Audio Replas, Clearaudio, Millennium: LP Mats and Stabilizers

I’ve been having fun listening to several really nice turntable mats and LP stabilizers. They range in price from $100 to $6,095, and I would have to say I was quite surprised by how much and how different they each affected the sound of my system. I shall start with the lowest-priced and build my way up, this will highlight the differences and you can decide for yourself which one if any sounds like the one or the combination you might want to try. I used all the clamps in combination with the Clearaudio “Outer Limit Turntable Ring” because that is how my turntable sounds best and each clamp sounded best that way. The only exception to that was when I used the Audio Replas’ mat, because it was too thick to work with the Clearaudio peripheral ring.



Clearaudio’s Twister Clamp: $100

This is the Clearaudio LP clamp I have been using in combination with their “Outer Limit Turntable Ring” for the last three years. This combination has proved to be quite satisfactory. The combination deals with warp records as good as anything I have ever used, including turntables that use vacuum hold down systems. As far as sound goes the combination gives you quieter backgrounds, a more stable image, better musical flow and slightly better bass than you get without it. The Clearaudio “Outer Limit Turntable Ring” also gives me better speed stability and more drive. The Twister Clamp is a very nice basic clamp, especially considering the price.

Millennium’s M-LP-Mat Carbon Mat: $349
Millennium’s Silentor LP Weight Support: $349

Millennium is a German company that is imported by Brian Ackerman’s Aaudio Imports. Millennium produces several audio accessories that have a recurring theme, in that many of their products make use of carbon fiber. Carbon fiber is a very light and very strong material that has very good damping properties. My Clearaudio tonearms are made of carbon fiber.

This combination worked great with my Clearauido peripheral clamp, and brought about a significant improvement in the overall sound of my system. The mat is a .3 mm laminated carbon fiber mat with one side having a thin, felt-like surface and the other side is the carbon, flat surface. The carbon side definitely has more resolution, while the felt-layered side has more of a warm sound. I used the flat side, though occasionally when listening to a rather bright sounding recording I would flip it over to the felt side and indeed this was quite nice.

The Millennium Silentor is a very nicely machined stainless steel center clamp made to use with any turntable. It couples very tightly to the spindle and LP by use of an O-ring and a series of precision-drilled holes filled with granulated quartz and covered by the carbon fiber mat that goes on the record surface. This attention to detail along with its weight provides very good damping of the LP and worked quite nicely in my setup.

The Millennium combo allowed my system to have a more powerful sound than it did without them. The bass was improved by having more power, and more air around the bass. The midrange had a little more detail, and the image depth was slightly improved. A lot of mats and clamps tend to over-deaden the sound, but the Millennium combo also allowed my system to have a very alive and focused sound, making the music easier to follow, and individual instruments and voices were more easily delineated. Overall, the system just sounded more musical with this combo then it did even with the Clearaudio Twister Clamp.

I tried the Millennium combo on several turntables and as good as it was on my Clearaudio Wood Anniversary CMB turntable, it made an even bigger difference on the Linn, and the Thorens 124. It also made a bigger difference on my Clearaudio turntable if I was not using the peripheral ring. I would assume that was because they both deadened some of the same resonances. In no way should that be taken to mean that you should not use both, because they definitely sounded better together.