Made with finely textured, open-cell silicone foam, this mat has unsurpassed vibration-absorbing characteristics and no resonant qualities to discolor the music. Records are thoroughly decoupled from unwanted platter micro-vibration. Available in a variety of thicknesses and diameters to fit almost any turntable.
A black elastomer "donut" on top of the white foam base reduces vinyl/stylus feedback and eliminates lateral slippage. Also provides for recessed label area and outer edge lead-in. Completely non-tacky, records lift right off the mat, while the underlying foam holds firmly to the platter (records can be lifted off while the platter is turning).
Since its introduction in December, 2002, Herbie's Way Excellent Turntable Mats have been tested against almost every kind of turntable mat with many different kinds of turntables, both in-house and by our customers. Herbie's Way Excellent Turntable Mats have consistently proven superior to stock felt mats and clearly outperform stock rubber mats. With virtually any kind of turntable, a Way Excellent II Turntable Mat is a safe bet to do better than any cork, Sorbothane, shelf-material, or hard carbon/graphite mat. Compared to high-end mats costing several times more, Herbie's Way Excellent II Turntable Mat consistently competes within a margin of personal preference or better with most turntables.
Way Excellent II delivers extremely fast dynamic response and finely-textured, natural detail with subtle ambience, not a false "staccato-like" sense of detail like cork and some other materials tend to provide. With a truer rotation of the vinyl, you get a more faithful rendering of the music and atmosphere of the originally recorded event.
If unsure which mat to choose, you'll virtually always do well with a Way Excellent II Turntable Mat that's closest in thickness and diameter to your turntable's stock platter mat.
*A note on thickness:
The open-cell silicone foam used with Way Excellent II Turntable Mats is very efficient and does not necessarily need to be as thick as stock rubber mats to effectively isolate a record from the platter and do a better job at it. Any thickness above 4mm simply adds thickness and height, with no real increase in isolation capacity. Usually, the only reason you would need a mat thicker than 4mm is if you cannot adjust VTA/tonearm height to accommodate. With platters not prone to ringing or excessive rumble, a thinner mat is usually sufficient.
Custom center hole:
All Way Excellent Turntable Mats are available with custom center hole for only $1.50 extra, any size up to two inches diameter, or 4.25" (108mm) "donut" hole. If you would like a custom center hole, simply order whichever Way Excellent Turntable Mat you want, and specify in the "comments" section of the order form the desired center hole diameter, in either inches or millimeters.
Standard Way Excellent II spindle hole is 7.25mm (.2854") and accomodates all standard LP spindles (which vary only slightly, from .278" to .285"). Standard singles "45 RPM" adapter requirement is 1-1/2".
Way Excellent II-2mm:
Recommended upgrade for most turntables with thin felt mat. (For turntables without VTA adjustment, choose whichever mat is closest in thickness to your present mat.) Ideal for Linn, AR, Audio Note, Oracle, and other suspended-platter turntables. Great upgrade/replacement mat for Pro-Ject; Music Hall MMF–series; Rega Planar–series (except P9); Nottingham Horizon, Horizon SE, Spacedeck. Overall mat thickness: 2mm; weight: 60 grams (2.1 oz.).
Size options:
- 295mm (11.6") diameter. Full-size mat for most turntables with stock felt mat.
- 292mm (11.5") diameter. Fits Pro-Ject Debut Carbon.
- 285mm (11.22") diameter.
- 280mm (11") diameter. For Pro-Ject turntables with 280mm platter and other turntables requiring an undersize 11" mat (for Pro-Ject models having a 300mm platter, a full-size 295mm-diameter mat is appropriate).
Way Excellent II-2.4mm:
Recommended for turntables with medium thickness felt mat. Popular choice for ceramic-platter Rega P7 (click for photo). Overall thickness: 2.4mm; weight: 65 grams (2.3 oz.).
Size options:
- 295mm (11.6") diameter. Full-size mat for most turntables.
- 292mm (11.5") diameter.
- 285mm (11.22") diameter.
- 280mm (11") diameter.
Way Excellent II-3mm:
Recommended for turntables with thick felt mat or thin rubber mat about 1/8" thick. Most popular upgrade choice for Thorens, Orbit, VPI Scout 1.1, and VPI Traveler (for Scout 1.1 and Traveler II* platter with raised center hub, choose 4.25" donut hole option from the Shopping Cart drop-down menu). Overall thickness: 3mm; weight: 70 grams (2.5 oz.).
*Note on VPI Traveler II: when VPI Traveler version 2 first came out the platter had a raised center hub, while more recent version 2 Travelers have a flat platter. The 4.25" donut hole option is only needed if your Traveler II has the raised center hub, otherwise the standard center hole is fine.
