Maple platforms

Curious about the mention of Lyptus above, I did some investigation. Lyptus is actually a hybrid of two varieties of Eucalyptus grown in Brazil. It is apparently denser and also cheaper than Rock maple and quite stable for woodworking/milling. Even denser than Lyptus, and slightly more expensive than Lyptus and Maple is White Oak. I am attaching below some density and pricing info for different kinds of wood. Has anyone experimented with them in platforms?

rock maple
Density: 630
Cost 6/4 $4.80 board ft.
Cost 8/4 5.24 board ft.

Lyptus
Density: 650
Cost:
6/4: $3.94 board ft.
8/4: $4.02 board ft.
NOTE: Most highly recommended for stability, ease of milling, etc. .

red oak
Density: 630
Cost:
6/4: $4.25 board ft.
8/4: $4.78 board ft.

white oak
Density: 680
Cost:
6/4: $4.48 board ft.
8/4: $4.98 board ft.

pecan
Density: between red and white oak.
Cost:
8/4: $5.15 board ft.

Ipe
Density: even higher than White Oak.
Cost: $2.03 approx per board ft.
NOTE: Ipe may develop cracks.

An interesting discussion. There are various camps favoring steel/glass, shelfless designs, through MDF, to heavy hardwood. As with so much audiophile tuning, the optimal solution is probably equipment and room specific, as well as a matter of taste.
That said, this talk has renewed my interest in trying heavy maple or other dense hardwood. Most towns will have a good cabinet-maker who will put something together to custom spec for reasonable cost, or there are established audiophile/maplephile options.

When I moved my kit onto a wooden Isoblue stand, changing from another brand's steel support/wood shelf unit, I found a major improvement. But I seem to remember that before that, I'd temporarily enlisted our very heavy teak coffee table, with a ceramic inlay top, with unexpectedly good results.

Time to compare again. The Isoblue serves me well, but is designed for no more that 6 inch clearance between shelves, so its application is somewhat limited. Fat tubed gear will have to look elsewhere for support...

I have old Totem Sttaf speakers in my second system that sound astonishingly good on the solid foot of limestone at the base of my fireplace. Let's see...how much would a custom component stand cost; limestone shelves on maple supports...

This has been a helpful discussion for me. Thanks. I mentioned some of the above ideas to my audio dealer who said that I might want to compare Symposium Acoustic products. http://www.symposiumusa.com/products.shtml. Has anyone used Symposium platforms? What do you think?

One of my issues is that at least one shelf has to be MDF because I have an Audiomat Opera. It runs full out all the time creating a lot of heat, and I mean a lot of heat. Most hard wood, because of moisture, will warp. The Opera is a huge Pure class A integrated. So this is why I'm thinking of platforms under other components.

24u

A Skylan damping pad might be useful for your Audiomat. (www.skylanstands.com )It is basically an MDF sandwhich with a damping material in between. Have you asked Audiomat, or Mutine, (their distributor in Canada, not sure about the U.S.)what they recommend? I envy you your Opera, I've heard great things about it.

02-22-06 This discussion on the advantages of maple shelves has given me a reason to rethink building a stand for my turntable using 3inch square aluminum tubing, heli-arcing the joints, powdercoating it and then filling the tubing with a urethane/ lead mixture to redude resonances. Maple would be easier to work with, and wouldn't require any additional damping materials. Anyone have any comments one way or the other?