Do stands make a difference for equipment?

I nam sure they do, as long as you avoid glass shelves. I use a good quality, but not expensive wood stand and add decent footers, which can be a cheaper way to good isolation, but I am sure they make a difference.
I would say TT> tube amp or pre amp> speakers, in that order of sensitivity to isolation

I disagree with Elizabeth on this one.
Rockadanny, my results with the Star Sound Sistrum SP-101 stand and their brass Audio Points beneath all of my components is as you described.The improvement in sound was rather and plesantly significant.At least in my case they performed as advertised. I find them very cost effective for the improvement they provide.
Regards,

The British and American approach to audio stands is very different. The Brits favour a "lighter is better" approach to manage and channel away vibration and jitter. The US approach is a "heavier mass" isolation approach.

Which is better? Impossible IMO to generalize; it depends on your particular gear. Anecdotally IMO it further depends on added sensitivities introduced as one moves up the $$ chain for that gear.

I've bought and use(d) the stands and tweak products as follows:

(i) I had the Mapleshade Samson audio equipment rack/stand along with their brass footers. It/they worked relatively well in my old set-up, particularly for the CDP. I sold it cuz a dealer recommended a custom bespoke audio stand based on the UK model Naim Fraim design . I was skeptical, so I auditioned it at home -- he was righ-- that new stand outperformed it by no small margin. Curiously, in the new setup there are no brass footers either.

In fairness, the new bespoke audio stand is much much more expensive (6 X) and now it really shined that much more with much much more expensive hardware sitting on it (cdp and integrated amp ~ again 6 X) ) as my new kit . I am guessing that the higher up the $$ food chain one goes, the effects (and sensitivities) of ALL accesssories and tweaks become more dramatic.

(ii) Previously I also bought the MS kiln-dried maple 4 inch platform with the heavyweight brass footers for the old and new CDP to sit on. It worked relatively well in the old kit but was a dud in the new modded Naim Fraim approach set-up. I now use it and the footers as a very good isolation base in my "B" kit.

To ask which is the "best" is analagous to asking "how long is a piece of string? ASN: "... it depends(including budget)..."

I have not owned every rack on the market so I can't make a definitive statement on the subject like Elizabeth and it would be nice to know her experience with racks to judge the validity of her opinion. I wish her statement was true...It's not. It's an opinion based on incomplete experience unless she's owned every rack. The effect of proper vibration management and resonance energy transfer was a "slap you in the face" upgrade in my system. I can't make a judgement for anyone else, but I have Agear to thank for helping me understand it's importance. There is no going back for me.