My Z540 rack is perfect for my headphone system except that the top shelf is *just* a bit too small for my CDP -- a bit of each foot hangs over each edge. I'd like to get a slab of marble or slate or some other heavy, solid material that is a bit bigger and place it on top of the top shelf. Here's the rack:

http://www.audioadvisor.com/store/pr...20Audio%20Rack

I was thinking I should put some sorbothane on the top shelf, then a 15" x 17" slab, then the CDP. This should give the CDP a nice platform, as well as give it some isolation (via the sorbothane).

Any ideas on what to use for the "slab"? I've seen the "Big Rock" platforms, but I think that's overkill (and I don't know how much I believe in them for that kind of money). I was thinking of trying to find a nice slab of marble from Home Depot

Well, that's funny... or not hm....
A friend needed exactly the same thing, about 50x35 cm slab of marble.
He got it from a place when they make...gravestones, no kidding. He said they had different thicknesses and even different colours and they didn't charge much.

arble, limestone, soapstone are all much softer than granite. Call around to some fabrication shops because they usually have scraps 1/2" to 1" thick. Better yet, visit them in person, since they might tend to turn you away by phone.

You can easily get a piece of hardened plate glass cut to whatever size you need. Just make sure they sand the edges. Clear glass would least affect the look of your stand.

I hope the quest goes well, I'm just gonna move this to the general discussion area

What? Are slabs not accessories to electronics?

Here's what Mapleshade records says:

"Massive platforms made of granite, marble, corian (or more exotic plastic composites), graphite, plywood, medium density fiberboard, or glass can all work quite well. In our experiments the actual platform material makes more difference than the mass. (This is not surprising, if you view the platform as the sink or ground for the vibrational energy being drained out of the equipment by the conepoints). A heavy slab of maple or maple butcherblock (2" thick or more) sounds better then any of the above materials—and sounds better than cherry, oak, walnut, poplar or mahogany."

Or get a granite surface plate fom a machine shop supply catalog. I got a 12" X 18" x3" Starrett black granite plate with rubber feet for around $170.00. It is flat to lots of zeros. I use it at work for reference measurements, not audio.

"Imported" plates are a lot cheaper, but I hate working with cheap tools. Starrett's tools are not cheap!

Home depot works. I've gotten some pretty cheap marble for my subwoofer and sandstone for my speaker stands. They work better than good speaker stands.

Edit: I mean that they make more of an improvement than speaker stands would, not that I have speaker stands made out of sandstone.

Well, I needed a slab for my speakers to fit on the stands. I ended up getting some ceramic floor tiles, 1' square, should work pretty well. Maybe not large enough for what you want, but ceramic is still a possibility.

Update: I spend half a day Saturday calling every glass/marble/granite/floorcovering/kitchencountertop/etc. place in the area. I finally got a tip from a place that does custom kitchens -- he gave me the number of a guy who imports granite and cuts it for countertops and floors. So I called they guy, and he supposedly has "scraps" on a regular basis. I'm supposed to go over later this week and check out his granite scraps. I'll let you know the outcome!