Quadraspire bamboo vs Fraimlite

tonym posted:

I agree the rear Fraim support's inconvenient at times, but with a bit of ingenuity you can remove it & replace with a suitable bolt.

Hadn't thought of that.  Thanks.

Bud

My new quadraspire bamboo svt arrived today so I thought I would come back to this thread and answer the question I started it with: how does the quadraspire rack compare to a Fraimlite? 

First things first. The quadraspire was well packaged and is beautifully finished. It is simple to put together but not quite as easy to stack the gear compared to the Fraimlite (where the levels can be lifted on and off one at a time). No problem with cable dressing and the burndies and SL interconnect are all off the floor (5 levels with 14cm columns). Colour wise, the bamboo matches quite well with my cherry ATC speakers, in case that helps others. I found it difficult to tell how light or dark it would be from photos online. 

So on to the big question - how does it sound? The first thing is that the two racks do sound different! My first impressions were that the QS sounds a bit darker but also smoother compared to the Fraimlite. However I also thought it was a little more congested. Not a big difference though, and this was after the system had been turned off while I built the new rack.  I then added the bronze upgrade spikes and was surprised at the difference they make. Fine details are easier to hear and the vocals stand out better in the mix. The bass lines are easier follow.

IMHO the quadraspire rack with the bronze upgrade is at least as good and in some ways better than the Fraimlite. My overall impression is that the music sounds smoother and  more relaxed. The sound with the Fraimlite is more forward and a bit sharper.  Both sound good and I am switching to the quadraspire mainly because I prefer the look.

Just my impressions, in my room, of course, but I hope they might help others considering these racks where a demo is not an option (as in my case).  

Finally, thanks again to everyone who posted in response to my questions. I'm really happy with the new rack!

I'm so pleased to read that you are happy with it; it's a bit worrying recommending something to someone who can neither see not hear it before taking the plunge. It's also interesting to read of your direct comparison to the Fraim Lite. The SVT bamboo is a jolly good rack, and for relatively sensible money too. 

I have to admit I am very relieved that the quadraspire sounds so good! Thanks HH in particular for your advice about the SVT vs Q4. 

tonym posted:

I agree the rear Fraim support's inconvenient at times, but with a bit of ingenuity you can remove it & replace with a suitable bolt.

I just rotated the support 90 degrees and now have access to both the USB and optical ports on the back of my Aurender N10 streamer.  It's not very nice looking but can't be seen.

Bud

AI17 posted:

My new quadraspire bamboo svt arrived today so I thought I would come back to this thread and answer the question I started it with: how does the quadraspire rack compare to a Fraimlite? 

First things first. The quadraspire was well packaged and is beautifully finished. It is simple to put together but not quite as easy to stack the gear compared to the Fraimlite (where the levels can be lifted on and off one at a time). No problem with cable dressing and the burndies and SL interconnect are all off the floor (5 levels with 14cm columns). Colour wise, the bamboo matches quite well with my cherry ATC speakers, in case that helps others. I found it difficult to tell how light or dark it would be from photos online. 

So on to the big question - how does it sound? The first thing is that the two racks do sound different! My first impressions were that the QS sounds a bit darker but also smoother compared to the Fraimlite. However I also thought it was a little more congested. Not a big difference though, and this was after the system had been turned off while I built the new rack.  I then added the bronze upgrade spikes and was surprised at the difference they make. Fine details are easier to hear and the vocals stand out better in the mix. The bass lines are easier follow.

IMHO the quadraspire rack with the bronze upgrade is at least as good and in some ways better than the Fraimlite. My overall impression is that the music sounds smoother and  more relaxed. The sound with the Fraimlite is more forward and a bit sharper.  Both sound good and I am switching to the quadraspire mainly because I prefer the look.

Just my impressions, in my room, of course, but I hope they might help others considering these racks where a demo is not an option (as in my case).  

Finally, thanks again to everyone who posted in response to my questions. I'm really happy with the new rack!

 

 

 

 

Al17, thanks for the feedback I've just ordered a SVT2 in Bamboo with SVT Bronze upgrades to replace my 15 year old original Quadrshire rack dealer has quoted about three weeks for delivery.

