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Maple, solid vs butcher block, vs other materials

I recently bought the highly touted Marantz SA-14 SACD player. Sounds excellent, but about the same as the 10 year old Krell that it replaced. I expected more, both of CD and of SACD playback. I have heard that setup is very important with this player.

I am about to try my favorite power cord, but I am thinking that I might want to put the player on different material.

It now sits on a stand (that can be seen in my ad for the Krell Studio on this site) made of walnut veneered plywood.

I am looking for suggestions.
I have heard good and bad about granite (other than the negative about the cost)
I have heard that maple is a great, but what type?
The advantage of getting a good thick butcher block is that if it doesn't help, I could use it in the kitchen. The one sold at Mapleshade would be useless if it doesn't work well.
Is another material better?
Should I just forget the base material?
drrdiamond
infinity_audio
186 posts
 
Wood base isolation platforms or stands will give your SA14 a warmer tonal character then it's current performance. As well, solid steel stands will be more stable than wood, but tonal color will be sharper, less colored. A good stand/platform is a main key to the sound of your setup because SA14 is your source. I currently have my SACD1000 on Solid Rosewood Cones sitting on a solid maple stand. Lot warmer than when it was sitting on my carpet. MOre accurate top when it was sitting on my Lovan metal rack but, total performance is better with wood. Rock-base stand/isolations will give a colder/sharper sound but should sound the most accurate on top and the bass would get tighter and more solid.
warrenh's avatar
warrenh
2,299 posts
 
I have all my components sittng on Sistrum Racks. Their webside is audiopoints.com Their systems work on the coupling/resonant transference principles. They sound great, and look great as well. I believe they have a money back gurantee. Whattaya gots to lose? Decoupling or isolating is almost impossible to achieve. Remember airborn resonances, get into all your electronics. The very things that you use to isolate, can keep those nasty microphonous producing diddies in your system. Coupling is easier to achieve and the effects are astonishing. Robert is the man over there. Call him. He'll set you free.
peace,
warren
dogeatpuppy
96 posts
 
check out your favorite home depot, in the kitchen cabinet section they have 18x20x1.75 maple "cutting boards" try it out, if you don't like it, you have new kichen equipment for $30 a pop.....

(these are 2" strips that run the length, not end- grain "blocks")
duanegoosen
355 posts
 
Had a maple platform for about 4 years that could have probably been set up better, and then had an mdf platform on a good rack for a year. Recently picked up a Neuance shelf. The Neuance improved performance way more than I thought it would.
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