Review of Butcher Block Acoustics brand Audio Platforms. What is under your components?*

Modulum stands under my Graham LS 5/8 speakers. Made a big difference.

 

Let’s just say I wasn’t skeptical, but wasn’t expecting as much of a change that switching materials did.

I previously had my turntable on top of a slab of granite, which had isolation rubber balls underneath.

I found a guy on Craigslist selling “cutting boards” for $15 dollars. I went to his shop where he had all kinds of different shapes and sizes of wood. I picked up three pieces of maple for $80. I sanded down two pieces and have them under my turntable and CD player.

This is making a lot of difference in sound.

Im headed outside to sand the third and get it under my amp, pronto!

Great thread! Thank you for the suggestions everyone.

 

Would ash wood work? Saw a couple ash butcher blocks at Homegoods the right size for $15

 

I had a similar experience several years ago when I put my amp on 3” maple butcherblock.

I wasn’t expecting a difference. Just wanted to get it off a couple scraps of wood and have a better look.

I was gob smacked when it actually sounded BETTER!

bass tightened and a cleaner presentation.

well worth pursuing.

 

That looks like a piece of serious engineering, I'm thinking we're talking serious money as well, especially as I can't find anyone selling these stands.

On their website they're saying 30% improvement in sound and that seems like a reasonable claim, if such things can be quantified., interesting video.

 

With my no money, a tinkering mind and fascination with the damping blades used by Modulum.

I'm wondering about the feasibility of a DIY approach using a model propeller blade and wave springs, if nothing else it would be a interesting exploration and proof that I'm a audioiphiliac.
Wave spring.
Bearings Online

 

The improvement in sound was unbelievable, across the board. I was highly skeptical at first and had to live on broccoli and Raman noodles for a long time to pay for them. Got them out of David Michael Audio in Michigan.

 

OK I've been thinking about this blade issue and it seems to me that I'd need to use something that has a degree of flexibility, to allow maximum dissipation of energy.

What do people think about this 1mm plastic sheet to cut out the blades, if I try it I'm thinking under my speaker stand's top plate, may be beneficial.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Clear-Plastic-CHOOSE-Making-Windows/dp/B00F3B8FB2?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_5&th=1

 

I posted this image in another thread under the heading of "Full Cleveland":DSCF0887 copy by William Hart, on Flickr
It's a Kuzma XL (very high mass) on an HRS platform (which does use granite, but has some additional material to reduce the ringing characteristics in an aluminum frame) mounted on a Minus K, which uses an interesting combination of springs for negative stiffness that are tuned, combined with vertical beams that "sway" (like an upside down clock pendulum) that, when combined,[1] allow for considerable freedom of movement. It works very effectively to isolate the high mass Kuzma table/arm(s) from footfalls.
I've experimented with all kinds of isolation materials on different components over the years. A fair amount of this can be done DIY if you are patient and willing to recognize that, with positive improvements on some fronts, there may also be negatives. I had this experience in trying different isolation footers for the tube regulated power supply to my phono preamp, trying at least 1/2 dozen different devices. It was like Goldilocks- some too hard, some too soft, finding a balanced sound that gave tightness to the bass without sounding strident on the top was tricky. (One of the cheap decent ones was the Vibrapod cone plus puck).
Pretty much everything in the main system is on some form of isolation or other coupling or decoupling device, from Grand Prix Monaco equipment stands to Stillpoints.
I don't think there is a "one size fits all" solution to some of this stuff simply because you are changing the sound or voicing of the component and that is part of an overall system. I know one guru with insane gear who refuses to use any tweaks - no fancy wire, no isolation or feet or damping other than mass (and a lot of it). I "get" his approach, but I'm not sure it would work for many of us since we do, in effect, tune our systems by using these aftermarket products.
For the OP, did you try putting the butcher block on top of the bicycle inner tube?



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[1] Explained by the inventor: The Scientist - September 2007 - Lab Tools - Current tools and techniques for the lab

 

My TT, Phono-pre, pre-amp & SACD player sit on 2" thick Mapleshade platforms w/cork and rubber footers on a Solid Steel equipment rack. My amp sits on a 4" thick Mapleshade amp stand and footers. Works very well.

