Does anyone use wood for vibration control?

Interestingly enough, Ayre supply their latest integrated amp, the EX8 , with 3 Myrtle wood blocks .
And they are quite clear in the manual that the unit WILL benefit from them.
Also of interest about Ayre, I rang them to ask what size fuse rating on my old Ayre ax7e as I wanted to buy a SR Blue fuse for it. They were extremely enthusiastic about aftermarket fuses and acknowledged it would be of benefit.
How about that, an amp manufacturer who is actually on board with tweaks!

Purpleheart and African Padauk are both excellent.  Both about equally hard and dense and heavy which I believe is key.  I have two inch thick bases which also is important.  The thicker the wood the better.  For small components like macmini, modem, power supply, tube traps etc I use even thicker (3 inch thick)  smaller blocks of wood of the needed size that were meant for wood turning or carving from EBay.  

Yeah, right, tried it all. Wood doesn’t control vibration- wood vibrates! Its why musical instruments are built out of it, after all!

The thicker the better works because thicker vibrates less and at a higher frequency. So saying you like thicker better is saying you like the sound of wood- only you would like a little less of it. Which ultimately is why the industry long ago went to MDF- its got all the workability benefits of wood without the characteristic sonic signature of individual wood species.

This is a subject I dove deep into and figured out a very long time ago. Its tough because like I already said there’s a lot of supposedly knowledgeable people recommending pine, birch, coco bolo, whatever. Sounds great until you actually try it. Even worse there’s people spreading outright nonsense, like carbon fiber is soft. Yeah, that’s why they build F1 cars, airplanes and spacecraft out of it, nothing maintains precise geometry like a soft funky frame. Just beyond stupid. No offense to anyone.

Its probably true that wood vibrates.  Some less than others though, and purpleheart perhaps less than others.  And it may be that the resonance of wood is easier to live with than of other materials.  An excellent material for damping is something that Marigo is now fabricating. This is what they use for their IT platforms, i.e., isothermal platforms.  Not super cheap, but under my  upper range open speaker baffles they are extremely effective.  I believe Marigo suggests using this material for components is just as effective.

Check out Mapleshade’s VCS Vibration control systems and racks. I find them very effective. I use their 4" thick maple VCS under my turntable and it made a very big improvement. Also have a 2" under my amp. I’m sold. But it is a system. You need to use the whole system with the brass feet and ISO Blocks to get the full effect. You can use them without the brass feet and it's quite good but better with them. Sure wood vibrates but it also will absorb and dissipate energy when used correctly. And yes it needs to be thick. 3/4 shelving is not thick enough. The thicker the better. Maple seems to be the best. Just try to get a 4" thick slab of maple to resonate like a thin shelf does. Metal, stone and glass ring and do not absorb or really dissipate energy like thick wood, instead they reflect the energy back into the components. Sure nothing is perfect but we have to set our equipment on something.