[Psychicanimal]

That 'journalist'  is full of shit.

[Marco1408]

LOL. Would you like me to pass those sentiments on to him?

Marco.

[ezside]

I recently bought an SL-1200 from KAB with all available mods, including the (expensive!) Isonoe feet.  For a mat I'm using kind of a sandwich affair with an Isoplatmat on the bottom, an Extreme Phono Speed (carbon graphite) mat in the middle & a 3 mm Funk Achromat on top.  Filling the KAB damping trough half way w/fluid made a HUGE difference in the sound so reasoning that damping on the other end might be helpful as well, I installed a titanium HAL-O Mini Jr. damping instrument from Herbie's Audio Labs just behind the headshell connector.  The effect was almost equivalent to that of the viscous damping; I can highly recommend it.  In any case, what I actually expected to get when I ordered the deck was a reasonable entry-level "audiophile" record player, possibly slightly better than my Music Hall MMF-7 but certainly not competitive w/my main system (Michell TechnoDec/Audio Note (UK) Arm 3 w/Expressimo structural mod + counterweight/Dynavector DV20XH).  What I got was something completely different.  Used w/a wood-bodied Clearaudio Aurum Beta S (a cartridge I hated on the TechnoDec?!), the SL1200 easily competes w/the likes of a VPI Super Scoutmaster (I'd really like to say say TNT but I'm afraid I'd lose all audiophile credibility  ).  The kind of solidity, accuracy and, well, palpability that this deck brings to the music is something that until now I've associated only with far more expensive systems; to say I'm pleased would be the understatement of the year, if not of this young century.

[TheChairGuy]

Helluva' first post, bud - great info in there.

Welcome to Audio Circle and specifically, the Vinyl Circle 

[Psychicanimal]

They're all my children...

[TheChairGuy]

Da-da 

[hifitommy]

gooberdude

"A salesguy here once told me that Technics had an advertisement back in the 70's that showed a man standing on a spinning platter and the LED strobes still showed 33 RPM...claiming their motors were accurate even with a 200lb load. "

that was an ad for the sp10 which could actually do what they said.   its an industrial grade broadcast table and could come up to speed VERY quickly.

[ixlr8]

Where in the states can one find one of these Isoplatmat's? Or does one have to order from GB or the like? I have done several searches and they have turned up empty. I am returning to vinyl after a 30 something year hiatus and I have no idea who are good vendors for this sort of stuff.

    Jim

[low.pfile]

Jim

I am planning on getting mine here http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?accstwek&1194649177. this seems to be the only US source.

because audiogon ads expire: this should always be a good link: http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/search2.pl?seller&Mrstereo

[low.pfile]

Anyone run an isoplatmat with an additional cork mat as mentioned in the ad linked above? Is that combo recommended for a direct drive TT? otherwise I may just try it alone and then try the herbies.

[TheChairGuy]

I think the Herbie's does really well as a record interface...and the Isoplatmat seems ideally suited to the task of sub-mat in deadening down ringing platters and turning vibrational energy into heat (which is how constrained layer damping works....this is the 'secret' of the Isoplatmat).

If anything, I think cork on top of the Isoplatmat would be the correct way to employ it....just the opposite of the Isoplatmat vendor is selling for that extra $20.00.  I am just surmising, I have not heard it myself.

So, my vote goes to buying the Herbie's mat for $60 and the Isoplatmat for $99.  I think the extra $40 might well be spent more successfully that way. I'm no fan of spending unwisely, but in this case the extra $40 seems to be the right call.

It's my opinion only....I do not use an Isoplatmat (I use a Audioquest Sorbothane mat as my sub-mat) with the Herbies atop it and the effect has been excellent.  It deadens down the ringing (which you don't realize affects playback until it's been minimized) and the Herbie's provides just a bit of vinyl damping without robbing of it of vitality.

[low.pfile]

Just ordered: I am going with a Sound Dead Steel Isoplatmat (platter isolation) and Herbies Way Excellent II mat (album isolation) combo. Now the TT just has to get here before the mats!

enjoy su música ~ed

[TheChairGuy]

Sweet 

[lcrim]

I just found this review online of the isoplatmat, http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0706/sds_isoplatmat.htm
so I dredged up the old thread.
The reviewer mentions that the isoplatmat on his Linn, among other effects, mostly positive, made the leading edge of musical notes so emphatic that it was somewhat tiring to listen to.  In my experience, the addition of the Herbie's Way Excellent II Turntable Mat, works to soften that particular effect, among other results, to contribute to a better listening experience (jeez doesn't that sound like marketing babble.)  Anyways, I think the point is that you should experiment w/ combinations of mats to find what pleases you most.  In my case its the Herbie's on the isoplatmat.

[TheChairGuy]

Larry, have you tried the Isoplatmat on another turntable in the house...your Dual (don't remember if that was belt or DD?) or another if you have 

Was the effect as profound on those tables?

[lcrim]

I actually bought another isoplatmat for the Dual CS5000 I have in the bedroom system, which is an older belt drive that has a great motor.  I liked what it did there as well, under the standard rubber mat.  Again, intangibles, better focus, increased prat maybe one downside-that player was soft focus enough that I could listen to older, scratchy LP's that were somewhat annoying on the Technics.  I have a Miles+ Gil Evans Porgy & Bess that a lady friend invested a bit of dough in as a present for me with a goniff vinyl seller.  I just can't listen to it anywhere now. 

[TheChairGuy]

huh - interesting....it brought out too much focus so you can't listen or overlook the deficiencies on some discs now 

I suppose anytime we increase resolution by some means in our systems...that's the risk we take