what is the theory behind maple stands and racks?

Thanks Guidocorona for your comments concerning string instruments. Funny as it may seem, some violins are now being constructed out of graphite. There are no worries over temperature or humidity but I believe most string players would prefer a natural wood sound over the graphite sound. Using graphite for building violins seems odd as some record mats and isolation cones are also made with graphite. So does graphite in some way offer the best of both worlds with respect to resonating and decoupling?
I knew someone who owned a beautiful sounding guitar made of course, from Brazilian Rosewood and I'm not convinced that other woods can achieve this quality but it's still too early to tell.
My other question involves varnish. As you know a Stradivarius is a Stradivarius because of its ground and varnish. How do certain finishes add or take away or alter wood TT plinths, decoupling platforms, etc...?

Yo Guido,

I am not crazy about the idea of "plastic" platforms as wood has more of a romance to it. The advantage of the plastic is that I would only need a 1" plinth according to Eden whereas with the maple, 4" was recommended which wood really make my tower speakers TOWERS.

I have lots of Eden brass footers on my equipment and the guy is really great to work with as far as customizations go.

Goofy,
I saw a show about the Stradivarius violins and I vaguely remember what was the cause of the unique sound and how it has not been duplicated to date. Maybe it was something with the varnish? darn, now I will have to google it.

Photonman, the old saying is that a violin maker will spend all day telling you about his/her varnish but won't talk to anyone about the grounds they use.

Hello Photonman, the problem of 4" of maple butcherblock under speakers is probably not going to be the maple.... 'Tis the darn 4 extra inches, which my raise the drivers too high for ideal listening... Why not experiment with some Terrastone footers first.... They should give you an idea of what the proprietary co-polymer does for living... compared with brass. G.

Guido,
well, the vendor says the gains in sonic performance of the 4" maple vastly outweighs any effects of the increased driver height. As a compromise, I could do 2" plinths but they recommend 4" for tile/concrete floors.

as for trying out the polymer footers, did you see the prices of those things, that would be an experiment I cannot afford!

I do believe the platforms make a difference as I had my monitors on 2" maple and they sounded better than the stereo shop setup on the mfr stands and using better components than my rig.