|
|
|
...
John OBrien, Connellsville, Pennsylvania
...
"As you know I've been using the 'way excellent' turntable mat for a few weeks now. I was going to change out the Technics SL1210 M5G to a belt drive but now with your mat in place the table sounds so much better. The mat has dropped the noise floor and given the table a much smoother sound. Have a good one."
Paul Harsha, Cambridge, Massachusetts
...
"Got the mat yesterday. Thanks. I'm astonished. The difference isn't remotely subtle. Better everything, to the point where I'm putting aside my search for a new phono pre-amp." (Linn LP-12 w/full-size Way Excellent II-2mm)"
Ghunter (posted at Audiogon)
...
"I have recently added a Herbie's 5mm Turntable Mat and Supersonic Stabilizer to my Amadeus GTA, and the differences are astounding. A much quieter background and deep well-defined bass are the results, with no perceived negatives. The reviewer for the Absolute Sound was right when he said that isolation would help this table. I believe I've taken the sonics up a notch again with these simple isolation tools."
Russ Riffell, Richmond, British Columbia
...
"Looks and works great; way better than that miserable felt rag that came with my P3."
Bill Riel, Canada
...
"Some time ago I purchased a Herbie's Way Excellent Mat for my Pro-Ject Xpression II, and I've been thrilled with the performance and improvement it's made to my setup!"
Jarek Guzy, Shelton, Connecticut
...
"Hello. I just enjoyed your mat. It is great. I guess I do not need new/better turntable for now."
Brian Worthing, Shelton, Connecticut
...
"WOW! I ordered the Way Excellent II turntable mat to replace the cheap felt mat that came with my Pro-ject Debut III turntable. What an amazing difference!! The sound is so much more balanced, the bass is clearer, and it even somehow makes the pops/crackles quieter!! Sometimes it even eliminates them!! Best $59 I ever spent. You guys ROCK!!!!"
Doug Olsen, U.S.A
...
"I have found Herbie's "Way Better Turntable Mat" to be far superior to the stock mat and another aftermarket mat I have tried (w/Thorens TD125 MKII).
Richard Quaite, Leeds, U.K.
...
"Just a quick belated note to say thanks. That mat is incredible. It made a massive improvement the moment I put it on, and I've tried all sorts including the Funk Achromat, SDS Isoplatmat, Clearaudio Harmonicer, felt, cork, rubber etc and combinations of all of them, but the Way Excellent mat easily beats them all. One day I should take it off to see what it sounds like without it, but it's been on since the day it arrived and taking it off sounds like a frightening prospect!!!"
Mark Kirby, Baltimore, Maryland
...
"The turntable mat made a remarkable improvement: a far more coherent presentation, flowing and alive. I must say Rosemary Clooney sounded like she'd risen from the dead to sing those Harold Arlen songs.
...
"Before I installed the mat, I considered my SACD player (Sony NS500V) my best source. Now I figure the old AR turntable is. Right off, I had the feeling that I wanted to drag out stuff I hadn't listened to in a long time."
Ken Adams
...
"The Way Excellent II-4.5 has been a wonderful upgrade for the Technics, much, much better than either the thick or thin Technics rubber mats. I also have the SuperSonic Record Stabilizer and find it to be useful on some records. Great products!"
Rob Mickus, Geneva, Illinois
...
"Hello Way Excellent Mat! So long LP12 felt! A huge upgrade. Kinda shocking. Thanks!"
Curt Springmeier, St. Louis, Missouri
...
"The turntable mat is as advertised. I have a Linn Sondek with Armageddon Power Supply, Naim ARO tonearm, and Dynavector cartridge. The sound falls between the stock felt mat and the Extreme Audio mat which is exactly what I wanted. Had to play with the VTA as the mat is thinner than the Extreme Audio, but I like thinner better. The Extreme Audio mat in my system drew too much of the dynamics out of the sound."
Wayne Waananen, The BOLDER Cable Company
...
"I have one on my MMF-5. It is quite a bit better than the stock felt. No problem changing albums while the platter is still turning.
...
"I brought one over to a buddie's place to compare to his Non-felt. The Herbie's had quite a bit tighter and extended bass. Surface noise was even reduced. Highly recommended."
John Pharo, The Cable Company
...
"Just thought you might like to know what tables some VERY satisifed customers of mine are using your 'WAY Excellent' Mat with in addition to the ones already on your website."
...
"I personally have a Music Hall MMF9 table (Benz M2 cartridge) and your mat is a huge improvement over the ringmat (and every other mat/clamp that I've tried). Some of my very happy customers have:
...
Rega 25
...
ClearAudio Master Reference (with TQ1 arm and Dynavector arm)
...
Thorens TD 180
...
"The only problem with the WAY excellent mat is the price -- people who haven't tried it think it can't possibly be any good if it costs that little!"