 

Some people are spending in excess of £8000 for isolation racks etc and usually when someone has a budget to buy a system, you rarely see members allocating a % for isolation.

One manufacture is saying a 30% improvement, so what % of your budget should go to racks etc?

 

It is about 10% of my system, give or take.

 

Long story short. I took my Turntable off of my maple butcher block (2.25" Thick) briefly as I awaited a new block (I moved the old one to my amp). One record told me the difference. DSOTM was lifeless and dull. Put the new block in and back to the analog goodness.

I use cork/rubber isolation pads under the maple block.

Well worth it for not much money. My butcher block are not Butcher Block Acoustics, but if I were starting from scratch I wouldn't hesitate to try them.

 

Are Butcher Block Acoustics blocks appreciably different than any other end grain cutting board?

 

I can't say I know the answer but I was discussing different woods with my friend who's a specialist craftsman and he was talking about hardness and Beech. I note that on the Butcher Block Acoustic site that they give the Janka Hardness Scale Score of 1450 and Birch has the same score but it's cheap. In fact I think that in the Modulum video he say's they're using Beech

Now how and if it's that important, who knows, unfortunately it's probably only by listening and doing a comparison but I'm sure my friend could produce their products at a fraction of the price but that's hi-fi!

 

i was wondering the same for Ash. It’s used for bats and has a better absorption rate than maple. Not sure if that helps or hurts.

I’ve seen lots of ash blocks at homegoods etc for cheap but only another 1” thick

 

At the moment the sites really slow for me, so you may have missed my update saying Modulum Systems use Beech.

 

Apparently Bamboo has a Janka Hardness Scale Score of 1400. Does anyone know if this score is important?

 

Hello All on this thread-

Have enjoyed catching up on it today. Please advise. I have my VPI Prime, Fosgate Phono and Luxman Integrated laid out on a very large solid wood credenza top. Credenza is very heavy (as in no way one person is moving it across the room by themselves).

Most of the pictures and I think comments look to be coming from people with Rack type set ups. Do you think the butcher block idea would be a worthwhile $300 gamble for me? Its kind of already sitting on a large piece of wood as it is on my credenza.

 

Different types of Bamboo have different Janka ratings.

I have found that the softer woods seem to attenuate the highs too much, and the harder woods seemed to boost the highs to excess in my system/room.

I've tried different woods for shelves and component support, and liked hard/sugar maple the best in my system. There are soft varieties of maple, such as big leaf maple, that I did not like at all.
Myrtlewood was interesting, a bit darker sounding than the hard maple.
I tried the bamboo cutting boards from Ikea. They are priced very modestly & look nice too, but I couldn't live with tipped up highs.

 

I own a Butcher Block for my LP12. Combining it with a few IsoAcoustic Pucks was like hearing a new cartridge on my LP12, but that's just me! One may hear a bigger improvement, or one may hear NO difference, it's 100% circumstantial and dependent on the listener's listening acuity. And color me silly, I feel its improved the overall 'look' of the rig. So I like how it sounds AND looks!

That said, there's been a few questions about wood density and its affects, if any, on sound quality. I'll leave it to the more technically inclined to answer those questions but I can mention this. On the Butcher Block website they basically offer the same sizes (they'll do customs of course) of boards with the price differential being based on the material (wood) used. The price differences can be substantial, based on material and thickness, which suggests that not all woods are created equal!

….and than there's their latest product, the audio racks!

 

I'm also interested in this question, although I would surmise that all of the components on the credenza are susceptible to distorting the other components on the same surface (irrespective of any floor-level disturbances). My setup involves my turntable, phono and integrated components all on the same credenza, so I'm looking at adding isolation blocks for the turntable and integrated to minimize vibrations for at least those units.

 

What would be the best setup in my scenario.

I currently have vibrapod cones under amp by the feet
That sits on this 1” block
Which sites on 4 vibrapod isolations
Which in turn sits on a solid walnut shelf.

I recently scored some ISO-pucks. Should they just replace the 4 cones under the amp?
Or replace the isolation pads under the block?

 

Start with the simplest solution. Eliminate your Vibrapods and small 1" block. Put the amp on the ISO-Pucks on the walnut shelf. Next I might try putting the amp on the 1" block and put the ISO-Pucks between the block and the shelf. I question that you need to get any more complicated with it than that.