What do you think of my rack?

What are the shelves made of ?  If MDF you could try glass or even granite made up from someone.

you could try some spikes or other resonance device on the underside of the four legs, but otherwise if your comfortable that you know what it's contributing leave as is. Looks smart.

Silly Question, I think not, you'd be surprised how many members have walked in your shoes.

Take myself:

New to Naim, going on my third year.

All pre-loved Naim Gear:

Cdx2>282>HCDR>3 x (250.2)>Briks

What were they resting on?

Sound Factory Tri-pod, Nice Racks, all I ever had, for over 34 decades.

What did I Buy?

Fraimlite.

The mind is a funny, and powerful organ.

The only problem, we access less than 15%, I hear!

Equivalent Black Box Upgrade, or has the mind been taken over by the excessive hype?

Who knows?

But I agree, The Fraim is stunning, it hi-lights the Black Boxes.

Enjoy Your Music, The Why!

Allante93!

PS. Nice System, Boom.

Nicely stacked !!

Allante93 posted:

 

Sound Factory Tri-pod, Nice Racks, all I ever had, for over 34 decades.

 

34 decades??

Your a vampire right ??

Allante93 posted:

Silly Question, I think not, you'd be surprised how many members have walked in your shoes.

Allante93!

PS. Nice System, Boom.

When its all said and done, it really is about the Music! 

Donny Hathaway, Sack Full Of Dreams, at 4:00am in the Morning US eastern zone, Wow! 

As has been stated you could try some glass shelves, you could use Naim cups and balls and get a local glass wholesaler to cut you some glass shelves to keep costs down a bit and you could even cut semi circles out of your existing MDF shelves to simulate the Fraim shelves.

I have a Hutter rack and purchased three sheets of non Naim glass and three sets of genuine Naim cups and balls SH from a Hifi site here in England and apart from looking very nice it has made subtle differences but at the same time has not interfered with Naim sound signature.

I would not faff around with glass shelves and cups and balls. The results is so unpredictable there is great chance that your money and effort would be wasted. I would recommend looking out for a s/h Fraim. I was not really looking for a new rack when a really cheap Fraim came my way. I did not expect to hear much difference. It was bought to give peace of mind that I at least have proper support for my gear. From the first few notes while eating dinner in an adjacent room I could not ignore the fact that the music was now rocking. It could of course be that the LP12 was in its element on top of the Fraim. With just electronics and other floor constructions the results may differ. I have tried wall shelves, Tiger Paw Vulcan and Quadraspire, but the Fraim is outstanding in my room. A bit sensitive to footfalls though.

You didn't like the Vulcan??

Was so much better than onto of the fraim for me ..

I would not add glass to a steel rack. Putting it on Isobkue is a different matter and works really well. You’d be wise to go for two racks with a system of the size you have, to separate brawn and brains. As well as Fraim you could consider Fraim Lite, Hutter, Isoblue or Quadraspire SVT bamboo. 

Hungryhalibut posted:

I would not add glass to a steel rack. Putting it on Isobkue is a different matter and works really well. You’d be wise to go for two racks with a system of the size you have, to separate brawn and brains. As well as Fraim you could consider Fraim Lite, Hutter, Isoblue or Quadraspire SVT bamboo. 

From the Naim website:

"Fraim material selection is as significant as the arrangement of its components. Super hard stainless steel, toughened glass selected following intensive listening tests, large section anodised aluminium extrusion and veneered wood composites all contribute to equipment support ..."

Fraim with its wood is a different proposition to the old Soundstyle. 

TOBYJUG posted:

What are the shelves made of ?  If MDF you could try glass or even granite made up from someone.

you could try some spikes or other resonance device on the underside of the four legs, but otherwise if your comfortable that you know what it's contributing leave as is. Looks smart.

Hi Toby, yes the shelves are made of MDF, I was thinking maybe glass or granite on top. My legs have spikes going through the carpet onto concrete floor, is there a better way of doing this?

Cheers

Boom

With the quality of your system, I’d forget trying to tweak the rack. Just sell it and get something really good. 

Hungryhalibut posted:

Fraim with its wood is a different proposition to the old Soundstyle. 

