quadraspire racks

If you can afford it, get the SVT bamboo, as it’s much better than the Q4. If it has to be the Q4, get the bamboo. It will do more for the brain stack. Use spikes and floor protectors. 

We had a basic QS rack which brought with it a noticeable improvement. When we chopped in our integrated amp for 252/300 we had insufficient shelves. We upgraded to the SV and from that point on it went down hill fast.

Poor quality materials, poor fit, poor finish. The quality was so shit that our dealer took it back and refunded.  We bought Fraim instead.  I have little doubt that QS will have taken steps to address their QC issues (which we also experienced with some of their storage cubes) but I would recommend getting feedback from people who have bought QS racks in the last 3 years or so.

If the feedback is all good, you'll be good to go. We have had some cubes from them since then and it's been been all good. Couldn't say about their racks though.

Harry, I had a Q/S QAVM rack with the Bronze upgrade  which I upgraded to a SVT2 also with the Bronze upgrade in Bamboo  this was the middle of last year supplied and installed by our local Naim dealer the fit and finish was superb.

Ian did encounter a slight problem whereby the dimensions of the Bronze upgrade on the QAVM was slightly different to that of the SVT2 and as I only live 6 or 7 mils away from Quadraspire he made a phone call and they exchanged my original four to the SVT2 type this to use with the extra two as ordered with the SVT2 , no charge was made for this swap excellent service indeed.

Very pleased with the SVT2 and it is surprising the difference a good equipment rack can make to a system.

DEKTOP100 as HH say's if you can go to the SVT then do so.

This is good to hear. And yes, when going from wall shelves to QS, and later to Fraim, the pick up in clarity and communication was under anticipated and very appreciated. Support matters.

Quadraspire does offer a machine (aluminum ?) floor protector to be used with their spikes,a bit pricey but less than re-doing the floors, so it might be worth ordering at the same time as a rack. I have the svt double width and it works well/sounds good and has been trouble free - it does not seem to need re-tightening or adjusting. I also have their wall mount for my lp-12 .I was able to buy that very cheaply (surprisingly) on e-bay, I think it was a dealer who stopped carrying the brand- it was brand new!

What's the reason you're buying Q'spire?

Have you tried any price-level competitors? 

When I had to decide, I auditioned QS against Hutter and Isoblue. 

Chose Isoblue.....

I’d certainly choose Isoblue over the Q4. The SVT is, however, entirely different and I’d say at least up to Isoblue or Hutter standards. 

Mike1951 posted:

What's the reason you're buying Q'spire?

Have you tried any price-level competitors? 

When I had to decide, I auditioned QS against Hutter and Isoblue. 

Chose Isoblue.....

I'm impressed that you managed to set up a rack audition at all! I just bought some Isoblue when they came up at a good price on ebay. What differences did you find between the 3 you listened to? 

Like HH and PCD, I'd encourage you to stretch to SVT if you can.

Hungryhalibut posted:

I’d certainly choose Isoblue over the Q4. The SVT is, however, entirely different and I’d say at least up to Isoblue or Hutter standards. 

interesting.

I've got Isoblue , but bamboo is by far the best 'material' I have ever experienced. I like very much the engineering behind the isoblue (quite simple, but clever actually)'that's a pity a bamboo version doesn't exist.

I would have thought a SVT to be another world over any Isoblue you could think of, the plain Q4 is already a great choice IMHO.

I meant to add on my previous post that the fit and finish on my bamboo SVT has been excellent. I bought the original rack just over three years ago. I then added two more shelves last autumn. They were a perfect match. The bamboo is probably different to veneer, as it doesn’t seem to change colour over time. I’d say that you can buy with confidence. 

I managed to do a rack 'audition' when I bought my first six shelves and two bases of Fraim back in about 2004. I compared it with the Quadraspire which was available at that time, which I think was just the Q4. There was definitely a difference and I preferred the Fraim, but I am unable to describe the difference now. It was not in the order of a power supply upgrade different, and I wonder how much my preference was driven by the visual styling and complexity of the Fraim? It certainly hugs the components more closely and, therefore, looks more attractive, but it is far less convenient than the Quadraspire. I have since purchased additional shelves for the Fraim (it has suffered a lot from Naimflation) and have purchased a Q4 for use upstairs in a bedroom system, which looks and works just fine.

Hungryhalibut posted:

I meant to add on my previous post that the fit and finish on my bamboo SVT has been excellent. I bought the original rack just over three years ago. I then added two more shelves last autumn. They were a perfect match. The bamboo is probably different to veneer, as it doesn’t seem to change colour over time. I’d say that you can buy with confidence. 

What do you think about bamboo Hungry? 

Along with Finkfan, we visited Quadresphire factory a few weeks ago. 

Finkfan wanted a tweak to his recently purchased Quadresphire racks.

