I received an 18"x14"x1-3/4" Butcher Block Acoustics maple equipment platform two days ago for my bedroom system's ARC LS16 tubed line stage and conducted some listening tests with various footer configurations to determine (1) whether adding the platform to the shelf on which the LS16 sits would improve perceived performance, and (2) how much, if any, improvement (or degradation) I would hear with a given platform/footer setup.
The equipment "rack" is actually a DIY open-backed cabinet consisting of 3/4" red oak sides and shelves. Prior to the BBA platform's arrival, the LS16 sat on four Stillpoints Ultra Mini footers atop the cabinet's top shelf. I'd originally considered ordering spikes with the maple platform. But after BBA's Jim Whithorne said in a phone conversation that in his experience "draining" vibrations was most effective if the drain system extended all the way past the bottom of the rack--something not feasible in my setup--I skipped the spikes. Note that four 2"x2"x3/4" cork-and-rubber "anti-vibration" pads are included as standard equipment with the butcher block for optional placement under the platform.
Cutting to the chase, what wound up as the "magic" configuration in my setup is pictured below--the LS16 on the four Ultra Minis atop the BBA platform sitting on the four anti-vibration pads. While some other combinations with the butcher block (direct coupling to the shelf or mounting the Ultra Minis beneath the maple platform) elicited some perceived improvements in one area or another, each of those was accompanied by a barely-perceptible but noticeable-enough "metallic glaze" that detracted from long-term listening pleasure. Placing the LS16 directly on the maple platform (i.e., without the Ultra Minis as footers) "softened" the overall presentation, "slowing" transients and mushing out bass.
So was the result with the "magic" combination an improvement over what I'd already achieved with a recent series of power cord upgrades that elevated system performance well beyond its pre-upgrade state? Yes...most notably in image and soundstage focus, transient snap, transparency, and bass solidity.
My wife, who'd been wowed by what the power-cord upgrades brought to the listening table, made a few choice comments following a listening session with the "magic combination" built around the BBA maple platform: "Well,
that cleared out some mud!" "Where did all that 'air' come from?"
As always, this is a result achieved on an individual system. So YMMV.