Picture the scene: it's February 2000 at the Sound and Vision Bristol exhibition and RG and I are manning the hi-fi+ stand and chewing over future articles. Wouldn't it be interesting, we mooted, if we tried using the Ringmat Support System on a turntable designed with a clamped record/ hard platter interface. We know that JMH (and photographer SM) are much impressed using it in place of felt mats (on a Kuzma and LP12 respectively): and we know that it worked wonders on DNM's Reson Rota turntable, so how about using it in place of a clamp based record restraint? Well guess what? As the owner of a Michell Orbe, I got the job. A quick raid on the Ringmat stall and I'm away clutching a bag of goodies before they know what's hit them. So why, you might ask, am I writing this in November for inclusion in issue 9 - I mean, how much time does this man need for heaven's sake. The answer is, of course, the usual sorry tale of unexpected delays, blah blah blah. On the plus side, in the intervening time we have come to realise that there is a lot more to say about the product and its philosophies than we originally thought, so we have decided to present this as an introduction to a more detailed article in the next issue.

The Ringmat Support System consists of a 12" diameter latex mat with a moulded post that is laid onto the platter surface, having first removed any existing mat: a number of 12" diameter colour coded plastic disks of varying thickness which slot onto the post, an LP version of the Statmat, a Ringmat 330, and a damping disc for the record label. By varying the combination of the plastic discs, the surface of the platter can be raised or lowered, thus allowing VTA to be adjusted to the optimum for each record played. It's recommended to avoid record clamps or weights, but as usual one should feel free to experiment. None were used for the review, although JMH uses a Shun Mook weight on his Kuzma.

Fitting the system to the Orbe threw up another complication. In order for the clamping mechanism to work correctly, there is a raised centre to the platter, created by the knurled locking nut. This had to be removed to give a flat surface for the latex mat to sit on, but I had no qualms about this, as the Ringmat system is not a rigid support, and the Orbe is so beautifully machined that no rocking modes are evident in the platter even without the nut.

The setting up procedure for the tonearm when using the Ringmat system is quite different to 'conventional wisdom' and will be covered in the next issue. Needless to say it took some considerable time to absorb this alternative approach and to get things just right. So was it worth all the effort? Time to make a cup of tea, and sit back and relax. Picking on a recent purchase of Santana's first album (UK £6.99 brand new on vinyl, I couldn't believe my luck) I had a few preconceptions about how the sound would have changed from the standard Orbe clamped interface. Typically the Orbe / SME V sound is fast and rhythmic with a rock solid bass but on the other hand it can be somewhat cold with a slight glassiness to the top end. I predicted that the sound would become warmer but looser and with less detail. Well, I was half right, the sound did indeed become slightly warmer, but not in any negative sense. There was no noticeable thickening of the sound, more an enrichment of the overall timbre. The multiple percussionists of Santana were no less vigorous or fleet of foot (hand?), and if anything the enriched body to the drums increased their impact. In fact I was astounded by how much bottom end clout there was, and what's more the bass seemed to have been released from a straight jacket, flowing free to underpin the complexity of the Latin rhythms. The injection of life and dynamic 'jump' was astonishing (and extremely welcome witness embarrassing spectacle of person old enough to know better dancing around like a lunatic). As for the glassiness - gone, banished, exiled. The sound was still sharp, but it had lost its slightly unpleasant edge.

Great, and if that was the limit of the mat's achievements I'd still be well happy. But it was what happened next that really got me thinking. Moving on to the Speakers Corner 180gm vinyl release of Supertramp's Crime Of The Century required a change of discs to compensate for the increased thickness of the audiophile pressing. Now up until this point I've never got really hot and horny over Audiophile releases. Yes they've (normally) got nice quiet surfaces, and they're sourced from original masters, but generally they've never sounded superior than my better standard pressings. In fact most of the people I know who swear by them rarely play anything else. Now I think I know why. I normally set my VTA for an average 120gm pressing which means for 180gm the angle is too small. Using the Ringmat Support System to optimise the VTA for the thicker records resulted in absolutely superb results. The clarity, impact, and sheer musicality of the disc was far in excess of what I've managed to wring from my system till now, and I'm not a major Supertramp fan either. So why do Audiophile pressing junkies play them exclusively? Perhaps because their turntables are set up for optimum 180gm playback to the detriment of 120gm pressings.

In the next issue (10) I will examine why, when it comes to the thickness of the discs used, size really does matter, but for now I'll finish by saying that I have no intention of using the Orbe in future without the Ringmat Support System. The charges it makes are entirely positive and far from subtle even when the turntable is designed to use a clamp!

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Ringmat Support System
Price: Ringmat XLR - UK £50
Ringmat Support System (incl. Ringmat) - UK £160
Support System (excl. Ringmat) – UK £115

For further information:
Ringmat Developments
Tel. (44) (0)1277-200210
Fax. (44)(0)1277-201225
Net. www.ringmat.com

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