I would say the racks are high quality, cosmetically look very good and the service we received was superb.

We ended up having a tour of the factory....

As Wenger said the quality of the Quadraspire racks is  high. I bought a pair of 2008 racks which are like new. Being of that age they didn’t have the brass inserts in the shelves, so Alester organised for Ian to fit them. The shelves required tweeking to fit them. Not a job easily done at home. First class service. I’m sure the Bamboo will be better so as and when funds allow I’ll probably and bamboo with the bronze upgrade. Go for the SVT and bamboo if you can with a decent leg height. Another thing to add is that I think the racks look better in the flesh than any pictures. 

I use a mix of used and new SVT cherry/black with 180mm legs and very pleased with sound & aestgetics. LP12 & NDS sit on extra top shelves over bronze spikes. No plans to change to Fraims currently

Antonio1 posted:

Hungryhalibut posted:

I meant to add on my previous post that the fit and finish on my bamboo SVT has been excellent. I bought the original rack just over three years ago. I then added two more shelves last autumn. They were a perfect match. The bamboo is probably different to veneer, as it doesn’t seem to change colour over time. I’d say that you can buy with confidence. 

What do you think about bamboo Hungry? 

I’m not sure what you are asking, so all I can say is that I’m very pleased with the rack. One thing I really like about Fraim is that it makes things very clear and unmuddled, which makes the music easy to listen to. The bamboo SVT does the same. 

I have not compared the bamboo to the standard SVT and bought the bamboo version on looks and recommendation from my dealer. It’s really nice how you can see the bamboo fibres on the edges, and I like the fact that the shelves are solid rather than veneered MDF. Unlike the Q4 with standard shelves, a bamboo SVT is surprisingly weighty. 

i also have a black bamboo svt rack and am really happy with it, immediately noticed improvement in SQ when i put my kit on it, would also recommend the brass upgrade spikes too my ndac happily sits on them  

Matthew Johns posted:

i also have a black bamboo svt rack and am really happy with it, immediately noticed improvement in SQ when i put my kit on it, would also recommend the brass upgrade spikes too my ndac happily sits on them  

Interesting that you have the nDAC on the shelf supported the bronze spikes.  I did some experimentation with mine, thinking that the source on the bronze spike shelves would give the greatest performance benefit. However I ended up with my 282 and SCDR on the top of the brain & brawn racks respectively, as that gave the best benefit.  My 552DR and  its PSU now occupies the top shelf on each rack. 

MDS posted:

Matthew Johns posted:

i also have a black bamboo svt rack and am really happy with it, immediately noticed improvement in SQ when i put my kit on it, would also recommend the brass upgrade spikes too my ndac happily sits on them  

Interesting that you have the nDAC on the shelf supported the bronze spikes.  I did some experimentation with mine, thinking that the source on the bronze spike shelves would give the greatest performance benefit. However I ended up with my 282 and SCDR on the top of the brain & brawn racks respectively, as that gave the best benefit.  My 552DR and  its PSU now occupies the top shelf on each rack. 

That's interesting to hear 

Only got single rack but was a wrestle for 282 or ndac on top tried both and both gave improvement but slightly prefferd dac on top

Thinking may try their new qplus advanced feet under the 282 to see if that gives best if both worlds 

As I understand it the Qplus is designed for use if you don’t have a rack, it’s not meant to be used together.

Agree with Wenger. Alester demoed the Q plus at this years Bristol show. He didn’t bring any racks for that reason. He said they don’t sound good when used on one of their racks. 

I have heard the bamboo SVT demoed by Alester against the Fraim. I can’t accommodate the Fraim in the space where the hi-fi goes so it was never an option. However, the demo did cure my of Fraim envy. The SVT runs it close while being a lot cheaper. The Fraim is more punchy and detailed whereas the the SVT sounds nicer, sweeter and perhaps more enjoyable for some (including Alester, unsurprisingly!). If cost is no object, it has to be the Fraim but the SVT is much better value and looks nicer (photos never do it justice, for some reason).

It benefits hugely from the bronze cones for the top isolation shelf, which work very well with my LP12.

Atacama does bamboo too, which might be a cost effective alternative.

Keith

The Q Plus interesting. I don't see any measurements for them in my brief search. Would 1 set under my 272 be beneficial or do I need them under all boxes? Not sure I have the space for them under each box. May not under any. For me to get a rack I would also need longer speaker cable since the rack would be an additional rack for just my Naim gear. However since I'm thinking of SL SC that makes that decision of getting a rack very expensive. Hell even longer NACA5 is going to more cash. 

The Q plus will make a difference under any box. There are 3 versions which mimic the 3 different racks. We heard the top of the range Qus reference at the show. Alester said they give about 75-80% of the racks performance. Great little devices if you can’t get a rack. They come in a pack of 3 or 4. You’ll get the usual 30 days to try