in anticipation of Fraim just ordered...

Congratulations on you purchase, excellent choice of rack, and your stacking order is in my opinion spot on.

Would suggest a nice Xmas bonfire for the  ikea rack 

This is a great investment and you will be surprised by how substantial the sonic benefit is.   It will look great, too.   We get nothing but compliments on ours.

Stacking order seems good to me.

Make sure you dress the cables correctly though.

Congratulations. Would appreciate some updates after you have installed the Fraim. I would expect a significant improvement in sound quality going from the Ikea furniture to the Fraim.

FWIW my equipment which are on a 4-tier rack are in the same stacking order as your planned arrangement except for the NDX (since I don't own one). My Krell CDP and Chord QBD76 are at the top, followed by the NAC 282, NAC 250 DR and the Hicap DR + Napsc at the bottom. I am not on the Fraim though (it's a Finite Elemente).

Congratulations - this will be an excellent upgrade for you. I was also amazed when I got my fraim. Couldn't believe my ears that the sound could improve so much with just a rack...

ryder. posted:

Congratulations. Would appreciate some updates after you have installed the Fraim. I would expect a significant improvement in sound quality going from the Ikea furniture to the Fraim.

 

 

Hi Ryder - will surely update, once i get the Fraim - seems like i have to wait about 3 weeks though, so will get back then...

wenger2015 posted:

Congratulations on you purchase, excellent choice of rack, and your stacking order is in my opinion spot on.

Would suggest a nice Xmas bonfire for the  ikea rack 

Thanks Wenger - not sure its environmentally friendly to use the IKEA for the fireplace, so think i will repurpose it somewhere else in the house;-)

Curious to know how the 300DR is combined with the 282? - my (non-dr) 250.2 is one of the next things being upgraded, and financially i could properly get a pre-loved 300DR for about twice the price of a DR upgrade of the 250.2 - off course including selling /trading in of the 250.2..

Now just forget about it for the next 3 weeks ...

stop jumping up and down ...

don't let that first leap lure you into the next upgrade ...

just sit back and listen to your system as it is now ...

... and then you can jump up and down in 3 weeks time when you hear the difference.

You have my sympathies for the wait ... so frustrating

... but it will be worth it.

Enjoy and yuletide greetings to all,

Allan

There are two types of fraim users

those who have lost ball bearings

and those who haven't.... yet

get some spares from your dealer!

'Sounds good'; 'nuff said!

Wunderbaum posted:

wenger2015 posted:

Congratulations on you purchase, excellent choice of rack, and your stacking order is in my opinion spot on.

Would suggest a nice Xmas bonfire for the  ikea rack 

Thanks Wenger - not sure its environmentally friendly to use the IKEA for the fireplace, so think i will repurpose it somewhere else in the house;-)

Curious to know how the 300DR is combined with the 282? - my (non-dr) 250.2 is one of the next things being upgraded, and financially i could properly get a pre-loved 300DR for about twice the price of a DR upgrade of the 250.2 - off course including selling /trading in of the 250.2..

 

The 300dr works extremely well with the 282, I will probably at some point next year upgrade my Hicap for a Supercap but in the meantime I  extremely happy with my system. 

If I was in your position, and if finance allows,  I think I would go for a 300dr but that said the 250dr is also a superb box, it's a win win situation either way.

Once your new rack arrives you must let us know your impressions, the one thing all naim boxes need is a high quality rack, so no doubt you will be suitably impressed.......enjoy...

"Once your new rack arrives you must let us know your impressions, the one thing all naim boxes need is a high quality rack"

You can say that again. Not only Naim boxes though. I had another manufacturers headphone amp on dem yesterday and had it sitting on a coffee table next to my Fraim and when I moved it onto the Fraim it def. sounded better.

Biggest thing I noticed with the Fraim was that the sound became more musical (increased foot tapping) and more fully controlled base.

Dougie

Wunderbaum posted:

my plan is to stack as this: Top level : NDX, 3rd level: 282, 2nd level: 250, bottom level/base : Napsc and Hicap DR

I have NDX/282/200DR, on Isoblue, not Fraim, but...

Initially I set it up with the NDX on top. Then I put the 282 on top with the NDX in the middle, and the sound improved. Although it seems logical to have the source on top, then preamp, then power amp, I suspect keeping the sensitive preamp circuits as far away from the big transformers in the power amp and PSUs helps. Easy enough to try for yourself when your rack arrives, though. Have fun!

Wunderbaum posted:

Hi All - just wanted to share my excitement regarding the base + 3 shelves full fraim just ordered. It will replace my (hmm hmm) Ikea 50£ "rack" that is currently hosting my Naim gear.

