Albert Porters after market panzerholz plinths

**** The notion of essence is from Aristotle. For him then a particular part
must be essencial while the other parts are 'only' accidental. This doctrine is called 'essencialism' but is untenable in logical, philosophical and scientific sence.****

Namdric, in one of your own posts in a different, previous thread you also wrote:

****I was wrong to suppose some kind of 'objective facts' behind our preferences****.

I disagree.

Aristotle was correct. The notion of "essence" is at the root of many of the discussions/arguments that we engage in, in our efforts to determine the superiority of one "part" over another similar part. It is usually a pointless argument because there is always that pesky issue of "preferences". But, the fact that we all have our preferences does not invalidate the existence of an indentifiable "essence". Or, to use a term dear to audiophiles, an "Absolute". The real issue, as I see it, is the normal and very human discomfort that we all feel at the notion that our own personal knowledge and understanding is incomplete; that there is room for further knowledge and understanding.

In that same previous thread you also correctly pointed out the "we all hear the same way". Putting aside the issue of the "interpretation" of what we are hearing, you are absolutely correct. As concerns music and sound, the "essence" of music is something that is most definitely identifiable and recognizable. Extensive exposure to the sound of live music is not the only way to gain a deeper understanding of the essence of music, but it is certainly the most effective. I say "not the only way", because the power of music is something that will always touch us; in spite of ourselves. But this "essence" that we talk about, as concerns the record/playback process, is something that is primarily at the mercy of those "parts" of the equipment "composition" that concern rhythm. There is where most of what determines the preservation of expressive nuance lies. I don't believe this is a matter of "preference", but in fact, an absolute.

Regards.

Dear Frogman, There is also great joy in discussion with
eloquent persons for the sake of argument. My problem with
the éssentilism in the context of 'composition' is that when you take the 'essential part'apart and remove the 'accidental' one you will have no composition. Ie a composition presupposes more parts then one. The musical works are creations of composers and they are called compositions. I don't believe that the composers will allow
any partitioninig of they work. Thy even have protection
from the law by copyright wich is a part of intellectual property law. So even in the law- matters we need ,uh, the
'composed' parts.Ie a single part regardless of importance or essence will not do.
Regards,

Here is some info for you DIYers that are interested in trying panzerholz .First some back ground info
BKB Industries out of Ontario Canada imports this specialty ply direct from Germany by the skid/ship load
The applications which panzerholz is used mostly heavy industry to Formula 1 including armor car applications ect.

Specification example ,product code B15 @ 2130 mm x 1000 mm x 30 mm, density 87lb/3feet so thats just under 7 feet long by 39 inches wide by 1 inch thick, weight about 130 + pounds cost just under $600.00
Request for sanding @ tolerance of + - 0.3 mm is extra under &20.00

B25 many more laminated layers and weighs in more is $700.00 + a sheet

Now if you wanted or even could buy a single sheet you have to realize what something of this size and weight would cost to ship to your door if it was not feasible for pick up

Briefly speaking with BKB they tell me they have had inquires from individuals from the DIY audio hobby for single sheet purchases ranging in all available thickness all the way to 100mm thick sheets OK looking at the specs of that 30mm thick b15 sheet you need a fork lift for that 100mm thick one and then what.

BKB did indicate to me if there were a standard thickness and size wanted by individuals they would consider a package size and amount cut and sanded but then again size and thickness of b15 or b25 would have to be agreed upon among DIYers in this hobby, another dilemma?

I do have some woodworking skills picked up as a pass time hobby and I understand with further conversation with BKB this panzerholz is not easy to work with and its not just the weight im talking about
On Mr.Porters page here on Audiogon he did briefly mention the difficulty of cutting this plywood, it will dullen the best carbide cutting edges quickly
Another key fact when cutting is using a varible speed carbibed cutting tool used at low rpm,maybe a over head router if you happen to have one sitting around.

Something to think about before calling BKB

Wonder if you can cut it with a waterjet, a la slate.
For comparison, a slab of Pennsylvania slate that is 12 inches square (one square foot) and one inch thick weighs 15 lbs. (Slate from other sources can be more or less dense. For example, Vermont slate, from northern VT, is more dense.) So, a slab of PA slate that is 7 ft long by 39" wide (lets say 3 ft, so I don't have to use a calculator) by one inch thick would weigh 315 lbs. By no means do I mean this (the fact that slate is more dense) to infer that slate is "better" than Panzerholz for plinth-building, because in fact I am coming to believe that a combination of these and/or similar materials might be optimal. And it's quite possible that Panzerholz is superior to slate; I haven't tried it. To be honest, the foregoing information about the difficulties of obtaining and working with Panzerholz just shows the wisdom of ordering a finished plinth from Albert.

Lewm being a wood base product I think using a waterjet cutter would adversely effect it. BKB did send me via email a product information form outlining specific use of carbide cutting tools,polyurathane adhesives only to be used and to seal the product against moisture, swings in temperature and humidity ect once all cutting is completed

I also thought about a constrained layer plinth using soft slate and panzerholz and yes I agree the panzerplywood would not be easy to obtain and in the end may prove too much for the typical DIY to work with, Mr.Porters plinths look to be a good alternative his pricing for material cost labour intensive job as such leaves little for making much profit. At first glance it looks like a simple thing to make but don't bet on it