It is a 'veneered wood composite' not natural wood I would hazard a guess it is something like the mdf used on the op's Soundstyle rack. HH stop passing of your personnel opinions as facts if you have compared the two racks then fair enough but please state if this is or isn't the case IMO usually does the trick.

Having recently upgraded from a Quadraspire QVAM rack that I have been using for many years to a SVT2 in Bamboo with SVT Bronze upgrades I can vouch for the difference that a good rack can make.

I was quite taken back by the all round improvements it made to the system a very cost effective upgrade and in hindsight one I should have done some time ago.

I would say the op's Soundstyle is a very good rack with excellent decoupling of shelves and of the rack itself and if he isn't in a posistion to or doesn't at this time want to spend the best part of £1,000 on a rack I think the added isolation of some extra glass or granite shelves could make a worthwile difference and this type of experimenting should be encouraged so that we may all aquire the shared wisdom.

Just got my 2 base full Fraim second hand from my dealer today. I spent some time on the Interwebbies. Some pics looked some what damaged..... Discussion with my dealer on where I want to go upgrading, brought a pristine second hand 2 base units, plus 2 shelves per base for about half price.  Very happy.

Bob the Builder posted:

Hungryhalibut posted:

Fraim with its wood is a different proposition to the old Soundstyle. 

It is a 'veneered wood composite' not natural wood I would hazard a guess it is something like the mdf used on the op's Soundstyle rack. HH stop passing of your personnel opinions as facts if you have compared the two racks then fair enough but please state if this is or isn't the case IMO usually does the trick.

Fair enough, though I doubt you’ve tried adding glass shelves to a Soundstyle. Are you basing your recommendation on personal experience, or just guessing that because glass works on Isoblue it will work on the Soundstyle? I’m not passsing my opinions as facts any more than you are. Perhaps you should just get off my case and let me post my opinions without being asked to justify them. The OP can take notice of my opinions or ignore them as they see fit. It doesn’t matter to me. Having owned Fraim I’m perfectly aware of how it is made. 

Hungryhalibut posted:

Bob the Builder posted:

Hungryhalibut posted:

Fraim with its wood is a different proposition to the old Soundstyle. 

It is a 'veneered wood composite' not natural wood I would hazard a guess it is something like the mdf used on the op's Soundstyle rack. HH stop passing of your personnel opinions as facts if you have compared the two racks then fair enough but please state if this is or isn't the case IMO usually does the trick.

Fair enough, though I doubt you’ve tried adding glass shelves to a Soundstyle. Are you basing your recommendation on personal experience, or just guessing that because glass works on Isoblue it will work on the Soundstyle? I’m not passsing my opinions as facts any more than you are. Perhaps you should just get off my case and let me post my opinions without being asked to justify them. The OP can take notice of my opinions or ignore them as they see fit. It doesn’t matter to me. Having owned Fraim I’m perfectly aware of how it is made. 

The op asked for suggestions and I gave him one infact I said he could try not that he should try and didn't offer any opinion on how it would sound only on how it sounded on my rack.  I'm sorry that you feel I'm 'getting or case' I'm not I just disagree with the very polarised view that you offer sometimes. 

Not everyone has the money to hurl at two racks of brain and brawn Fraim, Fraimlite, Hutter, Isoblue or Quadraspire you are talking of £1,000's when the op has said, "i wont do a demo with the dealer as I am not interested in paying RRP for something like Fraim but do agree with you all how stunning it looks..."

And I must apologise at my lack of attention to detail as I stated it was a Soundstyle rack when it was actually an Apollo.

Allante93 posted:

Silly Question, I think not, you'd be surprised how many members have walked in your shoes.

Take myself:

New to Naim, going on my third year.

All pre-loved Naim Gear:

Cdx2>282>HCDR>3 x (250.2)>Briks

What were they resting on?

Sound Factory Tri-pod, Nice Racks, all I ever had, for over 34 decades.

What did I Buy?

Fraimlite.

The mind is a funny, and powerful organ.

The only problem, we access less than 15%, I hear!

Equivalent Black Box Upgrade, or has the mind been taken over by the excessive hype?

Who knows?

But I agree, The Fraim is stunning, it hi-lights the Black Boxes.

Enjoy Your Music, The Why!

Allante93!

PS. Nice System, Boom.

