Living Voice Mystic Mat

Technical Summary

"The Mystic Mat is composed of a layer of gel-coated resonance-controlling carbon fiber mated to a layer of CF polyurethane and followed by another sheet of carbon fiber. It’s thin (about 3mm) profile makes it a perfect candidate for any ‘table needing immediate musical improvements from conventional felt or rubber record mats. It fits snugly on your turntable’s spindle and lies nice and flat on the platter with the smooth side down."

The Mystic Mat is a hard mat, is lightweight, and it comes with a Michell Record Clamp as well, which is an optional item, to use with warped or slightly difficult LPs.

Front view - surface where record is placed on

"Anyway, returning with the Mystic Mat, I put it on the Scheu and to my complete amazement, it was like putting on another isolator - or arguably more so."

"I was so thrilled with the Mystic Mat that I immediately tried it on the Garrard 301 for again the same effect - a blacker background, better instrumental definition and a richer harmonic envelope. The special energy that is the secret of the Garrard emerged even more clearly. I was very impressed."

►► Read more on the Living Voice Mystic Mat review at sixmoons.com (scroll to the bottom)

Stereophile Review Excerpts - Michael Fremer,

Analog Corner

** A Stereophile Recommended Components product **

"Expensive, but the best platter mat Mikey has ever tried ... The Mystic blackened the spaces between notes, and  seemed to allow a lushness and depth to develop that I hadn't had before, while causing no sonic damage in terms of transient speed and detail ... A real find, and highly recommended."

"I have found (or should I say, I was sent for evaluation) the best platter mat I have ever tried."

"I normally use a carbon-graphite mat, but the Mystic blackened the spaces between notes, and seemed to allow a lushness and depth to develop that I hadn't heard before, while causing no sonic damage in terms of transient speed and detail."

"It will dent your bank account, however: the Mystic Mat, which Living Voice claims is difficult to make, costs US$300.  But if your experience with it is like mine, you'll agree that it's worth the money.  A real find, and highly recommended."

We promptly tried one, and we concur with Stereophile writer Michael Fremer's comments that it is an outstanding turntable mat, as it didn't change the original sonic character of the turntable, it just improved on the sonics. We've tried several other mats, and these changed the tonality, unnaturally boosted up certain frequencies, slowed down the pace, or simply deadened the sound.  We also concur on the lushness comment highlighted above in the review excerpt, where it indeed surfaced naturally, without any tricks in changing the frequency balance.  To roughly quote one user, which says it well - "like hearing something through a very good tube system, as opposed to a so-so tube system."

Since the Scheu/Eurolab turntables already have a super quiet background, we did not notice much of Fremer's assertion that it gave a blacker background.   This would be probably be more evident in other less quiet turntables.  Rather, we found the Mystic Mat's main contribution was in the improved bass definition, more body and scale to the sound, and improved timbre.  Strings just sound so much more natural.  "Meaty" and weighty are the words to sum up its most profound effect, at least in our system, where the full harmonic bloom in a recording is further realized.