295 pounds??? That's about $370 US. For a slip Mat??? Gimme a break!!!
Origin Live Strata Multilayer Platter Mat
Origin Live knows turntables, so it’s no surprise that the British company has just announced the launch of their new Strata multilayer platter mat, a universal upgrade for all turntables.
The Strata is composed of three distinct materials joined together using a specialised flexible bonding technique. According to Origin Live, said multiple materials are used to “dissipate vibration from across the spectrum of vibration,” as the company feels that single-material solutions only operate within specific bands of vibration. The flexible bonding feature is said to do its thing “by allowing slight interaction between layers, vibrational interference occurs which dissipates resonances.”
Origin Live — who introduced their first turntables back in 1991, and released an award-winning platter mat in 2009 — points out that the Strata platter mat is “trickle-down technology” from the multilayer platter first developed for the company’s flagship Voyager turntable, and it’s now available across their range of table offerings from the Swift on up.
The Strata multilayer platter mat comes in black, and it will work on any turntable that accepts a 4.5mm thick mat, with no additional mat needed on top.
The company adds that R&D led Origin Live engineers through “hundreds” of different materials, thicknesses, profiles, and their various combinations — and you can see some of those combos in the prototype mat stack shown above. These R&D procedures, along with the many ensuing rounds of comparative listening tests, were conducted to such a degree since the company believes that, due to energy dissipation, the parts of a turntable closest to the cartridge have a far more significant influence on performance than parts that are further away.
“Having listened to many different platter mats in R&D, we’ve found that the problem with most turntable mats is that they only work over a specific frequency range and do little to help absorb frequencies within other important ranges,” company founder Mark Baker explained in a press statement. “It’s obvious that when you try different mat materials under your records, they contribute to the characteristics of the sound in very different ways.”
Continued Baker, “Some heighten detail at the expense of warmth and bass. Some produce a wonderfully impressive transparent sound but kick deep bass into the long grass. Others are the opposite, with great bass but a loss of clarity and a murky treble. The only way to solve this issue is to use multiple materials arranged such that they improve all aspects of sound quality such as detail retrieval, decay, mid-band transparency, clear separation in the soundstage, and deep dynamic bass.”
Finally, the SRP for the Strata is £295. We’re awaiting confirmation of the U.S. dollar equivalent, and will update that SRP info accordingly once/if we get the confirm.
For more about Origin Live, go here.
To find an authorized Origin Live dealer, go here.
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COMMENTS
"Gimme a break!!!" qtd James Kelly
Submitted by JACK L on Fri, 2024-02-16 14:25
Hi
Too true. $370 a TT mat ?
It better sounds better or return for refund guaranteed !
JACK L
Suggestion
Submitted by otaku2 on Wed, 2024-02-14 07:01
Mike, maybe you could put the price near the beginning of posts like this, so us working stiff's could save ourselves the time of reading the article? I have a $100 mat and I thought that was extravagant.
To be fair,
Submitted by rich d on Wed, 2024-02-14 07:13
Origin Live's in-house testing showed the mat provided significant increases in profitability, and excellent isolation from penury. Some users reported improved holiday bonuses.
I am convinced that if.......
Submitted by avanti1960 on Wed, 2024-02-14 10:28
audiophiles new what to listen for and how to test them that mats with sound quality benefits would be more popular.
The turntable is a mechanical contraption and the center of its universe is a vibrating stylus / cartridge tonearm assembly resting on the LP surface. That vibrating system of the turntable includes vibrations that are resonating- i.e. vibrations that consist of frequencies that are significantly higher than others.
Just below that surface of the LP is its means of support, the platter mat.
The platter mat has the opportunity to deal with these vibrations and resonances such that their influence on the audible range is minimized or eliminated.
With the right mat, the sound can have noticeably tighter and well defined bass with sharper impact, minimize coloration that can affect the clarity of the midrange and reduce the audible effects of a less than ideal cartridge / tonearm resonant frequency.
To test and compare mats you would play music with those qualities- bass notes with punch as well as vocals and instrumental elements that sound best when presented with transparency and clarity.
Turn the volume up so that the differences are amplified and take notes.
If you try out a variety of mats you will find some clear winners and losers.
The Origin mat reviewed above seems to have addressed (on paper) the issues that are important to my ears and would be worth a try.
Well how much would a competing carbon fiber mat cost?
Submitted by Glotz on Wed, 2024-02-14 19:42
About the same. Yah, I think this product is aimed at people that work for a living.
I'm poor af, but I can invest in my favorite turntable - if there is a return policy. If the product mates the lp to stylus more effectively and the sound is more pleasing to me than without- great. Wait for it to go on discount through an online retailer... not so painful.
For anyone spending a few thousand on their turntable rig, it's a smart thing to try it out, read a review or simply open one's mind before adding to the cesspool that is the daily internet.
If you usually use a clamp or weight
Submitted by Tom L on Wed, 2024-02-14 21:40
as I do, does the mat material really matter that much?
"use a clamp or weight..mat material really matter?" Tom L
Submitted by JACK L on Fri, 2024-02-16 14:22
Hi
Yes, it does !
I never spin my vinyl without my record weight on it.
As trial & error, I replaced the original thin rubber mat with the costly after-market brandname thick jelly-like mat taken out from my direct-drive TT to my Thorens TD-115II TT, & put on the record weight as a matter of course.
It sounds sooo unpleasantly different that I had to put back the original thin Thorens rubber mat !
JACK L
Totally and completely.
Submitted by Glotz on Thu, 2024-02-15 09:01
Acrylic vs. carbon fiber vs. paper fiber mats show are substantial differences in my experience. I use a clamp or a weight and both have their places. If a record is flat, the weight.
If it needs warp correction, the clamp with washers of varying sizes. I use the HRS regular aluminum weight for flats and warped records get the steel clamp from VPI.
They all have their own special properties and the clamp or a weight is simply the top side of a 3-part mating sandwich. Everything makes a difference- the cartridge and table combo needs to be resolving enough for their to be an audible difference. $2k and up tables, I found, benefit the most.
They tested hundreds...
Submitted by Glotz on Sat, 2024-02-17 23:50
But yes, it was just pure desperation. Right.
All mats sound different Uh Duh
Submitted by Tdiddey on Wed, 2024-02-21 16:08
I don't see how any mat can be a universal upgrade if it's developed mainly for and with specific designs.In this cae OL. Table designs/construction amd implementations vary greatly. My experience is different mats will make things sound different not necessarily better. Then theres the variables of the Tonearm/cartridge, platter construction ect. From my experience it's best to use the mat(if it uses one)that the designers intended.Mats are just another thing for audiophiles to obsess over and lighten the wallet.
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