Maple platforms

IME, MDF rings at certain frequencies so by itself doesn't work very well for 'table stand. I think you're on the right track with trying to isolate the MDF from the Rega.

I've built my own equipment and turntable stands using maple and walnut but they also incorporate sandboxes as shelves. I'm also building a pair of speakers using maple and walnut. However, maple directly under my turntable did not work well at all for me. It smeared notes badly and killed dynamics. Granite shelves in the sandbox worked much better for me. Similar experience with arm boards I made from maple and one from birch ply. I agree with the other posters that much denser, exotic woods work much better. Cocobolo, for example, is excellent.

I'm just making speaker platforms in the same vein as this thread. I was told "the harder the wood, the less sonic signature it will leave". So I compared the specific gravity and density of the woods available and have a couple of blocks of Wenge, ready to be oiled and finished.

I'm doing this b/c the speaker designer suggested it for a suspended wood floor. I will report results.

Hatari, I would be interested in the results as I have a suspended wood floor as well and have been looking for a speaker platform to deal with the issue. Feel free to email me offline with your solution and results.

Yes, a lot of spruce for bowed strings did come from the Val Di Fiemme (in Italian) also called Val De Fieme in Friulian language. But only tops and perhaps sides are made from the relatively soft spruce. The bottom was mostly made from maple -- or poplar, which is endemic to the Cremona/Milan environs. Even Antonio Stradivari used ultracheap poplar for cello backs.

Clio09: will do, am expecting all materials shortly and will finish oiling soon. Will post in a few weeks with results.