Mapleshade boards under speakers

Emailists, my experience with the 4" Mapleshade bases and brass footers
for the Gallo Ref 3 speakers was diametrically opposed to your view. Instead of
killing the sound, they opened it up and made it fuller and richer. and
substantially more dynamic. Compared to another (friend's) stock Ref 3 on a
direct side-by-side comparison, the speaker on the Mapleshade base was so
superior that we could hardly tell the stock one was playing. My friend ordered
the Mapleshade bases the next day. I see his comments are above. Dave

I have been using maple stands in various designs under amps, preamps, CD players, and speakers for a few years now. I have found I preffer maple to a few maunufactured brands including Sistrum.

I just finished building a copy of Mapleshades 4" maple stands for my Gallo ref 3.1 speakers. I did not buy the expensive brass footers, I instead tapped the holes I drilled for the feet to accept the feet that came with the speakers. They thread directly into the maple, no inserts. I also routed in a space to accept the grill which has to sit 1/2" lower than the surface of the stand in order to line up the screw holes in the back of the speakers. They sound better without the grills in place but I have a batch of grandchildren (all toddlers) and so I need to be able to have the grills in place some times. I don't think Mapleshade offers this option, but they should. It only took an hour to make a template for the router.

I set the speakers back up and listened this afternoon. I am very happy with the sound. Much larger and more open detailed soundstage. Imaging and bass have tightened up. A definite improvement across the board. I heard nothing that I felt was a detriment to the sound in my brief listening session.

Something probably could be gained from the addition of the brass footers, More mass and much better coupling to the floor, plus the brass factor certainly is something to consider, but the cost of the footers alone from Mapleshade is $788.00. I have $80.00 and a few hours of time in mine.

Mapleshade (style) stands under speakers, at least Gallo 3.1 speakers are a definite improvement.

I don't think you can automatically make universal claims for each product, good or bad. I think it to be very system dependent. The maple boards didn't work well with a friend's system, in mine they're superb. The Sistrum may have the same effect. Do they offer a return policy?

How does a platform or brass footer "drain vibrations"? Do vibrations act like heat or fluid and flow through materials? Wouldn't footers actually prevent propagation of vibration from an external region (like the floor) to the platform and component in question? Exactly where do these vibrations originate, and what direction are they moving in? Is "isolation" a better way to think about it?

Obviously I am confused about the vibration drainage concept (and a bit skeptical). However, I have heard differences myself, but mostly for spiking speakers to a floor, where the speaker itself is doing the vibrating.

Jrb25,

According to Mapleshade website:

"You can't get good sound just by placing the speaker's flat bottom on the floor or on a stand. Because of the large area, low-pressure contact, much of the cabinet's vibrational energy is reflected back instead of being drained efficiently and cleanly down into the floor."

I find this only marginally satisfactory

A site selling Reference Points products (http://storesonline.com/site/1609406) claims:

"The sharp cone point couples to the shelf, floor or platform and acts as a mechanical diode, channeling vibration out and preventing unwanted ambient (floor) and stand vibrations from entering."

"Mechanical Diode"???

I guess the idea is that a given weight connected through a smaller brass point focuses energy being produced internally into whatever is below it. A massive maple platform is rigid to a point but has the capacity to absorb or dampen at least some of this energy, thus "draining" internal vibration "away" from speaker or equipment cabinets.

In the reverse direction, the thick slab of wood absorbs some of the energy from the floor or shelf and keeps it from entering the gear from the bottom up. The overall thickness and weight of these platforms keeps them from resonating like the back of a violin or guitar, but the resonant properties of the wood work instead to absorb and dissipate energy as wood fibers move slightly adjacent to each other - I assume generating some heat in the process.