The Reindeers were knackered!

quote:

---

Here's a tip for you Fraim owners - I decided to take mine right down and re-check everything. In about 3 months, it's amazing how the fittings have slackened off. Get out those lovely Fraim tools!

---

Great tip J.N.!- I'll forgive you now for buying those new boxes ;-)...man I really didn't want to break the rig down just to check Fraim fasteners and find them tight (it's been 6 months since the last check). Guess I'll be getting the spanner out tomorrow night (instead of ceedees) while The Wife does a Girl's Night Out.

regards,

dave

P.S. Mouse pad on top of the cds? (Gotta give my hockey pucks another go since I added the Fraims). Also, have you considered making the right Fraim cds/empty shelf/202?

P.P.S. ENJOY the new gear!!!!

[This message was edited by dave simpson on SATURDAY 21 December 2002 at 00:42.]

The 'mouse mat' isn't.

It's a square of that rubber weave stuff that you put on tables/car boots etc: to stop things sliding about. It's ideal to protect the top of the CDS from disc cases/puck etc:

I didn't consider putting the pre-amp on the bottom shelf as the two items shouldn't have any effect on each other; but it would be interesting to try.

It's annoying really, as I had a NAPSC with the 202, which is is a pretty little box now with a mains IEC socket.

It would have looked good on the spare shelf, but the little blighter is best kept away from the pre-amp stuff as I'm sure you know.

Ahhh... I thought the mat was there for case dampening reasons.

I know what you mean regarding the NAPSC...I keep mine as far away from the gear as it's cord will allow.

Give it a go with the empty shelf in the middle of the Fraim, its a nice improvement with my setup (cds-mk 1 transport/empty shelf/102)--less "hi-fi" sounding. FWIW-I believe it was Paul Stephenson who first turned us on to the "empty middle shelf between source and preamp when on Fraim" tweak.

regards,

dave

That looks an impressive system you have there.

I agree with you that the Fraim needs to be tightened every few months and the levels need re-balancing every once in a while.

I like to take my whole system appart every few months and start again. Its amazing what a difference this can make to the system.

Regards

NB

J.N. and others,

Nice one...late last night I went ahead and tore down two fraim stacks, nipped up the fasteners and reassembled (total time down: 30 minutes). Basically all the shelf cones were loose a full turn and 1 base spike needed nipping up by a tenth of a turn. Results: firmed up and refocused the sound a bit. (I'm really glad the sound doesn't fall apart more when this stand needs maintenance.)

I'm going to check my Fraims every three months from now on (last check was 9 months ago-not 6 as I posted earlier).

Jeremy,

No more unusual than adding empty levels of Mana between components....and like phasing Mana, it changes the sound--IMO for the better.


regards,

dave

I lever up each leg of the Fraim such that the tommy bar goes into the hole in the cone and tighten up the cone, the leg only has to be lifted up about 1/4 " to get clearance.

I use a large spanner to act as the lever (the Jax) bit. I think that a lever similar in design to the device used to open ring pull cans but made of metal rather than plastic would be ideal for lifting the Fraim leg. The job reallly needs an additional pair of hands to steady the Fraim stack if it is in danger of toppling.

'Tis a great pity that the tommy bar holes in the cones are so close to the tip - a 1/4" a bit closer to the broad end of the cone and tightening could be so easy that it could be done every week with no need for the use of strip downs or the use of the Jax. Unless the hole/length position is sonically optimsed to minimise harmonics.

Derek

J.N.,

If you have enough space, I would recommend trying a setup with the two Fraims further apart.

When I got my two three-level Fraims, I set them up about a foot apart. Sounded fabulous! After three weeks I disassembled everything to retighten the screws and put the two racks as close together as you have them because I thought it looked better. However, the sound changed -- it was subtle, but something wasn't quite right, the sparkle was gone. Went back to a foot and everything returned to normal. Moving one of the Fraims was a matter of 20 minutes. It is a very easy-to-use stand.

I believe anything under 30cm (either vertically or horizontally) between transformer kit and non-transformer kit will compromise performance.

Thomas

Thomas

Many thanks for the advice. I've had a look, but the CDSII 'burndy' would only allow about extra 3 inches of separation.

It makes sense that better separation brings sonic benefits.

J.N.,

I see -- since you have the source components on the right you've got the Burndy sockets on the outside left and right. If you reversed the setup, you'd have them on the inside left and right, giving you much more Burndy "stretch".

BTW, the 30cm I mentioned refer to the distance between components, not the stands (that would really be stretching it). That's also what Naim recommend in their manuals.

Thomas

I have experienced how over time slackening of fittings can change the sound of my sistem, in particular the screws for drive units on my IBLs and spikes on loud speakers, leveling of my turntable stand etc.

I also have experienced that turning my system off especially for more than a few minutes, also changes the sound and things need to burn in again.

I get round this by being careful, e.g. mute amp disconnect I only powering off when absolutely necessary e.g. relocating the rack. For me, if I power off the pre and power for a few minutes and then turn back on I find the sound is more impressive (or more HiFi) but after listing for a while get tiring a starts to grate and it takes a few days to get back to normal. If I power of for an hour or more then days become weeks before consistency returns with some really bad days and sometimes days where it sounds out of this world.

I don’t have a fraim, but I will be changing my rack and its on the list of possibles.
From the posts, just tightening things – can this be done without powering off, I assume it can but would like this confirmed. For those that disassembled and reassembled the fraim e.g. Thomas K – “The sparkle was gone”, NB – “I like to take my whole system a apart every few months and start again” . Do you do this without powering off, Otherwise are you sure that the change is not just due to powering things on and off. Or is the effect of a out of drift fraim have more of an effect than powering on and off. If I had to reassemble every 3 months then the fraim is not on my list due to the hassle and the change caused by powering things off.

To err is human; to really foul it up requires a computer.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Stuart M:
For me, if I power off the pre and power for a few minutes and then turn back on I find the sound is more impressive (or more HiFi) but after listing for a while get tiring a starts to grate and it takes a few days to get back to normal. If I power of for an hour or more then days become weeks before consistency returns with some really bad days and sometimes days where it sounds out of this world.

---

Stuart,

Exactly ! I am glad that someone else has the same perception of initially "more HiFi" presentation segueing into irritiation and followed by the good day/bad day rollercoaster. Safety in numbers eh ?

Stuart,

I moved the rack without powering down the components. Dead easy since you can load/unload the Fraim as you assemble/disassemble it (i.e. you don't have to slide the components in from the front -- you just set the first one down on the base level, with your cables connected, add the next level and component and so on).

Thomas

Damm - Another reason to get a fraim if I can dissasemble and reassemble without powering down.

To err is human; to really foul it up requires a computer.