What is your take on Mapleshade products

I've bought and used their products as follows:

(i) The Mapleshafe Samson audio equipment rack/stand along with their brass footers. It/they worked relatively well, particularly for the CDP. I sold it cuz a dealer recommended custom made audio stand based on the Naim Fraim concept outperformed it. In the new setup there are no brass footers either as it sits on glass shelves. In fairness, the new audio stand has much much more expensive hardware sitting on it (cdp and integrated amp) in my new kit . I sam guessing that the higher up the $$ food chain one goes, the effects (and sensitivities) of ALL accesssories and tweaks become more dramatic.

(ii) I also bought their kiln-dried maple 4 inch platform with brass footers for the new CDP to sit on. It worked relatively well also; but again, the custom modded rack above outperformed it again. I now use it and the footers as an isolation base for my "B" kit.

I've bought their brass footers and maple platforms and have been happy with both.

Good luck

I am looking at both the double helix speaker cables and the strange looking interconnects. For the speaker cables, it seems they are bare wire only - no bannas or spades? I was wondering how they compare to dmn and anti cables. I am looking for strong and clear bass and lower mids, not too much focus on highs since my room and setup emphasize the treble. Also, on the interconnects, they look irresistible to cats and pretty delicate in terms of just a plastic bag and a thin wire. Any advice on this?

117,

What voodoo products have you tested in your system to make such a claim?

Taters, yes I was thinking of the Stratum, but even Mapleshade's basic powerstrips can offer excellent dynamics basically because they don't take anything away from the wattage coming from the wall, whereas the PPP necesarrily imposes its own wattage limit. Macrodynamics can often be improved with the PPP simply by not using it and going straight to the wall. Many other conditioners also impose a dynamic restriction (check forums). The better ones have now gotten around this, but for better sound even than that, I would think the Stratum would be a great way to go. I myself use Alan Maher Design gear for that and I'm more than pleased, but if I weren't using it, I know I'd be making a beeline straight for Mapleshade.

Pierre is likely has been one of the few pushing maple for v.c. partly because he has championed using the right kind of maple: soft, yellow (not hard, white - which is more commonly used in construction and for wood products) maple that has been air-dried (not kiln-dried as is the near-universal practice) for a couple years. There are likely not many other makers that are willing to go to these lengths for the customer, let alone at the prices Pierre is charging. Maple is not the only audiophile-friendly wood specie though. American black walnut and myrtle are known to be excellent too.