Wood blocks underneath components?? snake oil?


Hi, I have read that putting some sort of woood blocks underneath components helps in the sound. In particular, I believe Ayre actually suggests doing this. Can anyone explain to me how this helps?
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Pops, I must warn you against using oak. The acorns act as mini diffusors, plus they are known to lose their leaves in the winter. Stick w/pine. You're on the right track though.
OK, that's enough already. You've taken a perfectly good thread and turned it into something I woodn't ever want to visit again.
Well, this thread prompted me to try a bit of experimentation. I bought a bit of good quality mahogany and mpingo (african backwood) 1"x1" stock. My reasoning being that these woods are about as sonically dissimilar as any pairing. Mahogany is mellow & woody, Mpingo is so dense it sounds almost like a ceramic when you click two blocks together. I cut several sets of blocks in the small size, golden ratio size Cardas offers. When these are inserted under my cd transport & dac, they most obviously shift the tonal emphasis of the sound, more so than I expected. Mpingo, used exclusively, imparts a definite treble emphasis. I'd say that I like the transport sans blocks, on it's own feet but supported by a thick maple platform. A mixture of two mahogany blocks & one mpingo block under the dac does sound a little bit better that stock footers. Skeptics may scoff, but there is a definite tuning effect possible with wood footers.
Yep Photon46, exactly why all the shelves my gear rests on is solid Maple butcher block 2.5" thick.

I have not tested all the possibilities but Maple is excellent.