How Good Is A Marble Slab at Deadening Vibration

To Hevacl, does the sale of rubber and cork squares appear in the audio accessories section on Amazon, and who makes them, or is it DIY?? I do not want to elevate the slab more than one half inch off of the surface of the wooden table. Thanks, Jim

To those who responded: Though final conclusions have not been reached, Operation Marble Slab has been generally successful producing benefits in midrange clarity, some increase in bass, and overall, a more coherent presentation of the music. However, nothing was startlingly different.

The following music was used: "E Power Biggs Plays Bach" David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust"; Steely Dan "Can't buy a Thrill" and one Belle and Sebastian's track titled Lazy Line Painter Jane...hard to believe a calliope would be converted into a powerful rock instrument; Lastly, Mott the Hoople's LP titled "Mott" particularly the last two tracks side 2: "I am a Cadillac" and I Wish I was Your Mother"

One anomaly: On some music there seemed to be less slam and dynamics, mostly on LP's I have heard deeper pedal notes on the Bach LP which was gifted to me 37 years ago. On the Mott the Hoople LP, there are two mandolins that drive the tune. "I wish I was your Mother"; they had less sparkle at the top of their range from what I can recall from before. The CD playback seems to have reaped the most sonic benefits from the marble slab.

Finally, though I cannot quantify it, I felt that I could hear or at least identify the weaknesses of CERTAIN COMPONENTS, AND CABLES. Mainly, the Red Dragon monoblocks amps which overall are very neutral, but have below average lower bass and resolution. In addition, the Morrow MA-3 IC which connects a Musical Surrounding Phenomena II phono stage to the Rega P3-24 crowned with a Dynavector 10X5 spike. MA-3 just did not cut it Transient response on some LP's sounded slow. OK,I know this is a subjective impression; it is probably because I have NEVER liked it to begin AND WAS NON-RETURNABLE BECAUSE OF BEING USED.

The other weak link is the Audio Art SC-5 standard speaker cable which is good, but not the best wire for the AZ Adagios wide frequency response....that is why I keep looking for and asking about better speaker cables in various threads.... SO THAT IS IT FOR NOW!! I will try the cork and/or rubber matting as recommended by BW, and Hevacl. Thanks again to all. Jim

To Nonoise, Many thanks, this stuff is alot cheaper than Mapleshades' cork and rubber Isoblocks. Will give them a call. Jim

Thanks to those who have responded so far. I have accomplished situating the marble slab onto the wooden plant table which is 50 inches long. The mothering slab must weigh about 100 lbs. I am praying it will not collapse the table, but the latter seems fairly strong. I also transferred the components to the table....looks sharp, but hope it sounds good.

To Cymbop , I was just about to reach for the Mapleshade catalogue to see what they offer in footers...both brass and wood. The footers are going to have to support at least 30 lbs each. The slab is 2 inches wider than the table width so I will have to position any footer in approx. that far to get good balance and security.

To Bombaywalla, Interesting suggestion about the cork, though 3mm does not seem very thick, still sounds like a good idea.

I am done for the day; I will rehook everything up tomorrow and provide a report about the results. Thanks, Jim

BW, where did you purchase the cork platter matt. Thanks for the additional info about the thickness of the cork board. The downside of placing the cork board under the marble is I would have to very carefully lift the marble slab which weighs alot to position the cork material. Should it fall or slip on my foot or feet I will never walk on them again. Will tell everyone how the slab worked out, still evaluating. Thanks, Jim

TO BW: The cork mat sounds simple enough to make..... Unfortunately, I decided to go ahead and try the marble slab before I read any of the posts, so therefore my concern about lifting it again. Surely, a two man job. I will let you know if I decide to install the cork.

Hevacl. I am considering about 8 of the 3/4 inch blocks would sufficiently carry the weight. The slab is 42 inches L by 20 wide. Nonoise provided a link to a distributor that sells a variety sizes and thicknesses of these rubber cork blocks. They are relatively inexpensive. Check out the link from Nonoise Thanks

TO CSONTOS: DOES "POST-EMS" QUALIFY FOR "SOFT FIBER PADS??" I CAN SEE USING THEM TO POSSIBLY ISOLATE A 20LBS COMPONENT, BUT NOT TO DECOUPLE A 100LBS MARBLE SLAB FROM A WOODEN PLANT TABLE. LET US KNOW WHAT YOU ARE EXACTLY REFERRING TO. Thanks, Jim