Cleaning an Audioquest SorboGel record mat

[kach22i]

Cleaning an Audioquest SorboGel record mat.

How would one clean a sticky and dirty seven year old Audioquest SorboGel record mat? Some dust has gotten by the dust cover over the years.

Product info link (mine is blue):
http://www.elusivedisc.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AQ-MAT

The material is similar to one of those gummy monster toys you played with as a kid, but softer and stickier. It seems to pick up all kinds of dust and hair. I'm sure it's embedding dust into records as I clamp them down. This can only lead to surface noise (snap crackle pop).

I don't want to use a cleaner which will chemically alter the mat or leave a soapy residue, this is important.


Why do I use this mat you ask?

It was an improvement over the original hard rubber mat which came with my turntable. It gives a quieter background which helps bring things like cymbals out, and it expands the soundstage (McIntosh-like) and improves imaging.

I've tuned the supporting TT base to a higher frequency to restore some of the life the SorboGel mat sucks out of the music. The standard background noise does not return with this adjustment.

I suspect that if you have a anything better than a Dual, you will not benefit from using this mat. I had tried making my own cork mat, and experimented with several other materials before forking out the nearly $100 seven years ago. I heard an improvement right away which I could not duplicate on my own or by remaining in a stock configuration.

I don't want to use a cleaner which will chemically alter the mat or leave a soapy residue, this is important.

I sent an e-mail to [email protected], and will post their reply.

 

[MiTT]

George, I used to have one of these mats on my old Rega Planar 3 and it did a good job of doing all the things you described without having a negative effect on pace - one of the Rega's hallmarks. The glass platter on the Rega seemed a bit bright to me without the mat.

Anyway, what I did to clean it was wash it in a very diluted solution of warm water and Dawn dishwashing liquid, being sure to rinse the living snot out of it after I'd cleaned it. Also, I only used my hands to clean the surface, no dishrag or paper towel at any time. Then I'd leave it sitting on the kitchen counter to air dry - again, no towels, paper or otherwise. Worked like a charm

 

[TrumpetDoug]

Anyway, what I did to clean it was wash it in a very diluted solution of warm water and Dawn dishwashing liquid, being sure to rinse the living snot out of it after I'd cleaned it. Also, I only used my hands to clean the surface, no dishrag or paper towel at any time. Then I'd leave it sitting on the kitchen counter to air dry - again, no towels, paper or otherwise. Worked like a charm

Ditto. Except I didn't use Dawn but it was some dish detergent we had laying around. I used this mat a while back but haven't found the need with the Clearaudio...................perhaps I should give it a try again sometime.

Doug - out

 

[kach22i]

My mat has bonded to the aluminum platter, no way in Earth to remove it.

Here is a quote from Audioquest:

Luke warm slightly soapy water. Rinse in clean luke warm water. Leave to dry. DO NOT use a towel to dry the mat.

I guess I'll have to remove my platter once again to do this.

Thank you all once again for all the input, I'm glad it matches what Audioquest wrote.