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THE STORY OF STATMAT AND THE
STAT FILM
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JOHN ROGERS REVEALS HOW THE STATMAT
FILM WAS CONCEIVED AND DEVELOPED
STATMAT FOR DIGITAL REPRODUCTION
The origins of Statmat reach back to
around 1991, when most of the initial
development work on our first product,
Ringmat, had been completed. Ringmat was
launched the following year. The Story
of Ringmat can be read
here.
At the time, it was felt that the sort
of improvements in sound reproduction
brought about by Ringmat could also be
introduced to digital playback, though
the methods of reproduction were in many
ways quite different.
I remember the discussions I had at the
time with Denis Morecroft, my
co-designer of Ringmat. He played a cd,
then rinsed it in water, and played it
again – the sound the second time was
immediately far better, clearer and more
dynamic, but in a short time the sound
quality reverted to how it was the
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first time the cd was played. Others,
who have had similar experiences, have
written about the water test. What we
needed to do was to find a means to at
least equal the improvement of the water
effect and then to retain it throughout
the duration of the CD in play.
Clearly, electrostatic fields were
building up during play, which were
having detrimental effects on the
environment in the cd player and no
doubt on the cd itself and the
electronics inside the player. Some
initial ideas were tried out, some
included cork! But these were only to
demonstrate that any solution had to be
extremely lightweight, otherwise the
timing of the music was thrown out of
balance and the reproduced frequencies
lowered as though the speed had been
reduced – the same effect as having the
wrong speed with vinyl replay. Even a
minimal weight was noticeable in a
revealing system. To some ears, the
effects of using a weighted disc might
be attractive, perhaps in the
short-term, but the resulting
reproduction is not accurate and
therefore not sustainable in a top
performing system. The hearing faculty
becomes restless because the sound is
clearly not right.
A variety of lightweight conductive
materials were tried, some with
spectacular but flawed results. The most
encouraging came from certain types of
conductive film, which we then augmented
with several types and colours of ink.
The greens and blues were interesting
but the only successful ones were
conductive black inks. Extensive trials
enabled us to refine the compositions of
the inks, each of which had specific
attributes in the sound reproductive
processes when used with cds in play,
and therefore in the way they handled
the electrostatic fields building up in
the cd player, on the cd and amongst the
electronics. The best results came from
having a different ink on one side of
the film to the other and to have clear
film between the patterned layers on
each side.
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Small
changes in distance between the conductive ink
layers had a big effect in the way the
electrostatic charges behaved and evaluations of
these effects, together with those of the
different ink properties on the top and
underside of the film, eventually resulted in
the patterns seen today. There then followed
much experimentation with the thickness of the
ink and the drying processes involved, as these
affected the permanency of the ink covering,
resistance to scratching and the way the inks
controlled the electrostatic charges and
therefore the sound.
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The cutout patterns in the film are a
result of earlier research work I
carried out for the Ringmat Spacers,
subsequently used in the Ringmat Support
System and later for the Anniversary
series of Ringmats and many other
Ringmat products. They reduce the
effects of vibration and resonance in
materials during mechanised operations
and as a result of materials being
attached or otherwise coupled to one
another and in turn suffering from
vibrations occurring during everyday
life – traffic passing by and so on.
Resonance and vibration with media
carriers is a particular problem. The
cutouts follow a special geometric
pattern that involves adding or removing
mass in key positions in relation to
area and shape. The basic pattern is
found in varying ways in all our
products.
The first Statmat for cds was launched
as a single film in 1996. There quickly
followed a MkII version and then a MkII
CDi version in September 1999 with a
change in the overall size and
improvements in the cutout patterns
brought about as our understanding of
the way the patterns worked increased
with experience. |
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NEED FOR A HEAVIER STATMAT
As mentioned above, initially, the Statmat was
marketed as a single film product. However, with
drawer loading mechanisms, some difficulties
were being encountered as developments within
the industry changed the way many drawer
mechanisms were built and behaved. The increased
speed of movement of lighter and a more “open”
design of drawers sometimes caused the very
light single film Statmat to be lifted in the
air as the drawer closed, with the result that
the film did not always stay in position on the
disc. Another problem was that many pucks or
clamps collected grease from the centre of cds
(from the handling process, especially when they
were pressed down over the retaining clips in
the centre of the jewel cases, leaving greasy
finger marks), which, in a warm, even hot,
environment inside the player caused the grease
near the centre of the disc, and thereby the
pucks or clamps, to become very tacky. This
tackiness was sufficient for the pucks or clamps
to lift the single film Statmats off the cds
when they were ejected from the player at the
end of play. Obviously, this was not an issue
with top loaders, but in some cases it was a
problem for users with certain drawer loading
players.
