Isolating your electronics from unwanted acoustical and mechanical energy is just as important as choosing components that compliment each other. 

1 Mass:

Nothing is more affective isolating acoustical energy than mass.  An object with greater density requires a greater amount of energy to excite, or vibrate. 

2 Resistance to resonance:

All materials have a resonant frequency.  Some materials are easier than others to excite.  Most metals are a poor choice, uniformity is bad.  It is better to use materials with low acoustic resonance.

3 Form and function:

Cinderblocks and 2x12’s will hold up even the most expensive gear.  Your gear deserves better, you deserve better, and we can’t forget the “WAF” (the Wife Acceptance Factor).  If it’s ugly it’s not going to sit in the middle of your listening room.

Granite has one of the highest specific densities of desirable shelving material, when compared to glass, metal and wood and composites.  In other words, granite is heavier per square foot than most available materials.  Granite’s only drawback is it’s weight in shipping.  This is the compromise most stand manufacturers make.

Granite’s most overlooked characteristics is how it is made up of not just one single element but in most cases several differing elements, densities, and non-uniformity.  Granite is a conglomerate of minerals, kind of a stew that was mixed rather poorly.  By being so un-uniform, the granite dampens from one end to the other.

MDF is widely used in the Audio Industry because it is ideal in many ways.  It is dense, has mass, is flat, stiff, dimensionally stable, resistant to humidity, and most important is it is acoustically dampened.

Alone, one singular wood would be unacceptable, but when used appropriately, and combined in a system with Granite, MDF, and Sorbothane it can, and does work well.

Any designs that mostly incorporate one single material.  Solid wood of one species, steel framing, any stand that is “Tuned” to one specific resonant frequency.  This might be effective at 400hz but how many frequencies does music have at any one moment?

Metal frames.
One of the biggest reasons to avoid metal framing is how efficiently metal rings even when filled with expanding foam, sand, and steel shot.  Using fillers lower its resonant frequency but doesn’t eliminate it.

I’m sorry but many companies sell products that promise unrealistic results based more on gimmicks and salesmanship, than true science and fact.

It strikes me as funny where I read this on message boards, web sites, especially competitor’s web sites who use metal frames, a single uniform wood species, and lightweight shelving.  (See second paragraph of granite above)

Take a second to think about that statement.  What is ringing?  In order for a material to ring it must be excited at a resonant frequency.  Don’t all materials vibrate?  Even water has a resonant frequency. 

I’ve found the best systems for isolation use at least 3 complimentary materials that taken individually all have desired properties, and when acting as a group, support each other, and even more importantly cancel out each other’s weakness.

My findings and decision to go against hype is a fact that is overlooked when using granite.  The more uniform a material is the easier it is to get it to get it to “ring”.  Think of a metal bell versus a clay pot.  The bell has uniform density, thickness, weight, and shape.  A clay pot is not uniform.  What rings longer and easier?  Which requires more energy to excite?

email: andy@hhgstands.com