Teres Turntable Support - concrete, wood, rack...?

I need to register a dissenting opinion regarding thick maple platforms. In my experience, thick maple platforms, whether butcherblock or the solid maple from Mapleshade, suck the life out of music.

I have tried both 2" solid maple and and 3" maple butcherblock under my Galibier turntable, my tube preamps and my tube power amps, and in EVERY instance the sound has been overdamped and lifeless. It is smooth and fairly detailed, but the loss of liveliness is much too high a price to pay, IMHO. I would also add that I noted an inadequate low frequency response as well.

These observations held true whether the maple platform was supported by cones, by Mapleshade Isoblocks, wood blocks, or sorbothane pucks.

Now I do acknowledge that many folks have tried maple and reported great success. But I would suggest that anyone who is interested in thick maple should try it for himself and reach his own conclusions. Don't simply assume from all of the favorable press that maple is the answer.

Incidentally, my 3" butcherblock is 18 x 24. I purchased it from Timbernation, and I was very pleased with both the appearance of the platform and the service from Timbernation. I would recommend them as a supplier. My caution only extends to the nature of the product itself.

Dave

Oakiris, I am using my Galibier turntable on a 3/4" thick maple butcherblock shelf from Bed, Bath and Beyond, which is supported in the corners by the solid oak posts of a DIY stand. Surprising as it may seem, I prefer that to the 3" thick platform from Timbernation. This started out as a strictly temporary setup, but I have not been able to find anything that I prefer.

My favorite mounting for my power amps is a solid walnut platform resting directly on the carpet. My preamps sound best, at least so far, on a short nesting table made of solid oak. I have not tried most of the commercial offerings since I prefer to do things myself where possible.

I would like to try a very solid and rigid metal stand, perhaps a Sound Anchors or Billy Bags product. My present thinking is that this might provide the best combination of sound characteristics that I am looking for. TWL's comments about the new Sistrum stand also interest me. I look forward to seeing some photos. Also, Lugnut's stand looks great and I suspect sounds very nice.

My reason for posting here was not to say what is best, but rather to issue a caution about assuming that a thick maple BB platform will solve all of your problems.

My experiments to date lead me to two conclusions: First, different shelves and stands can sound dramatically different. Second, two people can reach opposite conclusions about which material sounds best. Ultimately, like most things in home audio, you have to try something yourself and reach your own conclusions.

Dave