STRATA FROM ORIGIN LIVE…WITH OR WITHOUT?

Back by popular demand is the Origin Live Strata platter mat and an investigative feature triggered by comments and questions about ‘modding’ that self same mat

The launch of the Strata got some of you thinking. Which is good, if my reviews can do that to you, then I’m happy.

Questions have revolved around this subject. How would the Strata perform if you put a clamp on top of it? Or a stabiliser/weight accessory? Can the Strata even take the weight of a stabiliser without buckling? Also, if you’re familiar with Origin Live’s own Gravity One, which is a thing all on its own, what about that? Now some of you already have these accessories in your possession, so if to did grab a Strata would they all be redundant now?

In effect, if you modded (kinda) the Strata, how would it perform?

So, to keep the continuity thing going and while we’re on the subject, I decided to pay a return visit to the Strata and tie up those loose ends.

So I retained the same review setup as I used last time around, used the same Coldplay and Keely Smith vinyl and I played the Strata on it’s own ‘as is’.

WITH A CLAMP

I first tried a clamp with the mat but really? The clamp largely ignores the mat, couples directly with the bearing underneath the platter and damps that. Which is great if the bearing is not of the finest of tolerances.

A clamp will do a job right there. In this particular case? The clamp was an unnecessary tool so it produced a slightly claustrophobic midrange and rolled treble, reducing air and space in the upper frequencies. I discarded that.

WITH A STABILISER

I next tried a heavy stabiliser from Oyaide which damps via nothing else than weight and mass. This will have more of an effect on the mat, interacting directly with it.

The sonic result? I felt the heavy stabiliser damped the music a rather excessively. Sure there was a slightly larger thump to the bass, extra mass to the power frequencies but the lightness of touch across the treble and upper mids especially was reduced and that meant a loss of sparkle, a loss of precision and a dulling of fine detail.

WITH A HRS

So I moved to the much lighter HRS stabiliser which relies less on mass to do its job. Its aim is to damp the vinyl record itself, using the built-in, vibrations-killing, polymer at the base of the stabiliser.

The results of this one relies more on personal bias than a straight judgement. I can see why the HRS would be liked on this set up as it adds control to the bass, it fixes the vocals dead centre at the point of the stereo image, it increases focus and precision but again, it does suck some life out of the upper mids, it closes in the soundstage from left to right and loses a little bit of excitement and exuberance. In relative terms, it dulls that upper reaches of the midrange. I preferred the HRS stabiliser off, you might think otherwise and I can understand that.

WITH A GRAVITY ONE

I finally added the Gravity One from Origin Live itself. You can see a review of that one here if you want to know more so I won’t repeat myself. Suffice to say that this looks like a stabiliser but it isn’t really as it has next to no weight but it does damp in a carefully considered fashion, doing just enough to enhance the sonics. Well, without the Strata in place. In place? How does it sound?

It sounds wonderful, that’s how it sounds. My goodness, the Gravity One? It continues to surprise me.

We’re talking about a 10/10 platter mat here. In my opinion the best platter mat you can buy (well, in my experience at any rate) and here comes the Gravity One and turns that 10 in 11 because the Gravity One actually improves the Strata.

What it does is add a soundstage-wide touch of focus. Just a dab, just a little bit but that’s like adding the merest touch to a camera lens which takes the image from slightly blurred to pin sharp focus. That’s what the Gravity One does to the Strata.

It locks the vocals into the centre of the stereo image, it tidies the percussion giving extra pace but also detail, it adds focus to acoustic guitar strumming adding bite to the strum itself but doing all of thus without reducing air or space, without losing life and excitement, without losing detail but while adding an overall focus to the performance.

CONCLUSION

The Origin Live Strata platter mat is a thing of wonder and a brilliant addition to a turntable if your budget will stretch. Testing that mat with a series of clamps and stabilisers only harms the final sonic output…until a Gravity One is added to the Strata. Together, the Strata and Gravity One not only lower the noise floor and add precision and focus but they present exquisite detail to your ears.

In effect – and let’s not forget this because that’s the danger when you concentrate on shiny accessories – in effect, both of these products allow you to get the very best from your turntable. And that’s what all of this is about, never forget that, these things are only here to allow your turntable to work as advertised. Basically, they’ve got your turntable’s back.

But I tell you what: your turntable, the Strata platter mat and the Gravity One? What a team! The Three Amigos? Oh yes. What you’ve got right there is a killer trio.