I recently picked up 2 sets of ISOAcoustics Gaia feet for my Dynaudio Evoke 50’s and I’m very impressed with the improvements in imaging and soundstage. It’s got me thinking about my rack. Previously the speakers had no isolation (wasn’t using the spikes… burnt out on spikes… too hard to shift speaker positions… damage to wood floors etc.)
I don’t want to replace my Quad 4 Evo rack, but I’m wondering what hacks people have tried to improved isolation of gear on this rack or similar rack. I’m contemplating picking up a Zazen II isolation platform… relatively inexpensive ($250 Canadian) and would fit nicely on the shelves and under the gear, and I think the aesthetics would be nice. Looking for opinions from those more savvy in these things to see if this is worth pursuing, or are there other cheaper hacks (balls / cups / tempered glass) that would be superior.
Fraim is a non starter… too expensive, don’t love the looks. I’m looking for suggestions specifically for my Quad 4 Evo rack.
Couple of years ago I realised my system was shouty and hard. Things that cured it- making sure my evo table was not over tight, a Qspire bronze upgrade, the more expensive Qspire floor protectors and a couple of bamboo shelves. I also switched cabling to witch hat, now using Morgana and phantom.
Tha cables have made a huge improvement, but if I overtighten the rack the sound goes off.
I would also like to hear if someone used the Zazen isolation platform. I was looking at these and they would fit into my current system setup. It’s not on a rack proper but placed on a solid shelfed wooden furniture with room for cabeling.
Thanks for the last few posts, they are all really constructive and helpful.
The responses to my first post have been fascinating, thanks all, a couple were rude but I guess that’s social media.
Considering my question was whether my PMC’s were a good match with my new Naim gear, there have been relatively few loudspeaker responses. The context here was that this is my second pair of PMC’s and it all sounds great in my view and that I didn’t want to get caught up in the black art of hi hi perfection🤪.
So, here are the actions I am taking from your helpful responses…
Firstly I am going to live with everything and enjoy the wonderful combination.
I have made notes of all the suggested speakers and will do my homework, I have a great dealer so will demo at home, as I always do before any purchase decisions. They will have to be truly great to beat my PMC’s but this will be the most impactful potential change to my system in my opinion, so will be something I will check out. I’ve never heard any other speaker combo so it’s something that needs checking.
The table stays, but I have ordered the following additional isolation (I am sure someone will say I could have ordered a dedicated table for the cost of this but I don’t want one).
IsoAcoustics zaZen II Isolation Platform, for each piece of kit
IsoAcoustics Orea Series Isolation Feet, for under the Hi-cap DR to move it further away from the PSX DR. The Hi-cap might need moving to it’s own dedicated spot suspended and isolated under the table between the legs but let’s see how the above works first.
Out of interest, as a slight diversion, how does the set up sound with the 552 pre with the other classic range boxes, rather than the more common 282 or 252 set ups?
Hi, I used Zazen 1 and 2 under all my Naim black boxes and aesthetically they look nice and made a nice improvement. I was using them on a none hifi unit and have now bought a Fraim light but not using them on the Fraim. They do end up being expensive in their own right if you have a few black boxes.
The 552 to my ears sounds right at home with non 500 level gear. I’ve had to make some changes due to divorce and life stuff… swapped out my Sopra 2’s for Dyn Evoke 50’s and cash… don’t miss the Sopras at all. Switched out a 300 DR for the 250 DR + cash… it all works great in my new listening space… by far the best listening environment I’ve ever had which helps enormously. The 552 makes the most of a good source and the NSX2 with XPS DR is no slouch… ditto the RP 10.
Interesting, a few have said that. I guess, as long as you don’t feel you need to bring the rest of the system up to the 500 level and get caught in an upgrade vortex?
In terms of hacks, I’ve a Fraim Lite on order and will be adding my own glass shelves and stainless steel nuts and balls. I figure this will get me close to the full Fraim for about half the cost.
I still get caught up in the tweaking vortex… but 500 level gear isn’t going to happen… just too much money. My tweakery involves things like isolation… adding a Qutest DAC (tried it… didn’t find it added much to my ears).
The only reason I ended up with 552 was because I found one used for a good price and had a 252 to sell… So the financial math was doable at the time. Interesting side note… Inhave a Supernait 2 / Hicap that’s unused… sometimes I take out my pre / power and listen to the SN2 / Hi cap for a few weeks. I could easily live with the SN2 if it ever came to that.
Takoyaki