any one tried the diy flexi table

[ATC FAN]

Hi guys - thinking hard about building the flexi table using 25mm threaded stainless steel bars (turned to a point) and granite or marbles shelves - any one tried this [http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/flexye.html] any one got any views on choice of granite or marble (wife wont like MDF and I wont have it in the house either)

Luckily I have a metal worker and stone masons yard just round the corner. It wont be that cheap but all the reviews seem to think it works -any one tried this?

nb nb auditioning the Missing Link mains as per last post and yep they sound great - John Lee Hooker now released from hi fi system and sitting in my sitting room!!

Grateful for feedback

System

ATC SCM 50 ASL
AVI LAB SERIES CD AND PRE (with iso nodes = they "do" work!!!!!!)
MERIDIAN DAC
BELDEN SPEAKER CONNECTS
MISSING LINK OPUS F MAINS
ATLAS
AUDIO QUEST CD TO DAC THINGY

[lexi]

No . But thinking of making one. Was considering the MDF one bonded together. I have some spray equipment and lots of paint. You can build a good finish up on it.. MDF.......The Opium of the Masses

What about using it with .....A BITUMITE SANDWICH ( she just laughed and gave me)

[Cotlake]

You've got the right idea with shelves made of marble or granite but actually you'll get a better performance using Slate. I can expand on my reasoning on that if you wish but it is mainly about granite and marble being crytaline in make up whilst slate is a layered stone that brings CLD (constrained layer damping) properties which are beneficial for audiophiles. I am an advocate of Slatedeck for my turntable and a few months ago replaced a stand shelf where I previously used MDF, followed by a copy of a Russ Andrews Tortlyte shelf with a slate shelf to support my valve amp. The improvement in performance in terms of tightness, detail and sound stage was significant. I think this DIY unit is good news. I've thought of doing it for a long time. With Slate it could be a good performing cost effective rack and you'll have the added bonus of enjoying the fruits of your labour which makes DIY hi-fi so much better than just buying from the dealer.

[lexi]

Greg . Do you not find that some slate rings? Are you using specific slate?

Westmoreland for example rings especially in the thinner gauge.

Norwegian Rock is another example of ringing as is Welsh and Ballachullish with it`s Flint and Perlite content.

Maybe some of the actual softer(poorer quality) Chinese or Spanish types are best with their dull and somewhat soft thud. If It thought the slate to be better I would use it myself. It can be worked a lot easier than stone Terrazzo or granite .

[Cotlake]

Hi Lexi,

Yes, some slate in certain situations will ring. Infact just about every stone or substance will to some extent or other. The pre-occupation with materials ringing and the hi-fi trade is in my view one of the biggest distractions and red herrings since it was suggested that to get good sound you need to spend a few thousands on inter-connect and speaker wire.

Slate rings as does all stone cut into plates. Actually it doesn't mean anything until you have the plate mounted in a way that will support your kit.

Before writing this I had a quick check just to confirm I wasn't barmy. My Welsh Blue (very hard) TT plinth as mounted on three spikes onto a hardwood sub-plinth onto a spiked Target wall shelf is almost dead. Maybe there is a bit to hear above the dull when knocked. My Grey don't know where it came from shelf the amp is on has slightly higher dull tone on knocking but actually what does that mean in terms of how your kit is going to sound? I would suggest bugger all!

As said, the slate shelf under the amp made a mega improvement for me. I don't sign up to alot of this talk around ringing materials as supports effecting your sound presentation. To put that in perspective, I recognise the need for dull rigidity in speaker cabinets, and also recognise that if a tone arm can ring like a bell (untreated Rega by example), after treatment, the damping can have a significant effect on performance as it does in the Michell TecnoArm. However, in my view that is a different and unrelated issue.

I would say don't worry about it concerning your intention of building an equipment stand. As previously said I'd advocate slate which actually I'd expect to ring less than marble or granite in anycase. Suck it and see and maybe trust your ears. Start with one shelf and see how you go. Basically I think you are maybe being over sensitive about a non-issue fueled by loads of crap written on the net. I remain of the opinion that MDF is crap but actually quite acceptable, Tortlyte is over marketed and not alot better and stone is great. On stone, all are good but Slate is the best. Your choice.

