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Welcome Licorice Pizza (LP) lovers! Setup guides and Vinyl FAQ.

RE: Empire 208 Turntable

The rubber mat was one of the first things I replaced on my Empire 208.

I've tried the Herbies too, but found that it softens things a bit too much. Of course, that was after I had dampened the platter with an elastomeric 3M epoxy and replaced the base plate & plinth with a 1" aluminum plate + Isodamp + MDF. I also machined the platter flat and removed the center ridge that required the use of mats with custom holes.

Perhaps the fact that records fit snugly over the spindle combined with strong support from the outer rubber rib were part of the rationale? Some people really like the original mat, claiming that transients are better than with mats that support all across the record surface. I currently prefer a very thin Victor suede mat and use a record weight -- an Audio Technica AT-618 disk stabilizer that fits over the oversize Empire spindle.

I would suggest that this is an area where experimentation will suit you better than advice, to see what works best in your system, with your music and your tonearm/cartridge.

Hope this helps!





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