STATMAT CDi BLUE
We therefore designed a slightly heavier
Statmat, the CDi Blue, which did not move so
readily during movement of the drawer, nor lift
up with the puck or clamp. To compensate for the
slight extra weight (1.8g as opposed to 0.3g of
the single film) it was necessary to take
advantage of the extra layers to design an even
more powerful Statmat. One so powerful that the
adverse effects of electrostatic charges would
be reduced even more and the new mat would also
be more effective in reducing the effects of
vibration during play.
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The extra power to handle electrostatic
charges came from using two Statmat
films, one a mirror image and placed at
90º to the other, with a specially
coloured blue substrate in between, all
cut using the special anti-vibration CDi
pattern. The Statmat CDi Blue was
launched at the London Hi-Fi Show in
September 2001.
LP BLUE & STATCAP
Following the development of the single
film Statmat MkII CDi, an LP version for
vinyl replay was also introduced, but
because we were so impressed with the
improvement in sound with the early
prototype versions of the CDi Blue, we
immediately started to develop a version
of the CDi Blue for LPs. These
development processes soon began to run
concurrently, and we quickly found that
improvements we were bringing about with
vinyl could also be used for cd and,
similarly, improvements found for cd
could also enhance the LP performance.
It was a very interesting period of
design work. The vinyl aspect of the
design was more complex because we were
also able to introduce a Statmat on the
other side of the media carrier, the
Statcap. As a result, it has always been
possible for us to get a higher quality
sound with vinyl than with cd, over and
above other considerations between the
two forms of reproduction. The LP Blue
and Statcap were launched at the
Manchester Hi-Fi Show in November 2001,
two months after the CDi Blue in London.
STATMAT CDi PLUS
The increased use of the single film
Statmat MkII CDi in computer systems
meant we needed to find a way to keep
the film on the disc in some of the very
shallow, lightweight CD/DVD/CD-ROM
transports used in computer systems,
which were also increasingly being used
in hi-fi system components. After some
research, we developed the use of an
adhesive ‘ring’ for the underside of the
Statmat that would adhere to the label
side of the disc to retain the Statmat
in position during play but was
repeelable so that it could be used
again with the next and subsequent
discs. The sound |
quality was also better than with the standard
Statmat MkII CDi. It had the additional benefit
of providing ‘worry free’ use of the Statmat
film in conventional cd and other digital
players, though its use in multi-play and car cd
players would still not be appropriate. Statmat
CDi PLUS was launched at the London Hi-Fi Show
in September 2005.
STATFEET
In the early days of using the Statmat film,
having been impressed by the control that
Statmats were having over the sound, I was
curious what effect the film had on equipment
generally. So I draped sheets of the Statmat
film over some amplifiers I was using to see
what would happen. Not being sure what to
expect, I was surprised how massively the sound
immediately changed. Further experimentation
showed that to get the sound right, we had to
use the single Statmat film underneath equipment
rather than on top, and under a ‘foot’ of an
item of equipment. It seemed to break the
electromagnetic contact between the equipment
above and the supporting shelf, or other base,
the equipment was resting upon and to whatever
other equipment might lay within the vicinity
and to which the first item of equipment might
be coupled electro magnetically, as well as
physically. Additional layers of the film
improved its power, but it only worked
underneath one ‘foot’ of an item of equipment –
placed under more than one ‘foot’, the Statfoot
simply did not work as it should. It also
mattered how the film was orientated in relation
to which ‘foot’ was used, as turning the Statmat
film through 360º kept changing the sound.
Conveniently, this all came about as we were
working on the design of the Ringmat Feet, so it
seemed appropriate to include the resultant
Statfoot in each set of Ringmat Feet when they
were launched in 1999. Statfeet were also made
available separately for use under all sorts of
hi-fi and AV equipment, including televisions.
