Any thoughts on a solid hickory platform under my tt

Adding to Geoff's comments the vibrations he describes (earthquakes, construction, passing cars) are very real and the effect of removing them (in my case by isolating my speakers) is profound. This is quite different from the normal (and also relevant) concern of isolating your components and sources from the effects of the speakers in the room

The following link from Townshend is a nice explanation with data

http://townshendaudio.com/PDF/Earthquakes%20on%20Hi%20Fi.pdf

I understand your comment . I respect it and it all makes sense , but at what level are we talking "the absolute discerning ear"on the absolute set up .. For me personnally i live 3 hrs from an airport on my large off grid ranch , tremours yes occasionally. I believed at a point
(chosen by each individual and the finances) you have to concede to what your level of performance needs to be . I believe my setup is pretty bitchin and the entire room is setup for 2:1 and two listeners . To most people who come to my place im frikin nuts , at some point i have to say " my table sounds pretty dam good" and get some more music.i understand others have different opinions and there setup show this . I guess one mans floor is another’s ceiling.. I do like the ultra stealth ebm spoke of but i can’t find pricing. At some point isn't the vibration going to travel onto the cantilever or arm just through the air ? 

Folkfreak, I'm sold on Townshend's Seismic Pods, and am planning on putting them under my speakers, LP player, digital player, and tube electronics, but I gotta scrape together the scratch to do it. And the Pods ain't cheap! 

Ole school wrote,

"At some point isn’t the vibration going to travel onto the cantilever or arm just through the air?"

excellent question. The acoustic waves traveling through the air don’t matter because speakers, even with big subwoofers usually cannot generate frequencies low enough to excite the cartridge or the tonearm, which are generally designed with resonant frequencies circa 10-12 Hz. Whereas seismic type vibrations with very low frequencies, including 10-12 Hz, can easily excite the cartridge and tonearm.

Without much experimentation(some, though), I liked Mapleshade's maple over butcher block(3 inchs each, and big brass footers-used on the floor) for my amp.  I also thought the 2-inch Mapleshade maple board, with their rubber, cork, rubber footers, came close enough to my Mana table, that I don't think it's totally worth the extra money for the Mana.  This was with an Ariston RD110 turntable.