An interesting discussion. There are various camps favoring steel/glass, shelfless designs, through MDF, to heavy hardwood. As with so much audiophile tuning, the optimal solution is probably equipment and room specific, as well as a matter of taste.
That said, this talk has renewed my interest in trying heavy maple or other dense hardwood. Most towns will have a good cabinet-maker who will put something together to custom spec for reasonable cost, or there are established audiophile/maplephile options.
When I moved my kit onto a wooden Isoblue stand, changing from another brand's steel support/wood shelf unit, I found a major improvement. But I seem to remember that before that, I'd temporarily enlisted our very heavy teak coffee table, with a ceramic inlay top, with unexpectedly good results.
Time to compare again. The Isoblue serves me well, but is designed for no more that 6 inch clearance between shelves, so its application is somewhat limited. Fat tubed gear will have to look elsewhere for support...
I have old Totem Sttaf speakers in my second system that sound astonishingly good on the solid foot of limestone at the base of my fireplace. Let's see...how much would a custom component stand cost; limestone shelves on maple supports...
That said, this talk has renewed my interest in trying heavy maple or other dense hardwood. Most towns will have a good cabinet-maker who will put something together to custom spec for reasonable cost, or there are established audiophile/maplephile options.
When I moved my kit onto a wooden Isoblue stand, changing from another brand's steel support/wood shelf unit, I found a major improvement. But I seem to remember that before that, I'd temporarily enlisted our very heavy teak coffee table, with a ceramic inlay top, with unexpectedly good results.
Time to compare again. The Isoblue serves me well, but is designed for no more that 6 inch clearance between shelves, so its application is somewhat limited. Fat tubed gear will have to look elsewhere for support...
I have old Totem Sttaf speakers in my second system that sound astonishingly good on the solid foot of limestone at the base of my fireplace. Let's see...how much would a custom component stand cost; limestone shelves on maple supports...