Component rack

You could dump your kit on the floor and it would still sound good but placing it on a rack will genuinely make it sound better.

I suspect from your posting that you are reluctant too spend to much money in order to keep the wife quiet.

Normally you would be told to try Fraim, Hutter, Mana or Quadraspire but these tend to start at around the £700 area.

One bet would be to click on to www.hififorsale.com and then click on stands.

You will find loads of good second hand stuff for around £100.00 - £200.00.

I have a Hutter rack and it genuinely improved the sound of my system no end. So they do make a lot of difference.

Regards

Mick

Well, I wouldn't want to stop you talking about tits but the 'u' in Hutter is pronounced like the 'o's in foot not hoot, so I guess you'll just have to stick with having a nice rack instead.

Racks do make a difference and I give 1 vote for isoblue.

Brendan

I heard that Mana should be pronounced "Arse"

I've found the most cost-effective VFM rack for (not only) Naim is this one:

(btw: this system is not mine!)





For the price of a few CD's you have a fair sounding and imho good looking rack, in different colours available.
You can adjust the shelve height, and put some cones/spikes under it, and voila
(another nice bonus compared to most of the megabucks racks is that you don't see all the ugly cable spaghetti)

What it is..? It's the IKEA 'CORRAS'.

If I didn't bought myself a Quadraspire Q4 support early this year, I'd now probably have a Corras

regards,
Alco

I bet if Ikea made a perfect copy of Hutter, they could knock it out for £35.

Thank you all for your kind suggestion. Having read all the advice, I leaning toward Quadraspire Q4. Someone offered it to me for ~380 USD. I can't see the product in person and must be mail ordered.
But Alco mentioned a IKEA Corras as a possible substitute. It looks pretty decent and I am sure it costs much less than Quadraspire Q4. By spending extra bucks on cones can further help the sound quality.
However, some people and the sales person indicated that it is nice visually and enhances
sound further. But Ikea Corras costs much less and, by adding cones, can also enhance the sound quality. I need some advice as to what would be a great choice. I do not know what to do.

Thanks in advance.

Quadraspire Q4 is ok, but the Reference version that I use is much better and your jaws will drop if you use it even with the s/h non-holes-cut-out versions available on pink fish for about 300 quid.



Regards,

Steve.

I have a Quadraspire Q4 but discovered that it is 17(!) times the price of an IKEA Corras!

Auch...

So, Alco are you saying you would rather own IKEA Corras than Quadraspire Q4?

Thanks

Cyu - If it were me, I would get an Ikea Corras bedside cabinet ('cos that's what they are) for the price of a couple of pizzas, put your gear into it and then spend some time doing some homework on which sort of rack you really want. Decent racks are costly and may need as much cash as buying another Naim box - so don't rush into anything until you have examined & heard all the options. Take your time - there is no rush.

quote:

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I heard that Mana should be pronounced "Arse"

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And I heard that people who heard that should be pronounced "gits".

cheers

Nigel

If you ring the nice people at mana they will tell you what they can do to assist re a honeymoon period, and if you no like you can send it back. You could then chat up your local dealer to borrow racks they sell, and do the same.
I would not buy any rack before doing a home listen with it, regardless of peoples 'pro this or against that'.
I do have Mana, but will audition Fraim when i've finished the latest hardware upgrades I'm doing...

Have anyone heard Naim electronics on Fraim and actually not like it or prefer another rack over the fraim.

I seem to have this idea that Naim sounds best on Fraim.

Am i too naive?

I've heard Naim on Fraim and on Mana. The Fraim makes it sound more "polite" than Mana. There's also less definition to the notes, less rhythm and flow, etc. With Mana, I feel closer to the sound of the music, without having everything smoothed over.

IMO, Mana wins. Of course, the Fraim is much prettier, if that's important enough to you to compromise the performance of your system. I solve this dilemma by hiding my Mana in the closet, and then I sit back and enjoy the tunes.

I'm not the only one who feels this way. Another fellow here in Toronto bought a Fraim, and ended up selling it to purchase a Mana rack. Even at phase 1 he prefers it to the Fraim.

BTW, I'm not a Mana zealot. I just know which I prefer.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

The link with Mana & "Arse" is that I have never suffered from Builders Bum as much as I have since I got Soundbases for my SBL's. Be warned that Mana will not be a fit and forget rack. Bloody good, but can you be arsed?

quote:

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Originally posted by Mike Hanson:
I've heard Naim on Fraim and on Mana. The Fraim makes it sound more "polite" than Mana. There's also less definition to the notes, less rhythm and flow, etc. With Mana, I feel closer to the sound of the music, without having everything smoothed over.