Best wishes,

Greg

[ATC FAN]

You've got the right idea with shelves made of marble or granite but actually you'll get a better performance using Slate. I can expand on my reasoning on that if you wish but it is mainly about granite and marble being crytaline in make up whilst slate is a layered stone that brings CLD (constrained layer damping) properties which are beneficial for audiophiles. I am an advocate of Slatedeck for my turntable and a few months ago replaced a stand shelf where I previously used MDF, followed by a copy of a Russ Andrews Tortlyte shelf with a slate shelf to support my valve amp. The improvement in performance in terms of tightness, detail and sound stage was significant. I think this DIY unit is good news. I've thought of doing it for a long time. With Slate it could be a good performing cost effective rack and you'll have the added bonus of enjoying the fruits of your labour which makes DIY hi-fi so much better than just buying from the dealer.

What a coincidence thats just what I was thinking and the stone yard (they do kitchen worktops floors and bathrooms etc) has tonnes (literally) of all sorts of slate and marble and some slate comes in 30mm which is really thick - so it wont "ring" and is very easy on the eye. In any event I was thinking of painting the underside with some goo to reduce yet further these demon resonances.

As for diy its a doddle if you are lucky enought to have a high tech metal worker and stone mason yard at the end of the road. Just assemble parts made by local artisans - thats it.

As for pointy ends on the legs I was thinking of putting some little spike shoes sunderneath. With that and some blobby iso nodes we should be really sorting out any vibes. I was amazed at the difference jst using a v v heavy table with blobby feet under the cd etc and spikes under the legs - so intrigued to see the results from the full monte - will post pics when done.

[lexi]

Yeah you`re probably right Greg. I certainly don`t want the wife to catch me creeping about at night hitting my equipment with a toffee hammer and a stethascope

[Mike]

I've been meaning to have a go at one of these (among other things ) for ages.

The one I saw had the shelves made from a sort of MDF 'sandwich' where the inside was packed with silver sand, I suppose you could use other fillings too.

Slate shelves would also be an option, or 'sandwich' shelves with spiked slate platforms on top, or, etc etc...

[Primalsea]

If you find a local stone masons to do the slate or granite plinths thats handy as cutting and drilling the stuff yourself would be a labour of love.

Glass is often underated usually by people who don't ultilise properly. 1 sheet of glass rings but placing 2 or 3 sheets of glass on top of each other works very well.

You could also look at natural stone tiles. If you goto a proper tile shop you can buy quite large stone or grnite tiles that are still thin enough to drill yourself. Again you would have to think about a couple of layers to kill resonances that will effect your system.

[Neil McCauley]

The thing is though ....

Utilizing an atomic force microscope, research has recently been able to measure the spring constant of suspended Graphene sheets. Graphene sheets, held together by van der Waals forces, were suspended over silicon dioxide cavities where an AFM tip was probed to test its mechanical properties. Its spring constant was measured to be on the order of 1-5 N/m and its Young's modulus was 0.5 TPa, which differs from bulk graphite. These high values make Graphene very strong and rigid. These intrinsic properties could lead to the possibility of utilizing Graphene for NEMS applications such as pressure sensors, and resonators.

Graphene is considered to be the first truly 2D crystal. There has been some discrepancy whether this assertion is truly valid or not. While an infinitely-large single layer of graphene would be in direct contradiction to the Mermin-Wagner theorem, a finite-size 2D crystal of graphene could be stable. The Mermin-Wagner theorem states that a 2D crystal in a 3D environment would not remain ordered over long distances because of long wavelength fluctuations. It is believed that due to this instability, a large 2D structure will fold-up, or crumple to form a more stable 3D structure. Researchers have observed ripples in suspended layers of graphene.[5] It has been proposed that the ripples are caused by thermal fluctuations in the material. Graphene adjusts to the thermal fluctuations, which could threaten to destroy the structure, by adjusting its bond length to accommodate the fluctuations. Within this framework, it is debatable whether graphene is truly 2D or not, due to its natural tendency to ripple.

Ok, got that?

As for me, I remain undecided. Or perhaps not.

Maybe it's like the great man said; “I may be schizophrenic, but at least my minds are made up.”

Quite.

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