Naim Fraim - is it worth it really?

That’s it, I am putting locktite in the threads… (Joke).

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The shelf spikes should not be over tightened. Finger tight plus an eighth of a turn with the tommy bar is about right.

Yes, just so. One can find a feel for it.

That 1/8th of a turn is what I had to nip mine up by.

Folks can become too obsessive. I remember reading here once to re-torque your drive units every six months or so. Really?

I’ve never read about any other rack that seems to need as much ongoing maintenance/tweaking as a FRAIM. It’s all rather odd really. If I have a rack, I want to construct it correctly, then forget about it and lister to the music.

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I’m pretty sure I can fit a swiffer between the levels to dust it.

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Exactly. If i felt the need to keep tweaking a rack then it would soon be gone. The thing is, with so much experience owning Naim kit from the past, one should’ve gotten past all that playing around in the first place. Once setup it all just works, no need to keep tweaking around and adjusting/changing things…

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True, you can fit a flat duster device between the units and the glass and between the glass and the shelf. If you’re satisfied with that, then so be it.

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I use a hoover with a long horse hair brush attachment, just be careful not to suck those volume knobs off, keep the setting down low…:face_with_peeking_eye:

Yeah the fraim requires some fidgeting which I didn’t care for. Maybe they’ll come out with an updated version that has a more modern look, not as wide, and easier to set up.

I owned a Fraim in the noughties, it was a definite step up from my outgoing Hutter, no question. Tighter sounding, more fluid, open and 3d.

Not looking to trash it here whatsoever as it works extremely well in a Naim set up. I liked the looks as well , but not from the side so much. And the tripod design means the back leg can be a pain. It must be a curse to Naim designers to bear that in mind always. I had it for 8 years and never dismantled it in that time. I didn’t know I had to then ? No wonder why it nearly fell apart when I finally dismantled it when selling.

The Isoblue just suits my simpler set up now and it looks kinda cute ( yes I need to get out more often) . I don’t see myself ever changing it. Even visiting completely normal non hifi people make pleasant comments about it and give it a little stroke.

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That’s a really good short synopsis of why Fraim make sense, despite the cost. It’s not about HiFi descriptives like depth of bass, width of soundstage, purer highs etc… it just sounds very natural, real time and above all, immersive and involving.

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Which is what my system sounded like before I got the Fraim. And what it sounds like now without the Fraim. I actually like the tripod set up. My only criticism from aesthetics are the front side risers. They’re too big for my tastes. Otherwise beautiful.

Really?

G

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After several hours of more listening to music with the Fraim in the system, I hear a clear improvement in sound quality. I compare the improvement to when I added a Hicap DR to my Supernait 2.

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Hi Daniel,
it really brings things together doesn’t it? Anyway glad you’re pleased with the results. I went from a modified Argos TV unit to the Fraim and for me the change and expense was really worth it - a black box upgrade as you’ve discovered similar for yourself.

I suspect that even through your headphones you may hear an uplift in clarity, detail, dynamics and precision.:slightly_smiling_face:

P.S once you’ve gotten used to things and let things settle down, and of course feel the urge, it maybe worth having a little go at rearranging the boxes as this can turn out to be very significant and worthwhile indeed.

For example: i had mine with the Supernait on the top level, followed by NDX 2, HiCap, with XPS at the bottom. I ran it like that for a year. It was great. However, i then decided to swap a couple boxes around in this order from top down - NDX 2, Supernait, HiCap DR, XPS DR. After doing so my system has again gained another uplift in clarity, detail and precision. It’s hasn’t been subtle neither. I think the NDX 2 likes to be away from all of those big transformers.

Just a thought…

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Thanks Stephen. The Fraim is really the icing on the cake in my system. I may change things around eventually, but for now I am enjoying the music!

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I thought the Fraim was the highest priced stand. I just did some research on the Quadraspire X signature stand. It is almost double the price of the Fraim here in Canada! The Fraim seems like a bargain now.

I just installed my first Naim Fraim to use in my Olive system. Two of the five levels are Lite. I had not imagined it would have such a big impact on the sound! Much improved separation, clarity and flow. It was like when I installed the Karosel bearing on the LP12 but more. I now ordered one more level.

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