It is a long time ago that I used the Torlyte shelf Ken and it was under a Linn Turntable, which was just an ideal match. By memory the Torlyte was great with light components - say under 15 lbs, but sagged with anything heavier. Also spikes pierced its surface. It sounded fast and agile, if a little light in the bass. There was a slight thunk to the middle of the midrange and a slight crispness to the top end. Not nearly as bad as the crispy crunchy stuff of my current board. That Torlyte board I had would have trouble with my heavy Theta gear. I have been listening to the Corian and hear none of the dynamics or other problems that Recres reports above - this may be due to either the racks being different or the footers used. The Corian is not perfect - there is a slight recession of the mid-range, a slight flattening of images and a bit of grain. But it has wonderful bass and hardly any smearing of highs. Selection of the right footer or damping of the Corian may give decent results. But right now I would say tantalisingly close, but without some improvement in harmonics in the midrange, it would be hard for me to live with. A bit like marble or perspex, it has something going on in the mids that lets it down, but it is definitely better than either marble or perspex.
Shelf Material
I have tried so many different shelf materials, and some are better than others, but I feel like I am just spraying bullets that always miss the bulls-eye. So far, I cannot live with the brightness of glass, the ringing of marble or granite, the sluggishness of acrylic, the muddiness of mdf etc. Light and rigid seems better than heavy and dense - in that I can live with the downsides more easily. I use heavily constructed welded steel racks - spiked to the floor and upward spikes supporting the shelves - and I reckon this is right. I like the way bladder products get rid of the resonances that plague shelves, but find that the way they slow down the pace of the music is hard to accept. Does anyone have some answers on this?
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- 88 posts total
- 88 posts total