Hello fellow Naim lovers,this is my first post.Just a little background on me first,I was Born in Lancashire England and lived there until I was nine years old,my family immigrated to Canada,where I now reside.I started my Naim journey with a unitiqute 2,with Neat Iota's for speakers,this was about three years ago now.I demoed a nap 100 with the Unitiqute,which I liked a lot,but did not buy it,I upgraded to a Supernait 2 a couple of months later,and used the Qute as a digital source,which worked good.Then I added a High-cap dr to the Sn2,another improvement.Next came the Hugo in between the Qute 2 and Sn2,better again.At this point I felt I was getting too redundant,so I traded everything in,and now have an N 272/250dr combo,with Naca5 speaker cables,and 2 power lines...the speakers are Canadian made Taksim Reference 3a's.I also have an Xps-dr on layaway,waiting at my dealer,needless to say,I am very happy with the sound.My question is about adding glass,balls and cups to the Fraimlite that I just bought.I have bought the ball bearings locally,and plan on doing the same for the glass(to Naim specs)... for now I was going to use nuts under the bearings,just to get me started.I am a machinist for a career,so I am pretty sure I can make the cups myself,but it will take a bit of time,or I could purchase them too,I am just trying to save some cost.How much "better" is it using the proper cups,compared to nuts? Has anyone gone this route,and have any advice for me?Also,is there a big jump in sound quality by adding the glass,balls and cups to the Fraimlite?Thanks for any replies in advance.
Posted on: 01 November 2016 by No quarter
Thanks joe,that link you gave me will help.All the other photos you see are of my home theatre set up in my basement,I used to have the white c1's down there but replaced them with xd 600's.The white excite 12's are used for rear surrounds,and the Neat Iota's are used as side surrounds.The Naim gear is all in the 2 channel room with the Fraimlite and Taksim 3a speakers.
Posted on: 14 November 2016 by No quarter
A little update on this,i received my 5 shelves on the weekend and installed them yesterday with low expectations (sound wise) and after the first night of listening,i am now a believer that "Full Fraim" does make a positive difference.They not only look fantastic,the sound is improved...a lot.
Posted on: 02 December 2016 by crustycottage
Gday No Quarter.
I was in a similar predicament with fraim lite , with no cups, balls and shelves. I purchased some balls off a WA bearing supplier, found some similar size glass to naim size, and sat it all on some stainless nuts for a while. I ended up buying the cups & balls from Uk Naim dealer and it was in fact reasonable but you have to shop around. I made up a wooden template G clamped to shelf, and used a hand router at set depth locked, and machined recesses for locating your cups and balls. The effects of the glass shelf were very impressive, to the point I bought a single fraim level just for my CDX2.
Enjoy your Fraim,
Crusty
Posted on: 02 December 2016 by No quarter
CrustyCottage
My homemade cups,balls and shelves have been in place for a couple of weeks now,i am very happy with the finished product.I do not really see a reason to bother cutting in the recesses at this time,since everything is in place and i can't see any reason it might move on me.I might consider doing it,if i decide to strip it all down one day,i am curious as to where you got your dimensions for the recesses?Do you have any photos of what you have done?I would post photos of mine,if i had a clue how to do it,any thread i read about posting photos,talks about a Christmas tree symbol,which i can't seem to find...i assume they mean the symbols at the top of this box i am now posting in.
Cheers
Posted on: 02 December 2016 by crustycottage
I demoed a fraim many moons ago and checked the relevant measurements, so I have the recess dimensions & positions. Basically the machined clearance recesses helps locate the cup squarely in the right position relative to the glass. The fraim cup has a lip on the bottom outer edge that ensures a full contact in the hole with no rocking. Sorry I can't publish the dimensions as probably against the forum rules.
Cheers Crusty
Posted on: 02 December 2016 by Manu
No Quarter,
Do not use tape to secure the cup to the shelves, it will completely defeat the purpose of all that...
The veneer cut-out of the Fraim makes a big difference sound-wise, it is not only to secure the cup to the shelf. It is quite easy to do an A\B on a Fraim... MDF to Stainless is much better than MDF, Glue, Veneer, Stainless.
It looks to me a lot of job to upgrade the Fraimlite to what will never be a Fraim... (wooden shelf geometry matters, veneer cut-out)
BTW we do stock all the bits and spare parts of Fraim.
BUT you have to start with a real Fraim base, without it all you will do in upper levels will not matter much.
I would call dealers and ask them if they are interested to trade-in your Fraimlite. I can also tell you that we have many demo Fraim shelves (used in shows, ...). You can ask your dealer to contact me, there are many options for you...
Posted on: 02 December 2016 by No quarter
Manu
I did not end up using any glue or tape,my cups sit directly on the wooden shelf,although i have no recess there,i don't see how a recess will affect the sound,can you explain the reason for this.I was intending on buying the full Fraim base at a later date.I was under the impression that Naim themselves state that Fraimlite can be upgraded to Full Fraim,and several members have replied that they too went this route.