The research involved with designing Statfeet
showed how powerful these passive components are
and how easily they can massively change the
sound according to how and where they are used
in a system. It is therefore important to keep
Statmats and Statfeet away from hi-fi and AV
equipment unless in use in the manner
prescribed. It is therefore appropriate also to
bear in mind other aspects of the performance of
the Statmat film when making A/B comparisons
with and without the film in place.
RETAINED CHARGE
One aspect of the Statmat film that caused
confusion in the early days for users and
reviewers was the way the ‘charge’ imparted by
the film was retained for a while after the
Statmat had been removed. In fact, it is more
complicated than that because removing the film
also removes the weight of the Statmat, or the
very fact that something is intervening between
the Statmat and the clamp or puck or whatever,
even though the Statmat is a mere 0.3g. So
removing the Statmat temporarily actually
improves the sound until the beneficial effects
of using the Statmat start to wear off – a
matter of a minute or two later. The sound then
steadily deteriorates towards its ‘non-Statmat’
state until the Statmat is again put to use.
Without realising this situation, quick A/B
comparisons with and without Statmat can produce
a confusing situation.
PHASE ANOMALIES
Another difficulty arises with sound
reproduction systems where the sound is affected
by phase anomalies, such as those caused by
having the absolute phase of a drive unit in a
loudspeaker inverted so as to maintain a flat
frequency response at 1metre (same set up with
both speakers, of course). Or with certain
speakers using heavy/complex crossover
arrangements that affect the phase of the
signal, or loudspeakers with drive unit
alignments designed to obtain special spatial
effects, as these can affect the coincidence of
direct and reflected waveforms, effectively
introducing phase anomalies. The way Statmat
works is to correct phase errors caused by
electrostatic and electromagnetic interference,
but if the absolute phase of the signal is
significantly turned away from true 0º or 180º
by the design of the speakers, then the
correction brought about by the Statmat will, to
an extent, be nullified. The same situation
arises with other phase anomaly situations, such
as those caused by vibration and resonance in
materials, which is why other Ringmat products
have been designed and introduced – to achieve a
true 0º or 180º signal throughout the sound
reproduction chain.
Both 0º and 180º are mentioned because this
depends on the recording. All recordings have
both true 0º and 180º absolute phase situations
and switch from one to the other according to
the way the recording is actually made and how
it is put together through mixing and editing
the various session or sound takes. Also, some
digital recordings that have subsequently been
re-mastered have no absolute phase integrity at
all and are full of anti-phase. More about this
subject another time.
Coincidence of direct and reflected waveforms
Ringmat and Statmat products correct phase
distortion and other anomalies in the music
signal that are caused by electrical and
physical vibrations and resonance in materials.
One of the effects is to retain greater accuracy
in the absolute phase of the signal. As a
result, sound information starts and stops more
quickly. With ‘overhang’ removed, the sound is
much clearer. However, this improvement may not
become so apparent if the sound is then slowed
or smeared by sound reflections arriving at the
listening position at varying times rather than
together, because the position and angle of the
speakers require a consequent adjustment.
This situation is not unique to Ringmat and
Statmat products. Similar adjustments may be
required whenever introducing any manufacturers’
products into a sound reproduction system, be it
a hi-fi or home cinema system.
Accordingly, the position of each speaker in
relation to a rear wall, the distance between
each speaker and the extent to which they are
‘toed-in’ (to tighten imagery and adjust
relationships in distance to rear and side
walls) needs to be checked each time there is
any change. Depending upon the accuracy of the
system, an adjustment of 3mm to 6mm either way
may be all that is needed, although sometimes
more is required if there is still a problem.
Depending upon the ease with which a speaker can
be moved and the manner in which it is
supported, I usually find it possible to
ascertain the correct position simply by
listening to each speaker in turn while
‘leaning’, ‘turning’ or ‘swivelling’ it in each
direction, concentrating on any changes in the
timing, clarity and transparency of the sound as
this is done. This should NOT be attempted by
anyone if the speakers are too heavy or not
suitably under control. Care should be taken to
ensure they couldn’t topple or cause damage
either to the speakers or their supports. Where
necessary, help should be sought with holding a
speaker and to check that there is no risk to
the cables or to any connections. Where
appropriate, also first mute the outputs from
the amplifiers or switch them off whilst moving
the speakers any appreciable distance.
FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS
In time, new products using Statmat film will be
introduced to refine sound reproduction still
further. |
