The mat, any mat, will have a major if subtle effect on sonics. In the end, there are many "good" choices depending upon one's personal preferences. Try a few good candidates before deciding, is my advice. On my Denon DP80, I found that a Boston Audio Mat1 was "better" (to my ears) than a Herbie's mat. The only generalization that applies, IMO, is that the stock rubber mats of yesteryear, the ones that typically were supplied with Japanese DD turntables, can easily be bettered. If you want to try a metal mat, I advise you to choose one that is not much heavier than the OEM mat, so as not to screw up function of the servo speed control mechanism, which is tuned to the total mass of platter plus mat.
Beginner's Technics SL-1200 questions
I've decided to take my Thorens TD-160 offline for a bit while I work on the common mods that are well documented online. In the meantime, I ordered a Technics SL-1200. This is one of the STOKYO refurbished-in-Japan decks- hopefully I'll report on the quality of that when I get it.
1. The turntable is shipping without any sort of mat. Searching on line, I see a lot of references to layering of mats, and different thickness. Rubber and other materials. What do I need to get to have the 'standard configuration'? The items available at KAB seemed to need to be mated with an "Isoplatman"?
2. I ordered the standard headshell and an AT440MLa cartridge. In addition to the overhang tool, what other tools will I need to set this cart up correctly?
Thanks for following along with these very basic questions.
1. The turntable is shipping without any sort of mat. Searching on line, I see a lot of references to layering of mats, and different thickness. Rubber and other materials. What do I need to get to have the 'standard configuration'? The items available at KAB seemed to need to be mated with an "Isoplatman"?
2. I ordered the standard headshell and an AT440MLa cartridge. In addition to the overhang tool, what other tools will I need to set this cart up correctly?
Thanks for following along with these very basic questions.