Heads up, Lowe's sells rolls of cork 24x48" for about $8. It's a little thicker than 1/8"'. I made a mat to put under my 16" floor tile I have my turntable on and a 12" platter mat to go under my thick rubber mat I have on my Technics 1700. I can hear the improvement and have alot left over!!! Enough to do the same for my SL-D3. Sounds better than the bubble wrap and shelf liner (waffle foam stuff) I had under the tile before.

Thanks for the tip, I will have to stop at Lowe's tomorrow. I am looking for some cork to make some mats.

Try a cork and leather laminated mat? They have been known to work great :)

IME cork is definitely good material for a turntable mat. Have you tried using just the cork without the rubber? The best thing I ever did for my Thorens was get rid of the rubber mat.

IME cork is definitely good material for a turntable mat. Have you tried using just the cork without the rubber? The best thing I ever did for my Thorens was get rid of the rubber mat.

Second on ditching the rubber mat...only good that thing is for is to cover your cork mat to keep the dust off while the table in not being used.

James R.

Sorry, I thought this was the "food and spirits" forum, and the title scared me.:D

Sorry, I thought this was the "food and spirits" forum, and the title scared me.:D

Whats wrong with eating some cork.......it must be good for ya:beer:

I switched over to a cork mat a year ago because of severe static buildup here in the dry frozen winter months. The original foam mat on my AR-XA was a horrible static charge accumulator. Now I have very little static buildup on the platter.

Have you guys ever done a comparison with wine bottle corks - cut length-ways?
I imagine it would have a nice progressive dampening effect - if you're careful to get it all level.

My gear (or my ears) probably aren't sensitive enough to pick up the stuff you're talking about - I also live in Australia near the beach - so not alot of frost static effects.

Other than the obvious vibration feedback that you would get through a turntable - is there much that can be gained for a solid state amp or cd player with such dampening measures?

I would ditch the rubber mat, but I need it to get the right VTA. It's very thick and it would take about 3 cork mats to replace it.

I would ditch the rubber mat, but I need it to get the right VTA. It's very thick and it would take about 3 cork mats to replace it.

I seem to remember somewhere seeing plans to DIY mat that was one solid piece of cork with little cork discs glued on in various locations. This would help the thickness issue and (IIRC) offer better dampening than two or three sheets of solid cork.

I found the link...

http://www.theanalogdept.com/platter_mats.htm

I'm considering the cork mat option. The static electricity post may have sold me as it is a real problem in Pittsburgh in the winter.

Do cork mats benefit from clamps and/or weights or do they reduce the benefit?

I'm considering the cork mat option. The static electricity post may have sold me as it is a real problem in Pittsburgh in the winter.

Do cork mats benefit from clamps and/or weights or do they reduce the benefit?

I've used a thin cork mat with my Pro-Ject RM5 and the clamp that came with it, the combination worked just fine. Strangely, I have more trouble with static when using my cork mat than with any other mats I've used. IME the Herbie's turntable mat is the best, better than cork.

Did you change the VTA when you jacked up your record with the two mats? I'm using this stuff to basically line my office walls (a lot of photo's and art work will be over it) The area around my TT is covered with thin cork just to reduce the chances of airborn vibrations effecting the tabel.

IME the Herbie's turntable mat is the best, better than cork.


Cool, but they cost more than I paid for my table. The thrift of DIY is one of the things that appeals to me here.

Cool, but they cost more than I paid for my table. The thrift of DIY is one of the things that appeals to me here.

I understand - then cork would definitely be the best way to go.