PCD, now my system has warmed up it sounds better than ever on the SVT so I hope you have similar success. I would be interested to hear how your new rack compares to the older quadraspire.

AI17,  will do Quadraspire used to me manufactured on the outskirts of Keynsham where I live but moved a few years ago to a large village about 5 miles away so it is very rewarding to be able to support a local company.  

We auditioned the SVT + bronze cones verses the full fat Fraim. The latter is slightly punchier and detailed, whereas the Quadraspire is more organic. If sound quality is the only consideration then the Fraim wins, but not by a huge margin. If you take cost, appearance and practicality into consideration then the the SVT is a clear winner.

Keith 

It's useful to remember that the bamboo SVT costs £280 per level, whereas the Fraim base alone is over £800. 

Geko posted:

I've gone from a bamboo Q4 to a full fat Fraim, and whilst the Fraim adds more of that typical Naim sound it is very high maintenance. The lowly bamboo Q4 has a lovely organic sound, which even now I sometimes miss.

I'm thinking of maybe getting 2 Fraim racks for a system I'm considering buying, pending a demo and trade-in estimation for my current system.  I'm interested to know what it is about the Fraim that makes it high maintenance?  I used to have Mana stands and they were a pain maintenance-wise, followed by Townsend Seismic Sinks, which were even worse. I'd value your insights on what needs maintaining on a Fraim stand, beyond the intitial set-up.  Thanks

After about three months you need to take it apart and tighten everything up. Then do it again after another six months. After that, an annual tightening will keep it working properly. You need to get the glass the right way up and the spikes in the middle of the cups. And dusting is tricky. Sounds good though. 

My dealer recommends that you must tighten the all the hardaware  (spikes and nuts) on a regular basis. And when he says tight he means tight. Of course then there's the glass tuning to make sure it the right way up and the right way round. Getting the cone spikes in the centre of each lower inserts also helps. Then when you have everything set up you need to ensure that glass is central on all the ball bearings. And within a week you'll need to buy a special mop to keep all the glass free of dust.

Get it all correct and you are rewarded with a very neutral and dynamic sound, somewhat similar to the Mana sound but even better. Get it wrong and it can sound pretty mediocre.

By comparison the Quadraspire is simple plug & play. I've owned both, so know them well.

HH...snap!

I used to have an old Q4 nd now have a Hutter with original Fraim cups and balls and non original Fraim spec glass isolation shelves, the rack itself is pretty easy to set up and maintain but adding the glass was a bit of a pain.   I can only comment on the difference between between Q4 and Hutter and IMO my music does sound better more together with the Hutter adding the glass was a relatively cheap experiment as I bought the three shelves used and to be fair I couldn't tell the difference but it does look nice and breaks up the industrial looking Hutter nicely.

The Fraim is wider too, so problematic if space is limited.

I have experimented  this evening,  removing the bronze spikes just to check what difference they make now the system has settled down/warmed up a bit after being switched off. In short, the sound is livelier, cleaner and more detailed. Without them the music sounded flatter and more congested. I thought they were very expensive but they definitely improve the rack. It's surprising what a difference they make when only the top component (252 in my case) benefits. 

Having listened for a few hours today, I would say now that IMHO this rack is better than the Fraimlite. In particular, vocals are better defined with a sense of space around them. At the same time the music just seems to flow better. Finally, a slight edge/hardness I had before has gone. 

AI17 posted:

I have experimented  this evening,  removing the bronze spikes just to check what difference they make now the system has settled down/warmed up a bit after being switched off. In short, the sound is livelier, cleaner and more detailed. Without them the music sounded flatter and more congested. I thought they were very expensive but they definitely improve the rack. It's surprising what a difference they make when only the top component (252 in my case) benefits. 

 

Yes, I noticed a very worthwhile improvement with the bronze spikes when supporting my (then) 282 and SCDR. 

The bronze cones plus bamboo isolation table made a big difference to my LP12 verses my then Q4. It seemed to me that the background noise dropped away.

Keith