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Collaro audio precision turntable mat.

david ellwood

david ellwood

Kirabosi Kognoscente
A friend brought one round last night for assessment and it was interesting that a Mat should make this kind of difference.

initially it sounded like a right dogs dinner until we turned it upside down with the logo on the underside. At this point it closed the gap significantly and though it never really challenged the standard linn mat it did offer an interesting alternative.

On picking it up it’s very much more floppy and thin but seems well made. I liked the colour too.

It’s infinitely better than the likes of the achromat but not quite an upgrade from the linn.

Anyone else heard one?
 
Not tried the Collaro, am currently auditioning the Levin Design on the old fruit box which is aimed specifically at TTs with metal platters and I have to say, I think it will be staying. I noted the person with the spectacular views of NY from their listening room seems to have one, will be interested to see their thoughts on it.
 
yes ive tried the mat and liked it...seems a more dense weave in the mat than the standard linn one...but your would expect that at the price !!

never thought to try it upside down...good idea ,will give that a try also
 
Someone's resurrected the name.

Bit of trivia: Christopher Collaro received the MBE in the 1946 honours list.

Long live the 4T200!
 
On behalf of the owners of the Collaro brand, I’d like to announce that they have legitimately registered the trade mark and will endeavour to uphold the standards that made that brand great. One of them is even called Christopher.

I own three 4T200s though.

As for the mat, it is an exceptionally high quality item, and consistently outperforms the stock Linn item should you adhere to the instructions and adjust VTA accordingly!

Cheers now! H
 
I offset the thickness difference by using a thick record and by so doing gave the linn mat a vta disadvantage. The linn was still demonstrably the superior product to all three listeners including the person who invested in it.

The instructions suggest that there should be no difference in the collaro whichever way it’s oriented, this was found to be incorrect.

The right way up it’s not terrible but £100 is a lot for a slight downgrade.
 
david ellwood said:
I offset the thickness difference by using a thick record and by so doing gave the linn mat a vta disadvantage. The linn was still demonstrably the superior product to all three listeners including the person who invested in it.

The instructions suggest that there should be no difference in the collaro whichever way it’s oriented, this was found to be incorrect.

The right way up it’s not terrible but £100 is a lot for a slight downgrade.
Click to expand...

If you offset the VTA with a record, the entire principle on which the mat works is bypassed! There needs to be a direct contact with the platter, with nothing in between, especially a record, which is thicker at the edge and the centre than the playing surface.

The mat must sit directly on the platter, and the record on the mat, otherwise you’re listen to the effects of something else. Occasionally a VTA adjustment is required, but most of the time it’s fine without. There is a thicker version available in white fabric, but the LP12 tends to work better with the thinner red one. They work like any other felt mat, in that the fabric is a very good absorber of vibration due to its wool fibres converting kinetic energy into heat. The difference with the Collaro is that the cloth is the same thickness throughout, so gives the same level of insulation and support across the record. Normal simple felt is random construction and vary between examples and across the thickness of one mat, thus if you’re comparing with a Linn or Rega mat, some perform differently to others, because they are essentially random.

Collaro offers a full refund if you bought it from them and wish to return it, but if you bought from a dealer, their terms of refund may be different.
 
Heard one on a Planar8/Apheta.
Can’t say that I honestly heard much difference, definitely not any clear improvements.
Any difference I could pick up on was arguably more down to the relative change in VTA, rather than any magical properties of the mat material.
However, it appears to be well made product & the price isn’t extortionate so maybe in other set ups it may make more difference?
 
Point taken, but there are other replacement mats at similar prices.
I guess if you’ve spent a few grand on a turntable, then another £100 isn’t the end of the world if it really is an upgrade.
Although I didn’t hear much/any difference, it does seem to be one of those tweaks that a lot of other people are very enthusiastic about, so maybe it’s just me that’s missing out.
 
Hamstall said:
As for the mat, it is an exceptionally high quality item, and consistently outperforms the stock Linn item should you adhere to the instructions and adjust VTA accordingly!
Click to expand...

That was not my experience. It isn’t as good as the stock mat for me.
 
I am using the white Collaro mat on both my PTP Lenco and my Rega P8. The white mat is thicker and heavier than the red mat and is designed primarily for idlers such as Garrards or Lencos which have metal platters that require damping.

I tried a lot of different mats on the PTP - solid, rubber, foam, cork, copper - and found that the Collaro white mat produced the best balanced sound.

I was using the Collaro red mat on my Rega P8 and liked it, although it is quite a bit thinner and lighter than the stock mat. Recently I changed cartridges and needed a thicker mat to account for the VTA change, so I tried my spare Collaro white mat on the Rega. It sounds at least as good on the Rega as the red mat, and is closer to the thickness of the stock mat. Being quite a bit denser and heavier than the stock mat (or the Collaro red mat) it does a better job damping the glass platter and is also much less susceptible to being picked up with the record due to static.

The Collaro mats have really impressed me, but the white mat is probably the most useful one for most turntables, particularly for Rega turntables and idler decks.
 
One issue that has arisen is that the Collaro is so thin that in some instances the lip on the rim of the LP12 platter fouls on the underside of the record.

This along with any negative views expressed on the LP12 facebook page are very quickly deleted.

Id recommend anyone whos lived with the Collaro for any length of time to try returning to the stock Mat, and check that they havent been sold something retrograde.
 
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