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RINGMAT 330
ANNIVERSARY
"Whatever
the science, this works: the noise floor drops and the dynamic range
goes up ...the Anniversary Ringmat more than justifies its cost with
the performance enhancements it can bring."
Caroline Osborn, Gramophone,
December 2003
Superb
support from Ringmat
Ringmat
specialize in making enhancements for Vinyl, CD and DVD
When
CD was introduced 20 years ago, the demise of the LP was deemed to
be very soon. The rumours were greatly exaggerated, and still are,
for although many have said goodbye to vinyl, new supporters are
still coming in, which can be seen by the many new record players
and pick-ups that still constantly pop up. Yes, within the last
year, both the sale and production of LPs have increased, and
although the numbers are small, it’s still very interesting.
I
am one of those who have stuck with my old record player and albums
through the years, although I must admit that there have been very
long gaps in between playing my records. This has changed radically
in recent months, during which I have played more LPs than CDs.
Ringmat
Support System
My
renewed interest in albums is due to the fact that I have acquired a
Ringmat Support System, which has changed the sound of my records in
such a positive way that I have to admit that, in many ways, LPs now
sound better than CDs.
The
System requires some effort from the user, so let me start with the
simplest aspect, the Ringmat, which is placed on top of the platter.
It is available in several versions, all made from cork rings, and a
paper-like substance. I have had the opportunity to sample two
versions, the former top model, called Ringmat MkII XLR, and the new
Anniversary Ringmat 330, which was introduced recently when the
Ringmat firm held the 10th anniversary of the product’s design.
Both Ringmats make a big improvement over all other forms of record
mat I have tried through the years. With Ringmat, the background
gets darker, the bass faster and the top more open.
The
new Anniversary version underscores this in an obvious way when you
switch directly from the old XLR model. One notices a much broader
and deeper perspective, with more height. This is very surprising,
as the two mats look very similar. The difference is in the cut-outs
and the gluing.
The sound improvements are obvious, and even dynamics
improve, so the extra money is well spent.
As with many of the Ringmat products, the price can seem high
if you look at the products and the materials used, ignoring the
improvements in sound.
In fact, one has to consider that these hand-crafted products
demand a lot of skill and time and are much more demanding to make
than they look.
At this stage, there is already a big improvement in the
sound of my albums, but the subsequent stages improve the sound even
further.
LP
Blue Statmat
The
next stage is to introduce the LP Blue Statmat, which is an improved
version of the LP Statmat.
It now has three layers, which makes it much more powerful.
It is simply placed below the Ringmat and doesn’t require any
height adjustment of your pick-up arm. The LP Blue Statmat comes
with a Statcap, which is placed on top of the record and remains
there during play. Do the voodoo-like pieces of plastic work?
Yes, definitely. All the usual noise associated with vinyl
disappears, though not, of course, the scratches. There is more air
between performers and the acoustics of the recording venues are
easier to hear. The dynamics also improve. One extra plus is that
the vinyl no longer retains static anymore, attracting the dust.
The
next step is more demanding and the lazy can stop here.
This also goes for those with a pick-up arm without height
adjustment.
But there is much more to gain if you take the full step and
use all the modules of the Ringmat Support System.
This last step takes some effort from the user.
It takes time and is not without difficulties, but it is
amply rewarded many times over with even better sound.
All
Ringmat products are developed by John Rogers.
To get some insight into the thinking behind the products you
can start by reading the booklets that accompany the Ringmat Support
System.
The booklets are: “How to set up and fine tune a
turntable” and the instructions for the “Ringmat Support
System”.
Everything is very thoroughly explained but let me
nevertheless go through the stages one by one.
The
System consists of a black latex mat that is placed upon the
turntable platter, where it almost sucks itself into a firm
position.
On top of this are placed the so-called Ringmat Spacers of
different thickness and colour. These are put on top of each other
until you are left with the 4 or 5 thinnest. On top of these are
placed the LP Blue Statmat and the Ringmat, with an LP on top. After
this you adjust the tonearm until it is 2-2.5 mm lower at the back
than the front. After this you can fine-tune the height with the
Spacers according to the original cutting angle and adjust for the
best sound.
Now
comes the difficult part, which is the adjustment of tracking
weight, as it is not always the recommended tracking weight from the
manufacturer that gives the best sound. You start with a recording
you know well, put it on the record player and start with a lower
tracking weight than usual. You listen and try to find the tracking
pressure where the sound snap into focus. This means all the
instruments and voices have their own space and there is ample
soundstage in height, depth and width. You might have to try a few
times but in the end you will probably find a tracking pressure that
is lower than the one you are using now.
Once
you have found the right tracking pressure, you stick to it. After
doing this, you can adjust the sound with the Spacers, which you can
take off or put on according to the cutting angle of the record and
the thickness of the vinyl.
After a time you find a sort of average height, which you can
then stick to, or use as a starting point if your listening becomes
more critical.
The
Result
But
what is the result of all this effort?
Before I get to this, I will tell about one of my friends who
has heard the result.
He is a hi-fi professional and left vinyl years ago. At first
he was sceptical, but we ended up digging out old vinyl and playing
for the next four hours. He has heard a multitude of vinyl-based
systems, and found this was amongst the best he has heard,
irrespective of price. And here you have to know that my system is
based on a 25 year old STD record player, a Mørch UP-4 tonearm and
an eight year old Denon 304. This is a long way from ’state of the
art’, though I must admit that the RIAA in my Holfi Pre 1
definitely is.
Nevertheless, it is amazing that the Ringmat Support System
can bring these old components up to this level of performance.
So what is the collective result sound-wise?
Let
me start with an example from my vinyl collection. One of my
trophies is an eight album Beatles box set, the records having been
pressed by Toshiba in Japan. They have very silent surfaces and
better dynamics than the European pressings. Nevertheless, it is
only now that, for the first time, I have been able to resolve who
is singing in the choruses and things like that.
My admiration for Paul McCartney’s bass playing has also
grown, and it is now heard with more detail and much better
dynamics. Another example is Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess”, with
Lorin Maazel. It starts out with a very large soundstage, where a
lot of things are going on. Here is a very large orchestra, chorus,
soloists and a piano, whilst in the middle of it all they’re
playing the dice game “craps”. All the details of the sound of
this game are there in the middle of this very large soundstage,
which I have never before heard in this classic recording.
I
could go on like this for a long time but let me end up with a
general impression. The sound-stage is more focused and the
background much quieter, so the noise you thought was a part of
vinyl replay disappears. The height grows. The bass goes deeper and
the top cleaner. The sound gets warmer but without masking detail,
which becomes more obvious but as a part of the whole picture. All
in all, the transformation of my vinyl sound is astounding, and
though the price is more than 2,200kr, you get a lot for your money.
You can easily spend a whole lot more on pick-up or tonearm without
getting this kind of result. I have tried the System on much more
expensive record players, where the result was just as good. It is
whole-heartedly recommended.
Statmat
for CD and DVD
While
we are talking about Ringmat products, I must not forget the new
edition of Statmat, which is called CDi Blue. It is in three layers,
with two layers of the active material and a thicker piece in the
middle. Unlike earlier upgradings of Statmat, there is a very big
improvement in sound, as the bottom-end gets more solid and you get
a larger and more precise soundstage, which is very easy to hear
when you switch from an older version to the new.
The
new version is also easier to use. It also works on DVDs, and this
goes for both sound and picture. The picture is sharper and achieves
greater depth and all this from a super-discount DVD player. In
short, there is every reason to upgrade to the new CDi Blue.
Bjarne
B. Jensen, High
Fidelity (Denmark),
Number 3, 2002
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