Shelf Material

The Corian hasn't arrived yet so a report on that will have to wait, and it sounds like I should go directly for the Maple rather than try a native NZ wood - thanks Albert. BUT - I bought some 100lb strain guage nylon from the local sports shop today and suspended my source and preamp components (three of them, but each suspended separately) by merely tying the nylon to the steel frame of my rack - ie. I removed the shelf above the component and tied the nylon to the frame that had supported that shelf and then looped the nylon under the component below and tied it to the other side. I used two pieces of nylon for each component, going side to side, and used a trusted fishing knot each end, rigged up a twist arrangement to deal with fine levelling and sat back to listen. I have only listened to two CDs so far, but I am excited. Resolution is better, soundstaging is remarkable, bass is more extended and more punchy, and the sound is slightly more forward, but with oodles of depth. The sound is definitely more natural - applause sounding much more like hands clapping than rice crispies. There is none of the swimminess that the bladder products have, and there is no part of the spectrum that has any apparent resonance or suck-out effect (all shelves seem to suffer the former and bladder products suffer the latter). Before I get carried away however, while listening I could objectively say it was better than before, but I had a slightly nagging doubt whether it was in fact more musical than before. I will have to get more acquainted with the sound, because the source of that feeling may reveal itself given more time - on the other hand it may have been because I had to turn the equipment off and on, and it needs to settle again. While it was quick and cheap to do, it was very fiddly and if I decide to follow this up further I will need to come to a better arrangement - perhaps involving shelves (that Corian and/or Maple may be useful after all) - taking components in and out of the rack at present would be quite painful and probably require three or four hands. I will report on this again when I have listened some more, and played around with some variations on the theme. Dekay and Sound_decisions, thanks for the idea and recommendations - the results are very intriguing at this point.

OOPS - it was Onhwy61 that suggested the suspension idea - thanks Highway Man!

I have a demo Neuance Alpha sized 18-1/2" x 14-1/2"(fits Mana Mini/Reference Table) that I would be happy to let you have for the cost of shipping.Let me know if this is something you'd like to investigate. Best, Ken GreaterRanges/Neuance greaterranges@msn.com www.neuanceaudio.com

I've tried Corian, Redkiwi. And I didn't like it. It ruined dynamics, sounded slow and muddy. The maple butcher blocks that Albert describe work MUCH better. You may want to call the local restaurant supply businesses close to you and compare prices. I got mine for a little less than the McMaster Carr price. Good luck!

Redkiwi: Thanks for the update. I just screwed up my left shoulder and am going to have to wait on the project, but here are a few ideas that I have had. Using small maybe 1/64th piano wire with line tightners for the cables (they should not stretch like braided wire or plastic line)and should pretty much remain level after the frame settles in. If I can squeeze the extra height in my cabinet I would also like to try double shelves that layer as follows (MDF/Vibrapods/MDF/component with stock feet resting on top) and a sheet of aluminum on the bottom side of the bottom layer to help shield my amps from the power supply in my CD player wich will rest directly below the amps. I figure that if it doesn't work I can always reinstall the same shelves by placing lips on the inside sides of the cabinet and resting the shelves on them. Then just play with isolation teqniques between the shelf and the lip. In the meantime I am going to have to rest my amps in "cat territory" on the outside top of my cabinet.