Size options:
- 295mm (11.6") diameter. Full-size mat for most turntables.
- 292mm (11.5") diameter. Perfect for Gyrodec MkIII and other tables needing an 11.5" mat.
- 285mm (11.22") diameter. Garrard Zero100.
- 280mm (11") diameter.
Way Excellent II-3.4mm:
Upgrade replacement for Oracle mats and for any turntable requiring a medium-thickness platter mat. Overall thickness: 3.35mm; weight: 82 grams (2.89 oz.).
Size options:
- 295mm (11.6") diameter. Full-size mat for most turntables.
- 290mm (11.42") diameter. For Oracle Delphi tables having a recessed platter a little under 11.5" from inner lip to lip, and other turntables using an 11-7/16" diameter mat.
- 285mm (11.22") diameter.
- 280mm (11") diameter.
Way Excellent II-3.7mm:
For turntables with mat about 5/32" thick. Overall thickness: 3.7mm; weight: 99 grams (3.5 oz.).
Size options:
- 295mm (11.6") diameter. Full-size mat for most turntables.
- 285mm (11.22") diameter.
- 280mm (11") diameter.
Way Excellent II-4mm:
For turntables with mat 4mm thick* and for VTA-adjustable turntables with semi-hollow cast platters prone to ringing. For belt-drive turntables, 4mm thickness provides sufficient isolation to effectively reduce or eliminate motor-induced 50Hz - 60Hz hum.
Popular choice for Empire, Technics, Garrard, Dual, Denon, Harman/Kardon, Kenwood, JVC, Lenco, Pioneer, and Well Tempered turntables. (For turntables without VTA/tonearm height adjustment, use whichever Way Excellent II is closest in thickness to your present mat.) Overall thickness: 4mm; weight: 108 grams (3.8 oz.)
Size options:
- 295mm (11.6") diameter. Full-size mat for most turntables.
- 292mm (11.5") diameter. For tables using an 11.5" mat like Technics SP10, SL-1300, and bevelled-platter Garrard turntables.Great for Luxman PD–series turntables.
- 290mm (11.42") diameter. Fits Technics SP-15 and SP-25.
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285mm (11.22") diameter. For platters with a raised outer ridge like AT LP-120, AT-LP140XP, **Technics SL-1200 series, SL-1500-series and other turntables using a thick 11.25" or 285mm mat.
**Some Technics SL-1200 series turntables may require a 290mm-diameter mat. Measure the diameter of the platter within the raised outer ridge to determine correct mat diameter. - 280mm (11") diameter. Pioneer PL-100, PL-200, PL-300, PL-400.
Way Excellent II-4.5mm:
With dual-layer foam base, for turntables with mat about 3/16" thick*
Overall thickness: 4.5mm; weight: 113 grams (4 oz.)
Size options:
- 292mm (11.5") diameter. Full-size mat for most turntables.
- 285mm (11.22") diameter. Ideal for most Pioneer PL-series turntables that do not have VTA adjustment (PL-12D, PL-15D, PL-512, PL-514, PL-516, PL-518, and others).
- 280mm (11") diameter.
Way Excellent II-5mm:
With dual-layer foam base, for turntables with mat 5mm thick*
Overall thickness: 5mm; weight: 120 grams (4.2 oz.)
Size options:
- 292mm (11.5") diameter. Full-size mat for most turntables.
- 285mm (11.22") diameter.
- 280mm (11") diameter. Audio Technica AT-LP5.
Way Excellent II-5.3mm:
With dual-layer foam base.
Overall thickness: 5.3mm; weight: 125 grams (4.4 oz.)
Size options:
- 292mm (11.5") diameter. Full-size mat for most turntables.
- 285mm (11.22") diameter.
- 280mm (11") diameter.
Way Excellent II-5.56mm:
With dual-layer foam base, for turntables with mat 7/32" thick*
Overall thickness: 5.56mm; weight: 136 grams (4.8 oz.)
Size options:
- 292mm (11.5") diameter. Full-size mat for most turntables.
- 285mm (11.22") diameter.
- 280mm (11") diameter.
Way Excellent II-6mm:
With extra thick dual-layer foam base, for turntables with mat just a little under 1/4" thick* Overall thickness: 6mm; weight: 153 grams (5.4 oz.).
Size options:
- 292mm (11.5") diameter. Full-size mat for most turntables.
- 285mm (11.22") diameter.
- 280mm (11") diameter.
Way Excellent II-6.35mm:
With extra thick dual-layer foam base, for turntables with mat 1/4" thick*
Overall thickness: 6.35mm; weight: 160 grams (5.6 oz.).
