Speaker base - what material is best?


Hey!
I just bought a pair of monitor 4 acoustat speakers - electrostats. the bases are the ugliest things i've ever seen in audio: black fiberglass with plywood bottoms. jeez. I took the speakers off the base and they're currently on the floor. I'd like to make bases for them but don't know what material to use or where to get it. any help is much appreciated. i'm thinking crazy like all stainless steel i might find in an architectural salvage yard or maybe find some MDF and cover it with laminate. Or?? I'd like to keep the whole eames era look going if possible.

As always, thanks in advance.
kublakhan
Hi Kubla, good to see U back. One word of caution re, stones. Marble can produce a mushy effect, while granite (that I'd prefer) can induce slight ringing. Of the two, granite has been the best performer along with Corian. On lighter pieces, however, Corian tends to shift the tonal balance upward (never tried with heavy equip).

Cheers!
Granite is the answer, go to a tombstone maker or other like ceramic's seller for kitchen or bathroom, you can put lacquer on the edge cut it's more cheaper than polishing and it give the same look and it could last long enough.
I use granite also under my sub Velodyne and all my electronics (Krell amp & SonicFrontiers preamp) are on a piece of granite on spike mount in a damping steel rack made all by myself, very heavy but very stiff and resonance free.
Between the floor and the granite you can use a one inch thick of felt, it's very good for damping and use spike on a wood floor it's not a good idea with several hundred pounds!!!
Also granite looks great :)
I suggest granite, and it can be found for pretty well nothing. Many folks are having granite installed as kitchen countertops, the cut out section where the sink goes is usually thrown away. Contractors usually convince customers to go with a particular color cuz they get a better deal that way, getting two matching pieces shouldn't be too hard. Track down a contractor who specializes in kitchens, chances are he'll give you a couple of pieces of granite gratis. Spend $50 to get them cut to size and the edges polished and voila! Just an idea, I did this and threw a chunk of granite under my turntable. Best, Jeff
guys, so far excellent suggestions. i never thought of marble or the arcici stands so i'll do some research.

and dekay, i laughed out loud at that one! too funny.
Hi Kubla. Did Arcici ever make stands for the Acoustats like they did for Quads and CLS's? If so, you might want to try and track down a pair. Arcici stands not only raise esl speakers, but also add rigidity that translates into better sound to my ears. With the Logans they de-couple the electronics interface from the panel. Like I said, I'm not sure if they made them for your speakers, but just a thought.
A Marble or Granite Base, 2 to 4 inches thick bolted to the speaker bottoms. This will really couple the speaker to the floors. Improve Bass performance, as well as the overall sound. I have done this with a number of speakers with great sucess.

Good Luck,