntables in to a p.t.

A lenco needs a rubber mat , it's the only way to effectively damp the motor and idler wheel is with the original rubber mat

I have been rather quiet on the posting front for a while and there are a couple of reasons. The most obvious is that, due to relaxations in the Lockdown restrictions, my little training-centre business is getting going again after 18 months of enforced closure. So, there is work to be done.

The other reason is a total and enveloping epiphany that is the result of my unplanned return to the vinyl arena. Today's post bought 2 packs of used LPs, 10 in total, a mixed bag of which the highlight is Joni Mitchell's 'Hejira'.
All I want to do at the moment is plop an LP on the turntable and revel in the sound - even this rather crackly Joni record is giving me more pleasure than the remastered import HDCD that I finally tracked down.

That Neil Young interview where he compares digital playback to the pixels on a computer screen and an analogue recording as being its own integral universe. He is right, to a great extent, and certainly with regard to CD 44.1/16 quality. Me, I'm having trouble with CDs at the moment, finding them shallow and lifeless - even later, improved remasters.

I feel such a fool, having been convinced for decades about the superiority of digital over analogue. Yes, streaming and file-based audio are enormously easy and convenient. And my own hi-res vinyl rips retain a convincing amount of that analogue magic. But it is the realisation of my own blind stupidity that is unsettling me.

Luck, fate, Karma: something persuaded me to hang onto a genuinely excellent turntable for all these years and accidentally get it working again. Now the music-monster inside me is reawakened and reliving past glories with Supertramp, Alan Parsons and Peter Gabriel amongst others.

It's quality, not quantity, that matters.

Keep enjoying it, it must be fate you stored it away for so long.

Fretless wrote: ↑Tue Jun 22, 2021 10:42 pm I have been rather quiet on the posting front for a while and there are a couple of reasons. The most obvious is that, due to relaxations in the Lockdown restrictions, my little training-centre business is getting going again after 18 months of enforced closure. So, there is work to be done.

The other reason is a total and enveloping epiphany that is the result of my unplanned return to the vinyl arena. Today's post bought 2 packs of used LPs, 10 in total, a mixed bag of which the highlight is Joni Mitchell's 'Hejira'.
All I want to do at the moment is plop an LP on the turntable and revel in the sound - even this rather crackly Joni record is giving me more pleasure than the remastered HDCD that I finally tracked down.

That Neil Young interview where he compares digital playback to the pixels on a computer screen and an analogue recording as being its own integral universe. He is right, to a great extent, and certainly with regard to CD 44.1/16 quality. Me, I'm having trouble with CDs at the moment, finding them shallow and lifeless - even later, improved remasters.

I feel such a fool, having been convinced for decades about the superiority of digital over analogue. Yes, streaming and file-based audio are enormously easy and convenient. And my own hi-res vinyl rips retain a convincing amount of that analogue magic. But it is the realisation of my own blind stupidity that is unsettling me.

Luck, fate, Karma: something persuaded me to hang onto a genuinely excellent turntable for all these years and accidentally get it working again. Now the music-monster inside me is reawakened and reliving past glories with Supertramp, Alan Parsons and Peter Gabriel amongst others.

It's quality, not quantity, that matters.

It must feel good that the penny has dropped So glad you are enjoying it. As the resident digital guru I expect there will be a wave of people following your lead and realising vinyl was superior all along

In my case you have inspired me to get my arse in gear and take my deck to Ant for a fettling. Although my anologue source has been out of action for a while, I was never in denial about the formats superiority.

A few cosmetic improvements and the DM101 is turning into something to be proud of.

Most visibly the new 'suede-look' leather mat from Tonar which not only is really smart but has boosted the SQ over the vintage Akai rubber mat.

Instruments and voices are better-defined. More space in-between and I could far more easily follow Jaco's astonishing basswork on 'Hejira', for example.
LPs sound 'blacker'. Bass is less boomy, more controlled and extended.

Time for bed.