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Barymat 5 B-OB

Barymat 5B-OB, a Barium loaded Vinyl material, is the best I have found. It is about the same thickness as a standard felt mat.
I have tried it and many other mats on a Rega Planar 3. The Rega has an SME IIIs arm so I can adjust for VTA to take that out of the equation when comparing mats.
That material is heavy, well damped, softer than acrylic but not soft enough to readily dent with a finger nail.
On my system, it sounds a lot better than: no mat, felt, shelf liner, sponge, or thicker and softer barium loaded vinyls that I have tried.
The improvement has been consistent with the standard 1/2" glass platter, an MDF platter and a variety of "Corian" type platters.
Possible reasons that may explain the better sound are:
- It supports the LP firmly and damps it well (good coupling and damping)
- It damps the platter extremely well
- It adds rotational inertia
- Any vibration between the mat and adjacent surfaces would be relatively silent and be well damped.

BTW
The "Corian" platters (actually Wilsonart Gibraltar in my case) sound a lot better than the standard glass platter, particularly if the the material is double (1") thickness for the outer few inches. This increases rotational inertia and stiffness.
This is very clear on my table and those of two other friends who have upgraded RB 250 and RB 350 arms on P3s.
My current platter is two layers of 1/2" "Corian" with lead rings near the outer circumference to increase rotational inertia and a layer of damping material between them. I haven't yet had the chance to compare it directly with my friend's simpler 1" thick "Corian" platter but will get around to it one day.

regards

David




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  • Barymat 5 B-OB - energyandair 05/4/0413:33:30 05/4/04 (0)


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