To have answers why these vintage tables react so positive to certain material and built methods would be of interest would it not?
I have ideas about that.
First of all the Technics SP10 MK2 and MK3 sound good in their original Obsidian plinth. They sound good with the original Technics arm too.
The MK3 is especially powerful, expending a lot of energy keeping speed perfectly as set. I think any after market plinth, even one made only with multiple layers of Baltic Birch properly bonded, result in an improvement over the original Obsidian.
When you move into a plinth like Steve Dobbins builds, Oswald Mills builds and I build, you simply improve upon lesser methods.
Higher quality, heavier, less resonant materials push these tables up against the best out there, regardless of when they were built. I think belt drive is less sensitive to this but also result in improvement when heavier designs are implemented.
In other words, Mapman is correct
Heavy + rigid = better isolation.
Is it any more complicated than that?
As Raul frequently states, mating these tables (new or old) with proper arm and cartridge combo finishes the job we begin with table and plinth.