Garrard 301 - Project

MDF is basically wood dust and glue. The reason MDF has no purchase when you screw into it is because the glue is the most expensive component, and the manufacturers only put enough in to just hold the wood dust together and no more. It is designed as a very low cost material. I worked for a number of years in the timber industry.

When you buy something like DAS plinth you are buying weetbix wrapped in xmas paper.

This doesn’t necessarily mean it will sound bad, it simply means you are buying a plinth that’s full of wood dust and glue.

Personally on my 301 I used a hybrid of compressed bamboo ply and birch ply. Bamboo ply is harder than Maple, can be CNC’d ( I did mine myself ) and provides a stable platform that won’t warp over time. It is not pretty though, which appears to be important for some folk.

I do not use wood veneers because they are not stable and eventually you can see all the joins and I personally can’t stand that. If I wanted a wood finish I would do a shindo style laminated solid wood block plinth.

@dover 

"When you buy something like DAS plinth you are buying weetbix wrapped in xmas paper."

That's a little harsh, no?  I think most (maybe all) DAS plinths are 100% birch ply (not counting the veneer obviously) with the exception of the ones with rounded top corners that I mentioned above.  Those have one layer of MDF on the top.

Look at these pics.  These are all birch ply since they do not have large radiused top corners.  Why would you call that a weetbix wrapped in xmas paper?  Not trying to argue at all.  Just trying to understand what you're saying.  Seems like pretty solid construction to me.

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/LO4AAOSwnz9h20LM/s-l1600.webp

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/o-UAAOSwcVphkLUw/s-l1600.webp

Bamboo Board with three tiers as the minimum and compressed on both planes, is a improved Board for intrinsic Damping/Dissipation Properties over most of the usual board types seen used for Plinth construction.

A 401 listened to, mounted on a Compressed Bamboo Board Plinth, is my most impressed listen I can recollect. 

Compressed Bamboo Board as referred to above does not cost too much. As a ,material it can be further enhanced for the attractive intrinsic properties, by applying thinned oils for it to absorb. I recollect seeing Shellac referred to as well as a Treatment to improve the properties, all good on my camp, as aesthetics are also being dealt with as well.

“What specifically do you not like about the DAS plinth? 
@ketchup

The finish and build quality leaves lot to be desired, certainly not worth the asking price. Others may disagree with my assessment and that’s ok. The plinth is on the lighter side and lacks appropriate mass needed to reject the excess energies produced by the motor and the platter bearing. You probably know this, a poorly made plinth will store and then amplify those energies with such efficiency that they encroach upon the music. I may not have the worst made plinth but it is certainly not what I had hoped for. 

The plinth appears to be made from constrained plywood and layered with a polished veneer. The bottom plate may very well be MDF layer for all I know. It took lot of experimenting with different footers to drain the negative energies away from plinth. It’s working well for now, however I wouldn’t hesitate to replace it when I cross path with something wildly superior; both in terms of build and aesthetics.

To have the most attractive aesthetic does add cost, especially if a professional Cabinet Maker Service is to supply fascia materials and carry out the finishing. Spray Paint Coating as a Fascia Finishing can be much more cost effective.

I am today more Wed to a aesthetic that has Honesty, the structure is not masked.

Mass Plinth and Idler Drives are from an era, when not too much was known about materials that are with an intrinsic property for Damping/Dissipation. 

There are extra options today for selecting a Plinths function. Where Mass is a Sink to absorb motor energy, reducing energies transferred through the Platter to the Stylus. Damping/Dissipation, where energies are canned through the material and substantially reduced in their impact on other local materials. 

There is plenty to be read on a forum like Lenco Heaven, to produce a basic idea for how each in use are perceived. 

My recollections are those who moved on from a Mass Plinth have not returned to the structure. Damping/Dissipation has its attractions.

I am also in the prefer Damp/Diss Camp.