AV/Hifi Rack

Hi Timo. What naim boxes do you have? 

The hifi racks look good. I personally like the Atacama racks. Good solid bamboo shelves. Quadraspire also make av racks which I should imagine work well. 

Thanks for your super-fast reply Finkfan!!

At the moment I only have an XS2 and an ND5XS -- but I have only recently started my Naim journey. So I expect a growth and in fact change of boxes...  So I am looking for an AV rack that can comfortably accommodate 4 boxes -- just in case... (Though I haven't really factored in the Qnap HS-251+. Well, if space gets tight, the Qnap might be hidden somewhere in close proximity to the rack...)

I read about the advantages of bamboo. But for aesthetic reasons, my wife might insist on oak -- to "match" the speakers. (Although, in principle, she does like bamboo -- she's from Korea. So there might be a chance to get a bamboo rack...)

+1 for Atacama. When I put my system on Evoque Eco rack it realy improved overall sound, plus it looks damn cool for me. I think, most important is to put sensitive components as far as posible from power supplies (transformers).

I use a Quadraspire SVT bamboo rack and it's very good - beautifully made, looks nice and allows the system to work really well. There is a wide version too. A three shelf version would allow for four Naim boxes and the TV on top. Try to get the Qnap in another room - they can clone a bit and they are pretty ugly. Mine is only two feet from the stereo but it's on the other side of a brick wall, in the dining room. 

I agree gree with previous posts re Quadraspire and the SVT in particular. They produce this in an AV format and if needs be can custom make to your requirements. The stands are very well made and the bamboo shelved version is particularly impressive. I also invested in an SVT bamboo turntable shelf before Chrstmas and needed to ask them a couple of questions and customer service via Alester is excellent too.

Hungryhalibut posted:

I use a Quadraspire SVT bamboo rack and it's very good - beautifully made, looks nice and allows the system to work really well. There is a wide version too. A three shelf version would allow for four Naim boxes and the TV on top. Try to get the Qnap in another room - they can clone a bit and they are pretty ugly. Mine is only two feet from the stereo but it's on the other side of a brick wall, in the dining room. 

Clone should of course be clonk. I can't imagine a Qnap reproducing itself through asexual reproduction. 

Quadraspire here as well I use a 1000mm wide rack the Naim boxes sit side by side, very well made and looks more like a piece of furniture.Easy to add to if and when you upgrade.

My Synology has a USB HDD attached via a very short cable, so that looks as though it may be trying to bud off a clone!

Thanks a lot for the additional responses!!

I had already gathered that Quadraspire was a popular choice here in the Forum -- and it is certainly on my shortlist. When looking at Quadraspire, I wonder: Is there any sonic difference between racks with 19mm or 32mm columns? Or is it more of an aesthetic issue? Certainly, Quadraspire racks are nicely designed from a furniture point of view -- which will be important for spousal approval... Not sure whether she would prefer Quadraspire or Hi-Fi Rack. I feel Atacama might have a hard time here...

On the original issue of distance between the boxes: The bottom line is that the actual distance between the boxes doesn't actually matter that much. It's more about the distance between transformers and certain electronics. For instance, ND5XS (left side) and XP5XS (right side) on one shelf in very close proximity are fine, as the XP5XS transformer is on the far right side whilst the ND5XS eletronics are on the far left side. However, in my current (modest) system, XS2 and ND5XS are better kept on separate shelf -- or is one shelf fine as long as the XS2 is on the right side (i.e. XS2 transformer far away from ND5XS electronics)?

Cheers! 

If it's an SVT I think you're looking at 32 mm columns. Mine are 14cms tall and are fine for me due to the number of shelves and room aesthetics. I know some use taller columns to facilitate correct cable dressing as is the case with Burndy cables. Some other racks look like they've been crafted from oak kitchen work tops and look a wee bit to chunky - certainly for my room.

Ravenswood10 posted:

If it's an SVT I think you're looking at 32 mm columns. Mine are 14cms tall and are fine for me due to the number of shelves and room aesthetics. I know some use taller columns to facilitate correct cable dressing as is the case with Burndy cables. Some other racks look like they've been crafted from oak kitchen work tops and look a wee bit to chunky - certainly for my room.

Apologies that my previous message wasn't clear -- I didn't mean height but diameters. 

I would have thought there would have been a performance gain with the 32 mm uprights as they're more substantial. In my opinion they also look nicer

Timo posted:

Thanks a lot for the additional responses!!

I had already gathered that Quadraspire was a popular choice here in the Forum -- and it is certainly on my shortlist. When looking at Quadraspire, I wonder: Is there any sonic difference between racks with 19mm or 32mm columns? Or is it more of an aesthetic issue? Certainly, Quadraspire racks are nicely designed from a furniture point of view -- which will be important for spousal approval... Not sure whether she would prefer Quadraspire or Hi-Fi Rack. I feel Atacama might have a hard time here...

On the original issue of distance between the boxes: The bottom line is that the actual distance between the boxes doesn't actually matter that much. It's more about the distance between transformers and certain electronics. For instance, ND5XS (left side) and XP5XS (right side) on one shelf in very close proximity are fine, as the XP5XS transformer is on the far right side whilst the ND5XS eletronics are on the far left side. However, in my current (modest) system, XS2 and ND5XS are better kept on separate shelf -- or is one shelf fine as long as the XS2 is on the right side (i.e. XS2 transformer far away from ND5XS electronics)?

Cheers! 

 

Given that the ND5 has a transformer in the box it won't make a lot of difference. 

As for the columns, the SVT is very different from the standard Q4. SVT shelves are much more substantial and have a brass collar in each corner. The columns locate on the brass rather than the wood. 

Note that because the Hifi racks legs are square, this can be an issue when you tighten them up - getting them tight may mean that they are then not parallel to the shelf, which would look awful. To me, they are far too bulky and woody, like a DIY project, but then others think the Quadraspire looks like a tea trolley, in particular the Q4. 

One nice thing about Quadraspire is that they sell the pieces individually.  You can get a few shelves now, and so long as they still make it, add on to it in the future.

I like the Custom Design furniture as its solid wood with a modern look. I didn't like the basic design of a lot of the other racks. Have a look at there Audio Visual Furniture Icon Signature Plasma Acoustic Range.

http://customdesign.co.uk/index.php?route=common/home

Monkadill posted:

I like the Custom Design furniture as its solid wood with a modern look. I didn't like the basic design of a lot of the other racks. Have a look at there Audio Visual Furniture Icon Signature Plasma Acoustic Range.

http://customdesign.co.uk/index.php?route=common/home

I agree with you. Custom design have one of the nicest design around 

anyone knows if the top glass is resistant enough to scratches if you put hifi and TV on top? That and cleaning could be a worry