Wood blocks underneath components?? snake oil?

Well, this thread prompted me to try a bit of experimentation. I bought a bit of good quality mahogany and mpingo (african backwood) 1"x1" stock. My reasoning being that these woods are about as sonically dissimilar as any pairing. Mahogany is mellow & woody, Mpingo is so dense it sounds almost like a ceramic when you click two blocks together. I cut several sets of blocks in the small size, golden ratio size Cardas offers. When these are inserted under my cd transport & dac, they most obviously shift the tonal emphasis of the sound, more so than I expected. Mpingo, used exclusively, imparts a definite treble emphasis. I'd say that I like the transport sans blocks, on it's own feet but supported by a thick maple platform. A mixture of two mahogany blocks & one mpingo block under the dac does sound a little bit better that stock footers. Skeptics may scoff, but there is a definite tuning effect possible with wood footers.

David12, I wonder to what degree the golden section ratio really contributes to the effectiveness of wood footers. It certainly makes for good ad copy but it's application may be psuedo-science in this case? The golden ratio certainly crops up over and over again in nature's design and in the works of artists, but does this have any relevance in this case? Just because it's aesthetically pleasing doesn't mean it contributes to functionality. Look at a marimba, the ultimate example of tuned wooden blocks, no golden ratio at work there. When I cut the blocks I experimented with, I made one set very carefully to maintain the golden section proportions as exactly as my shop would allow. I deliberately made another with the longest length deviating from this ratio (shorter.) I can't hear any difference, but then maybe my ears aren't golden enough and my system isn't revealing enough.