Alan Olan, Sidney, Australia
...
"Just installed the turntable mat on my Kuzma Stabi. I just expected the sound to be different as I thought the sound was great as it was. Like the cd mat I noticed the difference straight away. The sound became clearer, the voices became more focused and there was more depth and ambiance. There was more clarity to the sound. Anyway I now prefer having the mat on my Kuzma Stabi. I think it's a cheap upgrade well worth it."
David Hall, Alpharetta, Georgia
...
"Well, the new Way Excellent turntable mat sounds terrific! Better than the Extreme Donut mat that it replaced. The music is really very, very close to sounding like the real event. I think in my case it's the synergy between good components -- making the whole picture complete. I have a pretty good setup -- VPI Mk IV with JMW arm, SAMA standalone moter, Decware phono stage (using HAL-O's on the tubes).
...
"I've gone nuts trying different cables, phono stages -- and yes -- turntable mats. Thanks for the HAL-O's, Way Excellent turntable mat and Isolation feet -- they are essential ingredients to my current setup. It's nice to be able to sit back and just enjoy the music for a change without the need to upgrade anything else. The mat also stays in place when changing albums."
Mark Gilbert, Lynnwood, Washington
...
"That turntable mat is some kind of (expletive) incredible. On my Thorens, it blows away the Ringmat."
Samuel Fagaly, Charleston, Illinois
...
"The first one I ordered made an incredible improvement on my AR XA and my LP 12. I'm tired of moving it back and forth so I need a second mat. Thanks for a great product at a reasonable price!"
Glen McKenzie, Toronto, Canada
...
"I am very pleased."
Erik Huddleston, Farmers Branch, Texas
...
"Long story short, your mat slayed my original LP12 mat. No contest."
Denny Spangler, Jackson, Michigan
...
"I can't begin to say how much of a difference the Way Excellent Mat has made in my system! So much more detail! The soundstage has expanded! Vocals sound so real! Bass has more impact and detail! Some LPs sound like a master tape. Even rechanneled stereo sounds a lot better. Thanks for making such an awesome product and at a good price too!"
Robert Clemens, Chicago, Illinois
...
"I bought a second-hand Boston Audio Mat 1 and was pleased with it. When I heard about Herbie's mat, I thought I'd try it too. Well, guess what? I'm using the Herbie's Way Excellent Mat now. With the Mat 1, ensemble, jazz, and acoustic music sounded a bit 'heavy' or 'dark' in comparison, sort of like chamber music playing in a minor key. Maybe I just prefer a more light and breezy sound, but with Herbie's mat everything seems more realistic."
John Madsen, Fredrikstad, Norway
...
"Received my Way Excellent Turntable Mat a few days ago in good condition. Very sturdily packed, I must say! Spun up the old Spacedeck still with the PlatterMatter on and listened through a few reference recordings (Belafonte in Albert Hall, Mahler's 2nd, Jethro Tull Aqualung and others). Swapped the mats, same records back on the deck and voila! Most definitely an improvement in dynamics and 'life' and 'sparkle' (for want of better words). A little bit less 'wool' around the edges and slightly sharper transients. Not huge differences, as mine was already a great-sounding rig, but certainly noticeable and very well worth the less-than-substantial investment. Overall I'll give it a 12 out of 10 for price/performance! Rest assured that I'll, if not perhaps shout your praise from the rooftops, then at least spread the word and recommend it whenever the opportunity presents itself."
Marty Thomas, Modesto, California
...
"This is much better than any other turntable mat I've ever used. It's more full-bodied than the cork Ringmat and doesn't dull the low end like the Non-Felt does. I've tried other mats too, over the years, and this one is definitely the best."
...
Added more than two years later:
...
"Well, I sold the Linn and have purchased a Platine Verdier Turntable. This is a massive unsprung turntable with a 40 pound steel platter that makes a dramatic improvement over the Linn. And after listening for a period of time, I decided to try your mat on this table. The result was about the same improvement as it made on the Linn. I'm getting lots of mileage from this mat."
Scott Klein, North Carolina
...
"Hate the name, love the mat. The NonFelts, expecially the donut shaped mat, are excellent, but the Herbie's does everything a degree better. Unequivocally recommended."
Sean Ogarrio, California
...
"Your turntable mat has done very nicely for my P25 Rega table."
Tom Mulgrew, Brentwood, Tennessee
...
"Very effective."
Chris Howell, St. Helena, California
...
"The mat works great on my MMF-5 -- certainly much better than black felt. The sound is brilliant!"
Richard Fanning, Lower Templestowe, Australia
...
"The TT Mat is much better than the standard felt mat on my Rega P25. Most noticable difference is clarity and focus with more ambience in recordings evident. Overall, a lot more involving sound!"
Mark Dunn, McKinney, Texas
...
