Maple or Granite


I have a Voyd TT and have now tried both maple and granite under the TT. With granite I get a very lively sound the keeps you up on your toes. At times it can be to much so I orderd a Mapleshade 4" platform and tried it under the TT. With instruments such as a sax or trumpet the sound is almost addictive as there is so much air and realism about it. The sound of a panio playing in the background of said instruments is all but lost on the maple. Cymbels are not as clear also.

I am going to try a HRS M3 that is granite and wood together. Maybe I can find the best of both worlds in the HRS.

Anyone else have the same experence as I had with both platforms?

How does maple sound under a tube amp?
glory
I think it depends on your sonic preferences, equipment and setup.

I use a ~4" sandbox for my table. I first tried hard maple butcher block under my 'table. It was cut almost 3" thick and glued edge grain up. Dull, sluggish, boring. A granite slab is working better for me. But then, to give an idea of my sonic preferences, I also don't care for most every NOS tube I've ever tried. I want clear, neutral details with my music. I've heard from some that a 3/4-1" slab of aluminum is even better. Someday I'll give that a try.

My amp sits below my 'table. Also on a bed of sand and a granite slab. Here the granite is just to match the top shelf. I use Symposium roller blocks under my amp so it doesn't matter as much what the surface is.
I have tried both under my turntable. I found the granite to be cold, sharp and lifeless to the point of unlistenable. Maple on the other hand was warm and lifelike and and a vast improvement to my audio system.
Heavy springs between two platforms is a variation of the Promethean platform. Ideally the TT suspension would be unsprung so as to improve coupling between the TT and the top platform layer. The spring layer below decouples from earth, and the platform and plinth above couples the motor/stylus to a more substantial & absorbent mass than is available in the stock TT chassis/plinth.

I heard improvement with this system using both sprung & unsprung TTs. One could experiment by trying the Voyd on its spring suspension & also with its suspension clamped down. I tried both set-ups with my VPI TNT and preferred rigid coupling inside the VPI suspension towers in lieu of the stock sorbethane.

I found that although a sandbox is a good dump for vibration from a TT, a sandbox does pass vibration from earth to the TT and from the rack underneath acting as an antennae for acoustic waves propagated by the speakers. So I elevated my sandbox on springs with a maple layer below the springs. Even with a very solid rack on a cement floor this system improves coherance. Others I know have heard similar improvements with Raven and VPI Scout TTs.

In any event for $35 it's an easy experiment.
I'm a big fan of Neuance platforms by Greater Ranges. I have my TT on a Mana Rack with a Neuance platform. Before I got a Gran Prix Monaco Rack I also had my cd player on one. I've used any number of materials and nothing did what the Neuance platforms did. I've heard much more expensive stuff and not heard any appreciable difference, and nothing else (maple, other woods, cones, acrylic, cast concrete, granite -- rough and polished -- and combinations of these) did nearly as much. Especially on the TT.

But if you can spend the $$$, the Gran Prix stuff is pretty amazing.

R
Rbirke, For my Linn Sondek the Neuance platform has been the best also, not coincidentally it is rigid and light weight which is exactly what Linn prescribes. I don't know if would work for the Voyd though, but certainly worth a try.

Happy Listening!