Size options:
- 292mm (11.5") diameter. Full-size mat for most turntables.
- 285mm (11.22") diameter.
- 280mm (11") diameter.
Way Excellent II-6.9mm:
With extra thick dual-layer foam base, for turntables with mat just over 1/4" thick* Overall thickness: 6.9mm; weight: 182 grams (6.4 oz.).
Size options:
- 292mm (11.5") diameter. Full-size mat for most turntables.
- 285mm (11.22") diameter.
- 280mm (11") diameter.
Way Excellent II-7.2mm:
With extra thick dual-layer foam base, for turntables with mat about 9/32" thick* Overall thickness: 7.2mm; weight: 190 grams (6.7 oz.).
Size options:
- 292mm (11.5") diameter. Full-size mat for most turntables.
- 285mm (11.22") diameter.
- 280mm (11") diameter.
- Reviews
- Questions
RomaniaExcellent
Herbie's mat is really excellent. Fits excellent on my Technics SL 1200GR turntable. I'm very pleased.
United StatesBeautiful and effective
It certainly beautifies my Orbit Custom turntable, supports the records as well as the original felt mat, and does not appear to generate any more static than that one.
United StatesWay Excellent II Mat is way cool and good
I'm using this mat on a Linn Sondek with Ittok arm and Grado Sonata 3 cartridge. I've used the standard Linn felt mat, a cork mat and a couple others. This is by far my favorite. It is easy to deal with and works with the rest of the table to deliver quality bass extension and impact. Plus it looks cool.
United StatesWay excellent II turntable mat For Pioneer PLX 1000
The great reviews about this turntable mat are true. I replaced a technics thick rubber mat for Herbie's Way excellent mat and the static electricity reduced by about 75%. It looks cool too! I'm very happy, thanks Vic
United StatesGreat Mat.
Way Excellent makes great contact with the platter and noticeably lowers noise floor. Now if only someone could figure out how to press consistently flat records….
United StatesI like it.
The best thing about this mat is that there is no static electricity. I lift the LP off the platter and no snap, crackle, pop. With other mats the record attracts dust like a magnet attracts iron filings.
United StatesCoherent sound
The 2 mm Way Excellent II Turntable Mat was purchased for my VIP Scoutmaster TT with acrylic platter. My first impression was the sound was somewhat dull, but further listening revealed the sound was actually being less harsh or steely and the instruments gained a more natural coherence with the mat. I definitely felt the music being more 'there' than without the mat. My music preferences are solo, chamber, and orchestral classical, with string quartets being my sweet spot. I use a Sota record clamp on the platter. The VPI turntable is controlled by a VPI Analog Drive System, tracks with a Clearaudio Maestro V2, runs to a Belles Aria Integrated Amp, and plays through Spica Angelus speakers.
United StatesExcellent mat
Good quality and stays on platter when album is lifted from it. One complaint: center hole is slightly offset so when the platter spins, the mat has an oblong rotation. Doesn’t affect performance but looks funny. Would be easier to recommend if the hole was centered.
United StatesWay Excellent
Yup it is. Everything sounds better with Herbie on my two platters. Great stuff.
United StatesWay Excellent II Turntable Mat
The name does not lie. It truly is "way excellent". I added it to my MoFi Ultradeck and I was very impressed with the results. It holds the record firmly in place and dampens any vibrations resulting in a crisp, clear playback. I will order another for my secondary system. P.S. I rarely give feedback on products, that's how much I like this mat.
United StatesExcellent Way Excellent turntable mat
I’ve used a numbers of turntable mats over the years and each have their drawbacks and high points. But recently I’ve been using a clear Perspex platter that is supposed to imitate the vinyl so well that no mat is necessary. Upon adding the Way Excellent mat there was certainly a positive difference. The image was more stable and clear with smoother bass and highs. So this is a great mat.
United StatesA noticable improvement
After swapping out 4 different TT mats (cork, carbon fiber, felt & a composite) on my Rega P3 I tried the Herbie Way Excellent II. The noise floor noticeably dropped, high frequencies sounded more natural and the musical timing improved. I like it. The 2nd great advantage is that the mat can be ordered in different thicknesses. The Rega RB300 arm does not have a tonearm height adjustment to properly set the parallelism between the arm and record. When swapping cartridges the Rega requires removing the arm and installing a spacer for correct cartridge alignment. I ordered the Herbiemat in the specific thickness required to set the EXACT horizontal cartridge/arm alignment without having to pull the arm and install a spacer. This is a major advantage with the Rega, and probably with every other turntable out there.
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