Haha, thanks Allante, how would you describe to SQ change for you on your rack upgrade? sound like no regrets on that one.

Allante93 posted:

Allante93 posted:

Silly Question, I think not, you'd be surprised how many members have walked in your shoes.

Allante93!

PS. Nice System, Boom.

When its all said and done, it really is about the Music! 

 

Donny Hathaway, Sack Full Of Dreams, at 4:00am in the Morning US eastern zone, Wow! 

Nice upgrade!

boom posted:

TOBYJUG posted:

What are the shelves made of ?  If MDF you could try glass or even granite made up from someone.

you could try some spikes or other resonance device on the underside of the four legs, but otherwise if your comfortable that you know what it's contributing leave as is. Looks smart.

Hi Toby, yes the shelves are made of MDF, I was thinking maybe glass or granite on top. My legs have spikes going through the carpet onto concrete floor, is there a better way of doing this?

Cheers

Boom

I've tried granite but with a soft transite onto the support. With a hard transite the effect was not nice.  Glass is glass whatever you do with it.  Naim boxes are not typical in how hifi is made, I would say they are unique.

That they took so long to design the Fraim, and at great lengths.  

 I would not be able to relax into a listening session without worrying about something that's not quite right. Getting a Fraim or two is money very well spent, not least because you can forget about it.

going down the DIY and Heath Robinson route is littered with stresses that really should be forgotten with a tidy sum..

if your worried about losing warmth, just move your speakers more against the wall.

cheers.

boom posted:

Allante93 posted:

Silly Question, I think not, you'd be surprised how many members have walked in your shoes.

Take myself:

New to Naim, going on my third year.

All pre-loved Naim Gear:

Cdx2>282>HCDR>3 x (250.2)>Briks

What were they resting on?

Sound Factory Tri-pod, Nice Racks, all I ever had, for over 34 decades.

What did I Buy?

Fraimlite.

The mind is a funny, and powerful organ.

The only problem, we access less than 15%, I hear!

Equivalent Black Box Upgrade, or has the mind been taken over by the excessive hype?

Who knows?

But I agree, The Fraim is stunning, it hi-lights the Black Boxes.

Enjoy Your Music, The Why!

Allante93!

PS. Nice System, Boom.

Haha, thanks Allante, how would you describe to SQ change for you on your rack upgrade? sound like no regrets on that one.

Well Boom, I think I have a different take than most. 

Yes, no regrets, but I bought my 4 Tier from the Netherlands, and my three tier from Canada.

Pre-loved Netherlands, Canada great exchange rate, Brand new Naim Packaging.

My take, the improvements really show up collectively. 

But if my mind wasn't playing tricks,  the Fraimlite upgrade was close to the upgrade from Bi-Amp to Tri-Amp.

But here's the key, collectively the System is purring!

Next upgrade, Active Briks!

Enjoy Your Music!

Allante93!

PS. That's what we do.

Pay thousands for subtle differences, that aren't detectable by the Norm.

But remember, we aren't the Norm!

Stormange posted:

I would not faff around with glass shelves and cups and balls. The results is so unpredictable there is great chance that your money and effort would be wasted. I would recommend looking out for a s/h Fraim. I was not really looking for a new rack when a really cheap Fraim came my way. I did not expect to hear much difference. It was bought to give peace of mind that I at least have proper support for my gear. From the first few notes while eating dinner in an adjacent room I could not ignore the fact that the music was now rocking. It could of course be that the LP12 was in its element on top of the Fraim. With just electronics and other floor constructions the results may differ. I have tried wall shelves, Tiger Paw Vulcan and Quadraspire, but the Fraim is outstanding in my room. A bit sensitive to footfalls though.

Thanks for the feed back, its reassuring about the Fraim hearing about your experience.

Pcd posted:

Having recently upgraded from a Quadraspire QVAM rack that I have been using for many years to a SVT2 in Bamboo with SVT Bronze upgrades I can vouch for the difference that a good rack can make.

I was quite taken back by the all round improvements it made to the system a very cost effective upgrade and in hindsight one I should have done some time ago.

Thanks. By the sound of things a quality rack upgrade should give me huge SQ improvement as my Apollo is really old technology. Unfortunately we don't see SH ones come up too often here in NZ so could be some wait. Cheers.