@sokogear, I'll take a look at the Tru Lift tonearm lifter. Thanks for the recommendation! I'm returning the Teac and Grungebuster mats.
@arturgorniak, I recommend that you try Herbie's Way Excellent II mat (2mm thick). The SQ improvement over the Teac is very significant. Since sokogear and I have both mats and we came to the same conclusion in two different systems, I'd be surprised if you don't agree. The only thing that you have to lose is return shipping if you don't like it. |
I received the Teac Washi mat yesterday. I took it for a spin and it sounds very good and no static cling. I think it provides equal but different sound compared to my leather mat. The leather mat is a bit warmer and rounder sounding where as the Washi might be a bit better in treble extension.
I received the Herbie’s Way Excellent II mat today and I think it sounds better than the leather and Washi mat. I feel that it provides a slightly larger soundstage and more body and a bit more dynamic. Certainly not a night and day difference. No static cling either but none of the mats clinged to my record today. The real test is winter in Michigan. I should be getting the Grungebuster later this week. |
I just ordered a TEAC Washi turntable sheet for my P10. I've been using a white leather mat that sounds great but it lifts off the platter occasionally. I hope the Washi sheet solves the lifting off issue and sounds as good as my leather mat. I upgraded to the P10/Apheta 3 in February 2020 from a Rega RP10/Apheta 2 that I owned for 4 years and I'm really pleased with the improved performance. The upgrade virtually eliminated motor noise, improved tracking, and cuing the arm feels more precise. The improvements Rega made in manufacturing precision has resulted in a better sounding turntable. I think Rega knocked it out of the park with the P10. My dealer that I've done business with for the last 25 years gave me a great deal on a trade-in upgrade. |
Next Tuesday I'll be getting my Teac mat and a Herbie's Way Excellent II mat for my P10. I'm interested in reducing static but also I'm interested in finding the mat that sounds the best to my ears. I'll compare them to my leather mat that I like better than the stock felt. |
I think the P10 stock white felt mat is 1.5mm thick. I measured it with a digital micrometer. The Teac is 1mm thick and the Herbie's Way Excellent II is 2mm thick (I ordered the thinnest one). I'll try to post my initial thoughts of the mats next week. |
My white leather mat that I bought on Amazon initially for my RP10 and later transferred to my P10 is 1.5mm thick (same as the P10 stock white mat). If the P8 stock felt mat is 2.0mm thick then it's different from the P10 stock mat. I think the leather mat is better than stock for static and sound quality. I'm really not unhappy with the leather mat but if the Teac sounds as good and totally eliminates the static sticking issue, I'll be good. The Herbie's mat has a lot of positive reviews so I ordered it out of curiosity. If I like the Teac on the P10, I may try the Herbie's on my LP12. |
@arturgorniak , I actually ordered the Grungebuster as well, I'm also thinking about ordering a Stein Perfect Interface standard mat. Both Herbie's mats come with a 60 day full refund return policy so not much of a risk. |
@sokogear, yeah I'm aware that our platters are different, the Herbie's Way Excellent II mat should work well for you. I'm anxious to try different mats to see what works for my preferences. Is the Teac mat larger than a standard LP? You mentioned that may be the reason you lift it off when removing a record. For me, I prefer a white mat to match my platter so maybe the Grungebuster will be my ticket. The Teac mat looks ok too and maybe it will be easier to see that my platter is still spinning as a reminder to turn it off when I'm done listening. |
Today I received the Herbie's Grungebuster mat. It's a no go. I think it may be the worst sounding of all mats that I own. It's significantly heavier than the Herbie's Way Excellent II mat. The Grungebuster seemed to suck the life out of the music. I also compared the Teac Washi mat to the Way Excellent II mat and again the Way Excellent II mat won. I hear more information while retaining an engaging musical sound with the Way Excellent mat. I think everything sounds best with that mat including soundstaging, imaging, and dynamics. I think I would pay $150-$200 for the improvements that the WEII mat brings to the table over the others. The fact that it's only $60 makes it a bargain. Based on sokogear's post above on his Rega P8 and my comparison on the P10, I highly recommend the Herbie's Way Excellent II mat for both glass and ceramic platters on Rega TTs. The Teac Washi mat took second place but imo it's a distant second. |
One more thing that I would like to add, the Herbie's website is a bit misleading in regards to their Grungebuster mat. Last week I called their office and spoke with Robert regarding my P10 with its white ceramic platter. He recommended the Way Excellent II mat even though the description of Grungebuster mat on their website says it's for ceramic platters. I told him that I would order both mats and return one or both depending on how they compared to my other mats. It turns out he was right on with his recommendation of the Way Excellent II mat. The sound quality difference between all mats that I tried was easily heard in my system. I used tracks off Doug MacLeod's "There's A Time" 45rpm on the Reference Recording label for my comparison. I'm glad I found this thread on Rega mats because I upgraded the SQ significantly from my TT for only $60. |
@sokogear,
Sorry I didn't see the 2nd page of this thread or I would have responded sooner. I bought my Teac mat off Amazon (Prime) so it was no cost to return. I was wondering how your Tru Lift could mount to the P8 but now you say they have a specially designed Lift for P8/P10 owners. That's good to know. I'm using the Apheta 3 cartridge. I had a Apheta 2 on the RP10 and my dealer gave me a really good deal to trade up after 4 years of owning it. I think the new stylus on the Apheta 3 along with the improvements Rega made to the tolerances of the bearing in the new tonearm have made the P10 much better in terms of its tracking ability. Records that I thought were bad pressings because I heard distortion with my RP10 now track perfectly with my P10. Thanks for the info on the Tru Lift. |
@sokogear, I didn't consider the Anchromat but I just took a look at it on the Funk Firm site. The one think I don't like about it is the thickness. The Anchromat is 3mm thick and that's double my stock felt mat. I think that would affect the VTA. I'm completely happy with the Herbie's mat because it got rid of the static issue and it sounds better than my leather, stock and Washi paper mats to my ears in my system. |
@gbmcleod, you didn’t answer the OP’s one simple question any better than anyone else. The OP’s question was for the Stein mat with a P10, not a Planar 3.
Regarding dust showing on the Herbie’s mat, I would rather be able to see it and clean it. The dust is there regardless of you being able to see it or not. I clean the Herbie’s mat by simply rinsing it off and patting it dry with a lint free cloth. The stock P10 mat that I have is white and I can’t see the dust even though it’s there. The stock mat isn’t very easy to clean.
In my system and for my preferences, I still prefer the Herbie’s Way Excellent mat on my P10 for SQ, elimination of static cling to records, and for its relatively low cost.
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@sokogear, thanks for the recommendation but I’m happy with my Herbie’s mat. I rarely need to clean it and I like the way it looks. Most importantly, I like the way my system sounds with the Herbie’s mat.
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I measured my stock mat at 1.5mm thick using a digital micrometer. The P8 has a different stock mat so it's no surprise that its thickness is different. I consider a 1.5mm thickness difference significant. Looks are subjective but I don't like the looks of the Hexmat and its $375 price tag is a no go for me.
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Just looked at the Hexmat on the Music Direct site. $375 for the Eclipse, no thanks! Its 3mm thickness is 1.5mm thicker than my white P10 stock mat so it would affect VTA. I also don't like the looks of them.
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