Marble or Granite shelfs in a hifi rack?

I just put in the Lack shelf I got at Ikea. Two 4" dia. brass discs are under the CDP and one brass disc on top. The Lack shelf is supported but 6 tiny brass spikes which have "o-ring" under them. The 6 tiny spikes then fit into the shelf holes of my Sound Organisation rack. The o-rings space the spikes from the steel shelf frame.

Trying to find small differences irritate me (at least tonight) but my initial impressions are:
- Lower frequencies are more articulate.
- Hall ambience is more audible.
- There are some strange and very unmusical resonances. Meaning some instruments have strange harmonics that aren't at all natural.

So does not seem to be a clear win-win situation. Maple sounds like a good idea. I think the goal is for NATURAL resonances - if you're going to have any.

If it were b/ween the two, I'd rule out marble & try granite instead. Particularly for a suspended wood floor. BUT, things are as Twl explained & all other have illustrated, i.e. which frequencies are you acting upon & what compromises are you ready to make (i.e. acting in one direction can bring along unwanted effects from a totally different direction).

Among others here, Jadem6 & Redkiwi have spent a LOT of time trying all available materials under the sun under their components :)! Maybe they can add an idea or two... Cheers

Granite, marble, glass, maple, all have a sound that some may like for reasons other than being accurate. MDF is a as bad as anything I have used. I have used all of these that I have mentioned and many more. Neuance and Sistrum made a joke of all the materials i have used in the past. They make my system sound like music. They may not be perfect but compared to all the other materials I have used I find much less colorations in sound.

Whats Neuance and Sistrum?

Well Brulee, I may not have yet made the plunge to begin seriously investigating alternatives, but I can agree with you about MDF. I suppose there may be worse materials one could employ, but on the whole I think the entire MDF paradigm is basically a scam rack makers (and retailers like Audio Advisor) have attempted to perpetrate on audiophiles in order to get away with using an easy and cheap shelf material.