Amp Stands - Wood or Stone

Whatever you make your stands from, put your components on Symposium Ultra platforms. The disc couplers transmit any vibration from your equipment or the room and converts it to a tiny amount of heat. I have these things under my components and the difference was remarkable - especially with my tube amp and preamp. Cleaned everything up.

If cost isn't an issue, get the Symposium Osirus rack.

Symposium Acoustics: Products (symposiumusa.com)

Some of us have our favorite brands, for me it’s HRS and Core Audio designs, both deeply rooted in both physics and sharp listening skills. Some of us also have a DIY bent. to the OP you would be wise in your adopted approach to adopt the constrained layer approach suggest by @bdp24 and possibly incorporate a top plate of Panzerholtz. Wishing you all the best on your project….in music

Jim

I forgot to credit @pindac w suggestion of tankwood…. very nice stuff…makes a wonderful armboard also….

The clue for finding a wider range of Board Material produced very similar to P'holz and Permali is searching for the following:

" Phenolic Resin Impregnated Densified Wood Board "

Some Companies using these Board Types give the materials an in house name, hence, Kaiser Speakers calling P'holz 'Tankwood'. 

As a guide to purchasing these Board Materials, the Board must be a Heat Treated Vacuum Compressed Board, which has a weight of approx' 1400Kg/m3.

There are PhenolIc Resin bonded boards that are not produced the same, the Boards can be produced as a non heated treated Vacuum Compressed and seen with a weight range from 800Kg/m3 - 1400Kg/m3.

When selecting a Board Type that is approx' 1400Kg/m3, there are a few other considerations.

The individual who originally tested and made public their measurements, which is where the interest started in using this material for Audio Purposes. When describing their test results and the attraction of the material, made it known that a 10mm thick board has all the intrinsic properties required to suit Audio purposes.

The Boards Tested have evolved in their construction and thicknesses and in general, it is accepted that a Board constructed with Cross Grain Plies, a 1mm Ply compressed to 0.5mm, where the commonly selected Board thickness seen selected today is 25mm ( 1"). A Board will typically be Cross Grain Plies using 50 Layers @ 1mm compressed by 50%.    

In my personal experience nothing substitutes for mass. Most of my components have around 40lbs of lead on each (except the speakers.) These bricks sit toward the side edges of the components to reduce any potential stress on the internals and to center the mass over the support feet that come with the component. All of the support feet are manufacturer rubberized to some extent on the bottom contact surface, so this is at its most basic a combination of rubberized damping and mass loading. As mentioned in the earlier post, the Audion monoblocs are too small for the the full 40 lb treatment, but the single 20lb lead brick spanning them is more than sufficient. Everything else - the Jay's CDT3 Mk3, the Holo May KTE, and the Holo Serene KTE get the 40lb treatment.

Due to lateral space constraints in my living/listening room it was necessary to "go vertical" with a cherry Salamander rack. The original black steel structural rods were replaced with solid brass all-thread and brass nuts which stiffened up the rack substantially and eliminated loosening over time.

Since I listen mostly late at night, I call this my "Silent Night" system.