I’ve long hankered after a FraimLite but the initial cost and unsuitability to earthquake prone areas has held me back. However, one thing related to value for money (and this applies to any rack) is that unlike hardware upgrades, a rack can stay in service to benefit multiple systems over the owner’s lifetime and doesn’t have a recurring maintenance cost like recapping.
People talk about their next box but far less often talk about their next rack. One of mine has now served four AV systems over twenty years. If it had been Fraim, I’d have forgotten the cost a long time ago.
I do think that shifts the value needle a bit. Then I look at some really high end racks and then Fraim starts to seem like an entry level priced rack.
Yes not sure that changes value statement as opposed to lifetime ownership cost statement… the two are different in my mind.
My full fat Fraim has indeed lasted many systems, and has supported Naim and non Naim. I do feel however it is starting to look a little dated in design now…
Do you think part of that is simply down to the fact you’ve been looking at it for decades? It doesn’t seem particularly millenial to me.
My three Quadraspires are from a design even older and about ten years back I pondered whether they looked dated. Now I feel they’ve come over the hump to feel timeless. Like Danish 60s furniture.
I was advised by my dealer that it has a similar sound quality level to the Fraim Lite rack.
When I was looking to change my rack, looked at the Fraim, but couldn’t quite stretch to it. So considered the Fraim Lite and the dealer mentioned the SimRack.
Worked out well in the end. Being a bit narrower, when I went for two racks side by side, they fitted in better to the available space.
Stability.
Isolation from vibration of air, floor, components and cables.
Resonant properties of the rack’s materials, design and build.
Heat dissipation.
Anything else?
How does Fraim give better SQ than my Quadraspire on any of these criteria?
The effect it has on what you hear. For example, many years ago a friend of mine had a Thorens deck, an Audiolab Amp and CDP. They were just on a table in his lounge.
When he was at mine one day, he asked why my system sounded betted than his, which at the time, was on a Quadraspire Evo4 rack.
We discussed racks and he got an Evo4 for his system. To cut a long story short, this had the effect of tightening up the sound and making it more defined. The bass had lost its wooliness and was now cleaner. The sound stage was better.
Unfortunately, I can’t answer if a Fraim rack would give you better SQ than your Quadraspire as I’m not familiar with your system or room set up.
Like anything in Hi-Fi, different horses for different courses and at the end of the it’s only a hobby and comments are opinions based on our own system, with so many variables taking effect.
