Do stands make a difference for equipment?

Charles, it is not arrogant. I had Copulare racks :-)
Yes, my components are so good that there are no further improvements based on wood blocks. But you can try it yourself without spending a fortune...click me

My steel stand has spiked feet and each shelve is also spiked. Under each shelve I have another shelve with 5 of Herbies big fat dots sandwiched between.
Total cost, about $500.
How much better can a expensive stand improve on this?

When your doodads cost as much as your basic electronic equipment, you are in lala land. Even spending 25% on doodads is insane.

Conjecture is not germane to the discussion. I will ask you for the second time: what stands have you yourself tried and what does your current system consist of?

Investment in better brain (Design) is the way to go.

Yes and no. What constitutes better design? A lot of us get suckered into paying gobs of cash for "better design" only to find out its slick window dressing. Syntax, what is your experience with dedicated stands, etc?

Elizabeth,
I frequently agree with your no nonsense, common sense views on sound systems. If I were you, and had not experienced the difference that Sistrum stands could make under my speakers, I too would consider them a wasteful purchase. I recently spent $60.00 on EVS ground enhancers, and while they did add to soundstage coherency a little in my system, I probably would not spend the money again for the small difference I perceive. The $20.00 AMR fuse is a different story. A substantial improvement in midrange clarity for very little money. Would I spend 60 or 100 dollars on a different fuse if I knew for a fact that it was a little better sounding? No.
My point is that sadly, it is nearly impossible to know what is or is not going to be "worth the investment " in your system until you try it. It is always a gamble.
Where I disagree with you in this case is believing that spending more than a given amount on such things is foolish. I don't see why it would matter by what means improvement is made, as long as it is genuine. In the case of the Starsound speaker supports, there is a shocking level of improvement. Of course, in your case, you use Maggies, so I don't think it is possible for you even if you cared to do it.

Syntax,
I can understand your components may gain no benefit from that particular wood product. I believe that properly approaching vibration management with solid engineering-grounding solutions would improve the performance of all components to some noticeable degree.I agree that the level of change will vary depending on specific applications.
Regards,