Any thoughts on a solid hickory platform under my tt

I am using the Sole sub chassis and arm board and top plate. They are very good and improved the sound considerably. The Linn is now the best turntable I have had and I prefer it to the Ravens of my friends. I will not say it is better as I have not heard them in my system but it more agile with the music while they are more massive if that makes any sense. Like any top components they all have their own sound.

I was a VPI dealer and had a huge example of an oversized one which has now been discontinued. Heavier than lead and was very good and had more powerful bass than the Linn but not as agile. A friend has it now and he likes it very much.

The site i found and mentioned above sells wood 2" for a reasonable price if anyone wants to try a test or whatever .  i used to fab corian for a living years ago personally i  didnt like it under my table i had an lp12 back then and also a vpi hk

If you use isolation under your table (Townshend Seismic Pods, roller bearings, air bearing), the material of the shelf will not matter (as much?). I still have a couple of Torlyte shelves, the extremely low-mass design (hollow balsa-wood construction---very stiff, very non-resonant) big in England in the 80's and 90's. Linn-inspired, of course. Some of Ikea's butcher blocks are made of Bamboo, somewhat low-mass. What's so special about Maple? The best drum shells are made of Maple because of it's resonance and long sustain, not what I want in a support structure for my table!

Bdp24 wrote,

"What’s so special about Maple? The best drum shells are made of Maple because of it’s resonance and long sustain, not what I want in a support structure for my table!"

Actually that’s why you DO want maple as a support structure for your table. It’s the natural musicality of maple that makes it such a good material for all sorts of isolation and support projects, such as Mapleshade racks and stands and my own Nimbus sub Hertz platform as well as musical instruments. It's been used by luthiers for centuries. Hel-looo! It’s musical. It’s magic. I prefer grade AAA white maple.

geoff kait
machina dramatics