hey jaspal,
i've never owned a glass shelf rack system like yours, but i have tried several types of shelf materials
under my components. Before i ever tried isolation + coupling, i just coupled my TT to the MDF shelf below with a set of pointed brass MS footers - for over a year. at that point i had not spent $ on platforms or Isoblocks - i thought it was unnecessary.
for one experiment, i compared a 2'x2' chunk of 1/2" thick glass from work (from an old window), a 1" thick slab of white marble, a 2" thick maple end grain butcher block & 2 difft types of 18"x18" floor tiles - slate and marble (like you'd get at Home Depot)....to see which sounded the best.
the butcher block was much, much more musical sounding than the glass, marble, MDF or floor tiles. Everything but the butcher block was fatiguing and nasty sounding. Keep in mind i was
simply laying these panels on top of the MDF shelves of my Lovan rack, then putting the TT on top.
i make cd's from LP's and have found this to be a most accurate way of testing tweaks...so i set-up the TT under each shelf type for a day or 2 then made a CD. the CD's will highlight any & all SQ issues...the glass, MDF and stone tiles definitely had SQ issues...the maple had BASS. As a tweaker, i always follow the bass.
I want a tight, musical, detailed, warm & dynamic 3-D soundscape - neither glass nor stone nor MDF provided that while sitting underneath a coupled turntable.
based on my experiences with the suspended platforms, i'll wager that the shelf material isn't as crucial IF you go with a suspended system like i've mentioned - that was the crux of my last post. The material your shelves are made from won't affect sonics much because with the isoblocks, your gear is isolated from the rack itself...
a simple test would be to find a maple butcher block and set it under your tvc (on top of the glass shelf) and listen. use the footers that Nick provides with the TVC. If you hear an improvement, try out a good suspended tonewood platform and well engineered footers in the near future...
butcher block is end grain, its too hard for this purpose, but its good enough to give folks their 1st taste of what tonewood can do for stereo gear.
there is a very steep learning curve when dealing with these issues but once you hear it done properly, there's no going back.
matt
