Isolation vs. Absorbtion

This thread has gotten large and complicated - what have I started?! As a new "audiophile", I remain somehow confounded. I am building a heavy welded steel rack, with thick MDF shelves, and I still need (3) (simple?)answers, ie:
Rack to Wood Floor: Hard Spikes or Soft Pads
Rack to Shelves: Fasten Tight or Isolate w/ Pads
Component to Shelves: Isolate w/ Soft Pads/Cones - appears to be correct.?
Thanks again for all your help!

Equa: This is the shortest (by far) thread that I have seen on the subject. Search for the "shelf material(s)" thread and their will be more info.

Hi Equa. I don't agree with using thick MDF shelves, but if you do then use spikes between rack and shelf, and try out some of the hard but damped cones like Walker and BDR. This will stop the MDF creating a lot of muddiness. Better still use a very light and rigid shelf like Torlyte or Neuance and use the E-A-R feet (remembering to match the size to the weight). Another good option is Maple Butchers Block - much better than thick MDF if you don't like the light and rigid approach. I am sure that there are other ways to go than I have outlined, and they may be better, but hope this helps with one set of answers to your questions.

Dekay, did you ever try the E-A-R feet? They work in the context of my overall approach to isolation, and several of my audio mates locally concur, but am very interested in what you thought.

Redkiwi, Sorry I am confused again. I think this thread is great. Please clarify this for me... You said don't MDF if you can at all help it, but if you must use MDF (as I have to in my MGD JustaRacks) then use hard damped cones between the MDF and the component? Or assuming that the MDF shelf is still in the system, can you put a shelf like the Neuance on top of the MDF separate them (Neuance shelf and MDF shelf) by hard damped cones and then use the e-a-r feet between the Nuance shelf and the component? Is this close to what you have found? - Dan