Was considering purchasing a fraim but a little concerned with the possibility of the glass moving as it sits on stainless steel balls.
Perfectly secure once all setup and running.
Cleaning and manipulation does require āCAREā, but in fairness Iāve moved/rebuilt my system 4 times in the last 6 months and not had any issues with the Fraim at all.
Additionally, the SQ benefits are significant, so well worth it
The main thing to be careful with is connecting cables round the back with enough force the glass shelf can slide off the balls, you can fit cups around them though (supplied) which prevent that!
Naim Fraim Glass locators will make it very safe, in my opinion.
Fraim has a rear post which prevents backwards (over) movement and comes with self-adhesive plastic rings which attach to the glass and sit over the balls, preventing (over) movement. This said, mine didnāt stick very well ā perhaps use a better glue?
As others have said, once the kit is on, the shelves resist movement well IMHO.
Thanks for all replies and reassures me.
The glass wonāt move by itself. Absent a haunted listening room situation.
But it can take surprisingly little force to move the glass on the balls. The housecleaners even being gentle may bring about some movement. As will merely pushing a button or, over time, using the volume control.
I think that (almost) everyone who owns Fraim relates to the situation of the balls at some point falling off, hitting the hard floor, and rolling . . . . This will almost assuredly happen if/when trying to connect cables to the back of a box already sitting atop glass 'n balls.
That said, it need not be a deterrent to ownership.
Always best to cable-up as you build a Fraim IME. Unfortunately, sticky/stuck burndies can be a plague on a de-build
I donāt use the locators and noticed that pushing in the cable on the back EASILY push the full glass shelf with the box on it forward and then it falls off the back ball. If you know this and hold one hand at the front and push the cables in more gentle than normal it works though.
How do one position the locators best way? I read they should not touch the ball itself. Seems bit tricky.
Use the supplied paper template or turn over the glass (i.e. wrong way up per the āping testā) and put on the balls (glass to front edge of shelf or as you want it), then locate the rings over the visible front balls and turn back over.
Well documented elsewhere but very much worth ensuring the base is properly levelled and recheck levelling at each additional level, then do a final stack adjustment on the feet spikes at the end.
Adding equipment and cabling them as you go at each level also recommended rather than building the rack and then trying to add boxes to an empty rack, smaller items like a Uniti Core or a HiCap youād probably get away with.
There are those that have accommodated the glass and balls in other rack types as well if of interest, then thereās alternatives like Isoblue if you are leaning towards something that blends in more nicely.
I donāt use the ball ācupsā on my shelves but have learnt the hard way that the shelf doesnāt need much force to be pushed off those balls. Once itās all setup itās unlikely to move around unless you knowingly do so.
What is the science/best practice on the āping testā to determine the right way up for the glass shelf?
I tried pinging both sides of my shelves and, tbh, could hear any difference at all. What am I listening for?
Hereās my set upā¦ā¦
To be honest, Iām not 100% sure but itās in the Forum FAQ re Fraim Building (more as ādingā than āpingā). With mine, I have to hold by the fingers only with some shelves, as holding too tightly can kill the āpingā IME. Madness perhaps
āFit the glass on top of the balls making sure it is as evenly distributed as possible. (Optional: Tap the glass with your knuckle. Try this on both sides of the glass. One side will have a better āringā to it than the other. Make sure this side is uppermost. If you do not get a āringā ā youāre looking for a ādingā rather than ādonkā ā then try turning the glass around back to front as well as rotating the steel balls in their cups)ā
My dealer did all this for me when he assembled my system for the first time.
Iāll be honest, I thought it was bizarre, but you really can hear a subtle difference from one side to the other. How this affects SQ though is way beyond my understandingā¦
My very limited understanding of microphonics and materials science (like none ) would suggest that a ringing shelf will take away any micro-vibrations better, whereas a ādullerā set-up isnāt so good. Weāre back to the debates around cables
ā¦with lots of beer
I set my Fraim up according the Richardās guide, with the ping/ding test for the glass. Since then Iām sure I have gotten it all mixed up. I donāt know that I ever noticed a difference and filed it away with the turn-off-the-preamp-lights and lockout-the-rec-buttons-and-mute category of I donāt hear a difference it makes.
I would double check that the Nac252 Burndy and Snaic 5 are dressed according to manual.
I would also turn off the Subwooferās,they always mess up the timing in my opinion.
I run Fraim in my system, and itās been rock solid, even during the magnitude 5+ earthquake we had a few weeks back. I use the Fraim ring noted above on my upper shelf, but I havenāt bothered with them on the other shelves.