IMO, Mana wins. Of course, the Fraim is much prettier, if that's important enough to you to compromise the performance of your system. I solve this dilemma by hiding my Mana in the closet, and then I sit back and enjoy the tunes.

I'm not the only one who feels this way. Another fellow here in Toronto bought a Fraim, and ended up selling it to purchase a Mana rack. Even at phase 1 he prefers it to the Fraim.

BTW, I'm not a Mana zealot. I just know which I prefer.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

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Mike,

This is not my experience - I have owned both and for the the stand that you use is not comparable to the stand that I now use. The Fraim is smoother, but more dynamic, more naturtal has texture, IMHO the Hutter is better than teh Mana - and I have owned that.

Just my 2 Euros.

quote:

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Originally posted by Dev B:
This is not my experience - I have owned both and for the the stand that you use is not comparable to the stand that I now use. The Fraim is smoother, but more dynamic, more naturtal has texture, IMHO the Hutter is better than teh Mana - and I have owned that.

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To each his own, I suppose. All I know is that every system I've heard on Fraim sounded "smooth", almost to the point of being dull and washed out (kind of like what "smooth" does when applied to "jazz"). I can see the new slogan now...

Naim Fraim -- The Kenny G. of Support Systems

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Frame (gone) Mana ( gone , oh not yet )

How long will the Mana last at his house once the D-wave gets here ? oh all of 3 seconds, I bet.....and why ?........... Robert.

p.s. one more vote for IsoBlue .
Steve

Steve:

Your post is full of in-jokes that leave most of us scratching out heads in befuddlement. Please tell us what you think of the racks under discussion.

Is Isoblue even available in the US and Canada?

Dev: please check your PTs.

Jim

quote:

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To each his own, I suppose. All I know is that every system I've heard on Fraim sounded "smooth", almost to the point of being dull and washed out (kind of like what "smooth" does when applied to "jazz").

Hmmm...actually, a perfect description of my Mana Mike. My Mana (P1 through 5) sounded compressed, out-of-tune, bandwidth-constricted and rhythmically speaking...a train wreck (compared to a borrowed Fraim or my AF/Base array).

regards,

dave

why yes it is.I just had a bunch of them come in , and I had to stay at work and play with them, they are cool.... I have Frames, QS/ QSRR and a bunch of others I keep to do ,YES STAND DEMOS....by far the IsoBlue is the bargin of all of them, yes we even have some Mana....
The Frames are not that easy to set up , they change with how tight the bolts are , how much finger grease you put on the B/B and the type of floor you have , on carpet you must use Chips or drill screws into the floor, anything not to let the spike dig into the floor....same with Isoblue if you just set these stands up they sound great but after 50 or 60 min. they sound life less,(as the spikes sink into the sub floor) on the Isoblue we have pennies at the base of the spike to stop it from going into the sub floor...with the frames chips, or big steel screws ....all can be proven with a Demo and a bit of time......
As far as the In-jokes , I'm sorry, but sometimes I have to make a joke out of things on this forum

if you want to add more "life" to your frame do what Robert did and double glass the pre amp and CD player with the Tender feet or extra Naim B/B and cups

Hi Steve. I'm glad you weighed in here. The one thing you've pointed out that's not often suggested is that the Fraim needs lots of fiddling to get it to sound its best. There is a constant train of threads here, improperly indicating that Fraim is easy to setup and sounds wonderful as-is, or perhaps can be improved a bit by leaving blank shelves here and there (if you're really extravagant).

Those same people criticize Mana for being difficult to setup and keep tuned. In reality, I believe the Fraim is quirkier to setup and more unstable than Mana. I setup my Mana gear over two-and-a-half years ago, and I haven't had to fiddle with it since. I've checked the occasional shelf, and they're always perfectly in tune. With the Fraim, though, you have to worry constantly about if the glass is touching the peg or not. The shelves are much more likely to slide off. Etc.

I'll have to come in and check out the Isoblue, as I've only seen pictures on the web so far. It will be a challenge to find some time in my crazy schedule, though. I've been going absolutely nuts with work lately, and it's probably not going to settle down for at least another month. Take care.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

quote:

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Originally posted by hi fi fo fum:
I'm sorry, but sometimes I have to make a joke out of things on this forum

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Steve, don't apologise. I have, mostly, no idea what is going on here, and I don't expect to. It's a forum Goddammit.