Do stands make a difference for equipment?

There's what, fifteen or twenty competent vibration isolation stands and platforms for audiophiles since ye olde Seismic Sink and Vibraplane, you know, Hacyonics, Ginko, Relaxa Magnetic levitation, air bladders, mechanical springs, Mana, Minus K, not to mention a plethora of Newport platforms, TMC isolation platforms, roller bearing assemblies, etc.? Has anyone ever considered a comprehensive comparison of these devices and writing up a review? That would be cool.

Its been suggested. No takers.

Mapman,
Love your posts, but this time I must respectfully disagree with one of your statements. I do not believe that stands, racks or platforms are always meant to "tweak the system for a particular sound".
Using Starsound as an example, because I use a couple of their products, the idea is to drain vibrations, and lead them away to ground. What you hear when that is done should be the actual sound of the supported component less the vibrations and the noise they cause. I wouldn't consider that tweaking the sound, but rather revealing it.
Your point about the importance of room acoustics is certainly true, but people who have not experimented with effective vibration draining devices are truly missing out on a cost effective (depending on the brand) sonic improvement.

Rox,

YEs, I agree 100% on the purpose which is to enable peak performance of target gear, nothing more.