CES & THE Show 2012 • Hot Product

Kazutoshi Yamada, the head of Zanden Audio, loves analog. He offers two phono stages, each of which has multiple EQ curves, and even his digital gear strives to re-create the easy resolution of analog sound.

So it's no surprise that he would develop the TPM-1, a turntable mat that is a proprietary, patent-pending mixture of various types of rubber. His claims for it are both conventional and intriguing: better microdynamics on the one hand, and less noise from record wear and scratches on the other.

The TPM-1's exact price has not been finalized, but the mat will sell for under $1000.