The kit in-between the speakers is probably as bad as direct stacking. Get a Fraim (assembled just right) and stick the system to one side, as far away from the speakers as the cables will allow. It’s not gospel, but just good plain old ‘common sense’ for a various amount of reasons.
Fair enough ![]()
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I believe the great man JV himself had a setup like that - the power amps were in the next room (IIRC it was the kitchen, but I could be wrong on that).
I’ve had Fraim for many years now and the only thing that has spooked me is that tapping of the glass shelves to determine which side is uppermost.
Is it a myth or is it reality that the side of the glass that “rings” the most should be uppermost? I’ve tried this with all my shelves many times and can detect no difference from either side when trying to work this out🤷♂️
Is there a magical technique I need to be schooled on? Or is it just a myth after all?
When I owned Fraim although I thought the performance was superb and the best I’ve heard with Naim kit I hated the design. It got the desired results, but via a convoluted and over-complex bit of engineering IMO. I couldn’t help thinking that there must be a simpler way.
I now use Quadraspire SVT, but I no longer have Naim kit. The Quadraspire is a very simple and elegant design which sounds excellent. Probably not as good as Fraim with Naim kit though.
I was reading an article about Sally Gibb, head of The Chord Company, and it seems that she uses Andante Largo racks at home, but not with Naim kit. These are Japanese and are a Titanium frame with laminated wood shelves. Very expensive. I would love to try them, but they don’t seem to be easily obtainable in the UK.
11 levels of Fraim?
The Fraim racks look fantastic in the pictures, I don’t know if they offer any sonic value…as I haven’t had the opportunity to see one in person. I am happy with my Salamander unit for both my NAIM and Denon setup
Nice to see some Focal Arias. I have 936s in my conservatory!
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Who you gonna call….ghostbusters😉
I can’t seem to find this in search anymore, but what’s the maximum number of levels for a single Fraim rack?
Right now I have a std brain/brawn double rack, with 300, NDX2, 252 on left and 300PS, XPSDr and SCDR on the right. Sitting on the top of the left one – with a HRS isolation base – is my Clearaudio Innovation TT and on top of the right rack is my Boulder 1108 phono stage. The top shelves in both cases are Fraimlite.
However, I ordered a Master Innovation turntable, and at 145 lbs and 16+" tall I don’t want to put that on top of a Fraim rack. I ordered a three-shelf HRS EXR rack. The bottom 8" shelf will have my NDX2 and middle 10" shelf is for my Boulder 1108 with an isolation base. The Master Innovation will sit on top (with some active or passive isolation base, TBD).
I don’t want three racks in my room (it really starts to overwhelm the space), so I plan to have the one HRS EXR rack on the left and one Fraim on the right with (from base Fraim up): 300PS, SCDR, XPSDR, TT PSU + ground mgt device (CA Terra), and 252 on top. So that’s five levels. I could even put an empty under the 252 for six levels. Would that be within accepted Naim tolerances?
Edit…I might actually put the 252 on the HRS EXR rack, and the NDX2 on the Fraim top shelf. I don’t use it much and the NDX2/XPSDR are powered off more often than not.
5 levels is fine but with 2 racks I think 4 levels would look better and not overwhelm the space
I wouldn’t recommend 6 levels , even on one racks, I tried it and didn’t like it at all
Cheers
LOL…I just stated explicitly it will overwhelm the space. How can you say it won’t, sight unseen? ![]()
I can keep it to five racks in any case: 300PS, SCDR, XPSDR, Clearaudio TT PS and Terra, NDX2 or 252. If I have NDX2 on top shelf it will be off most of the time anyway.
I’m saying 4 levels won’t overwhelm the space and will look better
I’ve previously had 2 racks at 5 levels each and it’s OK if room is of reasonable size
Whatever you do don’t go to 6 levels
Oh, please read my lips, “once I add the third HRS rack for the TT two Fraim racks – 4 shelves or otherwise – will overwhelm the space.” I already know that for a fact. Please stop arguing otherwise. Last I checked my wife never let you in to see the room. ![]()
You answered the question otherwise, so I thank you for that,
You two have your wires crossed and both agree that three racks will overwhelm the space, but you are arguing that you agree! I think you even both agree that 5 levels looks best for a single Fraim rack.
I thought you were ditching Naim, and going ALL Boulder, including pre and power?
No, are you sure? He keeps going on about how two racks of four shelves won’t overwhelm the space. That’s not what I want or discussed. If you read back to my original post, there is no two racks of four shelves possible, unless I keep both Fraim racks, in addition to the HRS TT rack. I was asking about one HRS rack with three shelves (that I ordered for the TT and the Boulder), and one Fraim rack with five shelves, for all but the Naim gear but one component.
That’s what I would like to do; i.e. just get a Boulder 1110/11xx with another HRS rack to replace the 252/300/Fraim but it’s not in my budget for now. I need another windfall for that. LOL