"About a year ago I decided to try a Herbie's Way Excellent Mat, since it was reasonably inexpensive and had some fairly solid reviews from people whose opinions I take seriously. The effect of the Herbie's mat was to reveal a little more detail and extend both frequency extremes somewhat and it did this without changing the fundamental character of the LP12. Not changing the 'Linniness' of the LP12 is important to me.
...
"A short while ago I ordered the new Way Excellent II Donut. For those not familiar with the Herbie's mat, it comes in two layers. The bottom layer is a sort of dense foam (for want of a better description) and the top layer, the donut, is some kind of rubber-like polymer. The Way Excellent II 'donut' is just the top layer. The donut is the only part that changed with the Mat II.
...
"I have since received and fitted the new type donut and can say that it is *much* better than the original. Again the character of the LP12 remains intact and again there is a little further extension of frequency extremes. However, the amount of extra detail/resolution across all frequencies is greatly improved and I can now hear musical strands that were absent before, -- even in complex and frenetic music like The Rezillos. The other obvious difference is that tracking security is very much enhanced. The XV-1 is a good tracker to start with, but it now sounds so much more 'planted' in the groove. Hard to describe without experiencing it.
...
"Overall, I would say that the new donut alone has made a rather bigger improvement than the complete original mat.
...
"Whether the Herbie's mat will work as well with other decks I have no idea, but on my LP12 it does live up to its name, -- Way Excellent."
Fernando Escarcega, San Antonio, Texas
...
"Makes the music sound tighter, cleaner (Nottingham Horizon turntable)."
Luis Melendez
...
"I have been using your TT mat, which is on loan from a friend, and can honestly say that I like it much more than the AudioQuest Sorbothane, RingMat, and Extreme phono non felt. I'll be ordering one of your mats soon."
Steve Miller, Newton Center, Massachusetts
...
"The turntable mat was a considerable improvement over the felt mat on my modest LP12 setup. Then, since I had the isolation feet (Tenderfeet), I tried them under the turntable frame base, and yet more improvement."
Earl Thomas, Capon Bridge, West Virginia
...
"My phono rig is a TD 125/Rabco SL8E arm/Grado Master/YSA Audio Concerto phono pre tweaked w/smooth plates and a few other things. Its 54db gain with a high output Grado makes it equal the output of the Trivista within a couple of db. Great for comparing. So, heres what I think.
...
The bass improvement was immediately noticable. It's a nice looking mat as well. I've tried cork and felt and other things. I like this better although I wish it addressed the image more. I am an image/soundstage freak. Of course I wish it made my system sound like it was worth millions but hey I am realistic. So it's a keeper."
Randy Wells, Bellevue, Washington
...
"The Way Excellent II-3mm mat is an improvement over the original stock felt (and your original Way Excellent mat). It provides a perfect VTA on my Rega P9/RB 1000 with Koetsu and the sound is the best I've heard from this combo."
Marc Andes, Howard Beach, New York
...
"The mat is amazing. I thought my turntable's poor bass response and dynamic range were because it's a relatively inexpensive $600 belt drive. Turns out it was that cheap-ass felt mat. The bass response has improved 100% and the midrange is much more lifelike and 'analog' sounding. An absolute must for budget turntables and probably all others as well."
Robert McKie, Belmont, Massachusetts
...
"The 3.7mm mat arrived quickly and in fine shape. I dropped my tonearm a bit to match the somewhat reduced thickness of your mat over the original and sat down to listen. I have been listening ever since! I have a large collection of jazz LPs, many mono, from the 50's and 60's that belonged to my dad, and I have been working my way through them. Your mat is certainly an improvement over the stock setup, and the Denon 3000/Sumiko MMT/Shelter 501-II have removed whatever compulsion I felt to do an upgrade."
Bradley Ellis, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
...
"I received your 'Way Excellent Turntable Mat' today. I must say that it lives up to its name. It is way excellent. Thank you for this upgrade to my entire record collection. I'll be up late tonight listening for sure." (used with lead-plated George Merrill acrylic platter)"
Hiroshi Ishii, Fremont, California
...
"The effect is sound get tighter!"
Aaron Kovics, Oakland Gardens, New York
...
"I feel compelled to say that your mat not only solved the problems that I had that are inherent with the OEM felt mat, but I was shocked to see no loss of sound quality that I experienced with some other rubber-type mats. I am once again pleased with my purchase of another one of your products."
Terry Phipps, Lemon Grove, California
...
"The mat is GREAT! Like many, I stuck with the felt mat because other mats make you give up some of the lovely sound or liveliness we buy Linns for, to get a measure of clarity (this is also true of many very expensive upgrades). Your mat has no downside I can hear. Basically, it allows better control across the spectrum – clearly, evenly and beautifully. My Linn sounds like a better Linn, that's all!"
...