Acoustic Revive Accessory Descriptions and Listening Impressions
Acoustic Revive RTS-30 Turntable Mat ($241 USD)
You might be surprised to find out that turntable mats can make a rather significant difference to playback sound quality.
Most mats tend to add a tone of their own to vinyl playback, so when you're playing back a record you are hearing what's in the record grooves as well as the tonal properties the mat imparts to the playback.
The Acoustic Revive RTS-30 turntable mat embodies Ken-san's vision for the ultimate turntable mat, a mat that removes any additive tonal colorations, so you can hear solely what your cartridge is retrieving from the record grooves.
Towards that goal, Ken-san makes the RTS-30 mat out of vibration damping silicone, which damps vibration through a mechanism known as hysteretic damping, and which is also used in industrial applications where vibration control and vibration isolation are paramount.
The RTS-30 mat also has a geometric pattern cast into it that is intended to break up vibrational patterns that might occur between direct sources of vibration and reflected vibrational energy.
The vibration damping properties of the RTS-30 mat are intended to minimize the deleterious effects of vibration from internal sources, like the turntable motor, for example. Or vibration from external sources like loudspeakers, with the intent that vibrations are damped at the record's surface, so they don't compromise playback sound quality.
In addition to the vibration damping properties of the silicone, the RTS-30 mat also has a blend of piezoelectric minerals—tourmaline and "Guiyang stone" (hydrozincite) - mixed into the silicone.
The idea is that the tourmaline and hydrozincite "… prevents the generation of static electricity during record playback, and as a result of exerting the surface activation effect on the record board, the S/N ratio is overwhelmingly improved …"
The RTS-30 mat is an attractive gray color that nicely complements the Hammertone finish on my CTC Garrard 301, and leaves just a touch of the top of my oversize brass platter exposed as an attractive flirt.
I've gone through quite a number of turntable mats over the years, and the mat I've been using as a reference for my CTC Garrard 301 and Thorens TD 124 turntables is the Spec AP-UD1 turntable mat (currently around $350 USD), and which I've used as the comparator for listening impressions with the Acoustic Revive RTS-30 mat.
I don't think one could find two more different approaches to turntable mat design than the Spec AP-UD1 (below) and the Acoustic Revive RTS-30.
The Spec AP-UD1 mat is a lacquered metal disc that is about the thickness of a credit card, and has been sandblasted to give it a velvety matte finish.
Listening to the Acoustic Revive RTS-30 Mat
When listening to records, I've found the Acoustic Revive RTS-30 mat to sound slightly 'softer' sounding in comparison to the ‘harder' sounding Spec AP-UD1. I thought the mat material being softer (RTS-30) or harder (AP-UD1) was reflected in the overall sound quality of the playback. The softer Acoustic Revive RTS-30 mat gave a 'softer' overall sound quality than the harder Spec AP-UD1 mat.
With the Schick graphite headshell the softer Acoustic Revive RTS-30 mat displayed slightly less resolution, the dynamics were a touch less dramatic, and the imaging possessed a bit less body in the way they are depicted on the soundstage, compared to the AP-UD1.
The Acoustic Revive RTS-30 mat is a little more laid back sounding than the AP-UD1 mat, with a natural sounding tonality, and a charming, more polite, more liquid, and elegant presentation.
The Acoustic Revive RTS-30 mat seemed more balanced across the audio spectrum from the midrange on up to the brilliance region, than the Spec AP-UD1. In the bass region of the audio spectrum the RTS-30 mat was a little fuller sounding.
The Acoustic Revive RTS-30 mat was the more natural sounding of the two mats, like what you might hear at a jazz club or opera hall, with the images being a little more recessed into the soundstage. The AP-UD1 sounded a little more HiFi in comparison, being more vivid and forward sounding.
From a visuospatial perspective the RTS-30 mat had a nice wide and deep soundstage, with a noticeable sense of spaciousness to it, but the imaging was a little less crisp than with the AP-UD1, which is actually more like you might hear at a live concert.
I think the Spec AP-UD1 mat will match those audio systems better that are more neutral to laid back sounding. It will wake them up a little, and make them sound more dramatic and involving.
I think the Acoustic Revive RTS-30 mat will be a better match to those audio systems that are neutral to a little leaner, and more forward sounding, as it will help them sound more musically natural and satisfying to listen to music with.
The Acoustic Revive RTS-30 mat tends project a sense of natural musicality overall, while the Spec AP-UD1 mat emphasizes sound quality more in visuospatial terms.
Then there's the other obvious conclusion: I found it nice to have access to both of these perfectionist turntable mats. There is, of course, a lot of variation in the sound quality of recordings, and it can be entertaining—even useful—to use mats like a tone control.
If you have records that are brash sounding, you can civilize them with the Acoustic Revive RTS-30 mat. If you have records that are a little dull sounding, you can spice them up with the Spec AP-UD1.
If you've never had the pleasure of experiencing a perfectionist mat like the Acoustic Revive RTS-30 on your turntable, you're in for a nice surprise. They can make a rather remarkable difference in playback performance.
The Acoustic Revive RTS-30 mat is beautifully and thoughtfully crafted and sounds fantastic. It is musically natural sounding, and is easily one of the best mats I've heard. Recommended.
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