Having followed some posts about Fraim stacking order, just want to run my plan by you for further advice.

As mentioned, it will be 1 x base and 3 additional standard levels. i know that two stacks might have been even better, but for now this is how it’s going to be. Furthermore the normal height levels were chosen for purely aesthetic reasons as i really like the compressed look of classic separates in a standard height fraim rack - even though some more air and separation might be beneficial to the overall sound.

my plan is to stack as this: Top level : NDX, 3rd level: 282, 2nd level: 250, bottom level/base : Napsc and Hicap DR

merry chrismas all!!

/morten

Well Done ! Which colour did you order ?

Btw sooner or later you' ll be tempeted to add a second one and fill it with other black boxes 

Regards

Roberto

I too have my pre amp on top (252), next down is the NDS, then a gap, next down from the gap  a ahem power supply for the NDS, next down SupercapDR and on the bottom 250DR.

My system definitely sounds better with some space around the 252 on the top shelf. Other systems and ears may differ.

Anyway, smart move getting yourself a Fraim. I put this purchase off for far too long. A good rack, in particular a Fraim is the foundation of any Naim system. Sorry. 

Same here, top to bottom order is 282, NDX, 250DR, HiCap/NAPSC. 

You will love what the Fraim will do for your system. 

rsch posted

Well Done ! Which colour did you order ?

 

HI - ordered it in black/black - might be the "safe" choice, but like the look of it..

Fraim is a great piece of engineering and an example of following through on basic isolation principles consistently at every stage.

Plus it looks great.

Shame the same principles that make it the gold standard for racks also make it unusable for those of us in very quake prone areas. Otherwise I'd buy one.

All the anecdotal stories I've heard indicate that its price doesn't seem very steep at all once the sonic benefits are compaired to an electronics upgrade of the same price. 

Most on the forum have gone from another proper rack to Fraim. So IKEA blob to Fraim should be a great example of the potential in good racking. Let us know how you get on.

Wunderbaum, are you assembling the Fraim or getting your dealer to do it? Great though Fraim is, it's not child's play to assemble it so it sounds optimum. If you are doing yourself then when you put pressure on the Allen key to tighten the bolts, just put a bit extra pressure than hand tight... the Allen key shouldn't let you over tighten before bending as it is/was made from a soft alloy... then ensure the spikes are centred in their cups between levels.. at least not touching the cup walls.... other than that enjoy 

oh yes one of those fancy flat dusters on a stick helps keep it clean.......

feeling_zen posted:

 Let us know how you get on.

surely will do;-)

happy holidays

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

Wunderbaum, are you assembling the Fraim or getting your dealer to do it? Great though Fraim is, it's not child's play to assemble it so it sounds optimum. If you are doing yourself then when you put pressure on the Allen key to tighten the bolts, just put a bit extra pressure than hand tight... the Allen key shouldn't let you over tighten before bending as it is/was made from a soft alloy... then ensure the spikes are centred in their cups between levels.. at least not touching the cup walls.... other than that enjoy 

oh yes one of those fancy flat dusters on a stick helps keep it clean.......

the plan was to assemble the Fraim by myself. I have read a fairly large amount of tweaks and tips on this forum, and thanks for the advise on the flat duster thingy...

will take extra care on the tightening and spike/cups alignment - thanks Simon.

Wunderbaum posted:

Hi All - just wanted to share my excitement regarding the base + 3 shelves full fraim just ordered. It will replace my (hmm hmm) Ikea 50£ "rack" that is currently hosting my Naim gear.

Having followed some posts about Fraim stacking order, just want to run my plan by you for further advice.

As mentioned, it will be 1 x base and 3 additional standard levels. i know that two stacks might have been even better, but for now this is how it’s going to be. Furthermore the normal height levels were chosen for purely aesthetic reasons as i really like the compressed look of classic separates in a standard height fraim rack - even though some more air and separation might be beneficial to the overall sound.

my plan is to stack as this: Top level : NDX, 3rd level: 282, 2nd level: 250, bottom level/base : Napsc and Hicap DR

merry chrismas all!!

/morten

Morten

will be awaiting updates - we share the same set up and I have been thinking about Fraim for a while

merry Christmas!

The dust adds additional bounce and musical timing, I find...

Errr...

jon honeyball posted:

The dust adds additional bounce and musical timing, I find...

Errr...

Use a duster and you get far greater separation aswell....... 

Morten, just a thought, I find the NACs sound best top of Fraim if you can manage it. You might want to experiment swapping the 282 and NDX so that pre is nice and in the clear. For reference, I have my 252 on the top and in the clear and I am sure it sounds better for it, even if it's a case of just easier / better cable dressing.

S