At first I was assuming I didn’t – could do slide-out shelving or something. But then I thought the easiest thing might be to just put the whole thing inside a closet. No clear answer in my mind.
It’s just room layout; the fireplace will be on the wall that is facing into the room the ‘long way’ – the way we’ll live in it. We need the fireplace there due to overall layout of the home. It’s a combination kitchen / family room open space, and when we’re in the kitchen end we like to hear music. So if the speakers are not on either side of the fireplace, they’ll be firing the ‘short way’ and at 90 degrees to where we’ll be. Not a travesty, but I’d rather have the speakers firing at us than not.
I wonder if anyone has put Fraim on wheels 
Once it’s all set up, I dont need to get behind it very often however!
I echo @ChrisSU. I place my racks in the lobby to the stairs to the winter bedroom. I do have a rack under the stairs as well for the Unitiqutes, switch and music server.
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A great question. I have thought about this. I seem to prefer to listen IN the home, in the living space, vs. in a more isolated space. Maybe akin to why I’m not a fan of headphone listening; I feel isolated.
We have a very large area that is below grade (“Basement”) that could contain a music / media room, but I dont want to go down there to listen to music in relative isolation.
Much of our music listening is while working in the kitchen; this obviously is not “critical listening.” But having the main hi fi where we can use it for kitchen listening, and also sit on a couch between the speakers when we want that critical listening experience, has always seemed preferable to me.
My second system (UnitiQute2 based) will be upstairs in my office/mancave space. That’s also a nice space, but not where I want the “big” system.
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Paul McGowan, the founder of PS Audio suggests to unplug everything once a year and plug everything back in again will improve SQ. Also, tweaking, experimentation with different gear like cables, network switch, streamer, DAC, etc is much easier and tidier if the rack is like a pull out pantry.
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Where is that in relation to your speakers / listening space?
We want this main living space to be free from tv/video; tv/video is relegated to dedicated ‘watching’ spaces; another “den” in the rear of the home (where we can entertain guests who come over to watch American football and eat our food, with a door to a patio where we’d smoke cigars, except that I hate smoke), and my office/mancave upstairs.
As this photo shows, the door to the stair lobby is between the speakers. The speakers’ cable goes through the wall behind each speaker, as do the internet / IR control cables that go back to the network switch under the stairs.
The downside is that if I wanted to add another amplifier I would have to trail the cable over the door jamb rather than under the floor as now. All this despite installing conduit fasciae behind each speaker (active Ovator 600 with 4x135s).
Something else to consider, is how often do you change /service equipment? It’s nice to “design” a space that just fits your system, but will changes or servicing need to be done, can it accommodate future changes ? I know this from my fathers h.h. Scott system built into a false wall , looked super-cool, but reliability and improving audio meant it was obsolete and not readily changeable or even useable.
@benjy Yes; this is why I’m leaning more towards a general use space that can house the rack(s), vs something more customized. At a 500-level system now, the only direction I could envision moving is to a lower boxcount alternative. There’s a reason you see discussion of high-end integrateds here from time to time! Or maybe Naim will actually do a 2-box ‘mini Statement’ in 2021!
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Still not clear on the benefit of using a Fraim, if all the kit is in a different room/inside a cupboard.
Surely all the airborne vibrations can’t ‘get to it’, making all that wonderful engineering unnecessary.
In this scenario (different location to the speakers), does it make any difference as to what the equipment is sat on?
If it’s all in the same room, then I can understand the rationale for a Fraim 
So Bart why not build a space that is part of the home? like a conservatory nice french doors. Off the kitchen or opposite the center part off the house. I’m sure you could explain what you want to achieve with your architect. Then a nice familyroom / Living room where you could have a secondary system too entertain friends, play music and TV , movies and stuff. Seems to me you have a Wonderfull opportunity to have your cake and eat it too.
Thanks; this isn’t a start-with-a-blank-sheet-of-paper project. And I do like the hi fi being integrated into the home.
And speaking with a few hi fi friends, the benefits of having 8 shelves worth of Fraim in the room largely come down to “I like to see it.” I know that this is our hobby as well as music source, and we spend a lot on it . . . so natural to enjoy its presence. But there are other worlds where having great hi fi in the room need not result in the room looking half-way like a hi fi showroom.
Sounds good Bart. I’m sure you know what you want👍
Anyone who has humming Naim power supplies will have experienced vibrations coming from boxes on the same rack as the more delicate source and preamp boxes. So I would say that there is still value in using Fraim to isolate the boxes from each other.
Also, unless the rack is in a room that is soundproofed from the listening room, there may still be some vibrations reaching it from the loudspeakers, albeit less than there would be if it was in the same room.
Thanks Chris, I understand now.
I don’t have any Naim PSU’s, so wasn’t aware of that aspect
The same argument might apply to the internal PSU in a Naim box, especially a power amp.
Whether all this actually affects sound quality in any particular installation is another matter, of course, and not always easy to assess.
I do agree Bart. There is absolutely no way I’d be allowed my “rig” or anything like it in our sitting room. To be honest I don’t think I’d want it in there either as it would completely dominate.
Look forward to seeing what you end up doing with this little project.
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