How Good Is A Marble Slab at Deadening Vibration


I have a marbles slab that is approx. 42" X 16X 2". A left over insert from a coffee table. I would like to lay it on top of a plant stand table that is 50" X 18X 30" The slab weigh about 70 lbs. II think I have enough space laterally to position a Rega turntable, a Bel Canto line stage, and Rega Apollo CD player and a pair of Red Dragon monoblocks, that could easily be stack vertically if necessary.(Also could place them on the bottom shelf which has a slight V-shaped dip ...probably a run off channel. This would save me three feet of speaker cable on both channels is placed near the bottom)

The plant stand is made of wood and has fairly massive "L-shaped" legs. The table weight is about 40 pounds.

My thinking is that a marble slab should provide excellent isolation from vibration. The only drawback is the left side of table will only be a foot from the right speaker. So I would start the progression of components from right to left to increase the distance to the speaker in question. Would like opinions from members about the pros/cons of this set-up. Thanks, Jim
sunnyjim

Showing 8 responses by csontos

No. 'Decoupling' device, such as magnets or what I use which are soft fiber scratch pads about 3/4" thick under the feet of my gear. I cut them to about 2"X2" squares. They work very well. But I'm interested to know whether the platform would play a role when using these, if someone has experience.
Okay, fine. I'll answer my own question. This topic has come up before and I mentioned I use soft fiber scratch pads under the feet of the gear. About 2.5 in. squares. Virtually nothing gets transferred through them so exotic platforms are not necessary. I was interested in learning about other decoupling methods as Geoff mentioned. I think mine beat the springs, though.

Has anyone tried neodymium magnets?
The ones I buy come from a place called Princess Auto here in Canada. They come in 4x6in. pieces. I use them under my 40lb. TNT200 amps. The amp sits on a veneered piece of particle board suitable for the amp's dimension with full size pad under each corner of the board, down on the carpeted floor. The pads are 3/4" thick. They compress about half way under the weight. For the lighter gear I just cut smaller pieces under their feet and they sit on a shelf on the TV stand. All I can say is there's no lack of detail or extension with them. There is no other materials infused into them such as cleaning agents or abrasives. They are white in color.

Don't know what a post-em is.
I can see this material easily supporting a 100lb. slab at least say 15"x18" square if the entire under-surface was utilized. Possibly more. The issue is lbs. per sq. in.. The more you spread the weight out, the more it can handle.
However, it seems the key is in using material that doesn't ring as has been mentioned, such as polypropylene which has no resonant frequency. And then damp that material. Remember the old Mission speakers? Or bitumen as used in the B&W Matrix.
I've seen neo ring mags beveled on the inside with ball mags to match upper and lower