Hi guys,
Would be grateful if any simrack owners could share a few details. I am contemplating adding a PSU in the next 12 months and so will need a new rack to house 3 black boxes. Could anyone tell me the max height of a simrack with 3 classic naim boxes?
Also I have pretty thick carpet and underlay so would need long spikes to get the the concrete floor. Would the standard spikes be adequate or can they be changed?
One final point, can the base level spikes be adjusted to allow for perfect levelling as my floor is a bit uneven?
Cheers
It rather depends what size you go for. All of the units should fit in the standard size (105mm usable). However you may want some Medium (180mm usable) to increase separation.
The base unit is approx 95 mm from floor. Each Standard and top level is 155 mm (175 mm to top of glass shelf).
So a base plus standard plus top would be 95+155+175 = 425mm high (with your 3rd black box sitting on the top).
A Medium shelf is 227mm to the top (250mm with glass).
Despite the apparent accuracy of the measurements, I may be a few mm out but nothing significant.
Not sure about the spikes - I have a very thin carpet. They are all adjustable for levelling purposes.
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I can’t compare with Fraim as far as effect on sound quality, but I love the look of mine. Well made with quality materials. Very classy!
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For what it’s worth, I have a tall rack consisting of Base, 2 Medium, 2 Standard and a Turntable isolating shelf. This stands at 915mm to the top of the glass on which the turntable sits.
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Couldn’t agree more about the look and quality.
Peter at Cymbiosis reckoned it was not quite at Fraim level but definitely better than FraimLite.
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I’m one of those not so keen on the look of fraim. Much prefer the simrak, and aesthetics are important as my lounge is a fairly small one
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Here are some pics of ours:
and up close:
The racks sit on Simrak adjustable spikes which go through the carpet & underlay to the concrete floor below.
Simon Price is great to work with. He custom built these with the following special requirements:
- American black walnut wood - reminded me of when I was lucky enough to run the Rolls-Royce & Bentley Woodshop
- Gap from carpet to underside of bottom level 12cm to allow room for a Musicworks mains block under the amplifier stack
- Shelf leg lengths to give 14cm shelf spacing to match my old Quadraspire shelf gaps - choose the leg length you want
- 4 feet rather than the standard 3 feet under the amplifier shelf, positioned under each Chord “pillar” to avoid bending (or cracking!) the glass shelf under the somewhat heavy amplifier
- Width of all shelves specially sized to match the Vertere turntable
In summary, Simon will tailor the basic design to suit you…
Hope this helps, BF
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Very nice ! Congrats! Like the Chord Dave in black, on its dedicated mini rack.
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Thank you FR. We really like black amplifiers with green illumination (that we can turn off if desired). It reminds us of another make…
The M Scaler’s illumination and ergonomics on the other hand are really not great - in our view.
DAVE’s stand is a silly amount of money for what it is but it seems to go with the amplifier.
Best regards, BF
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A point I would like to make Stu is that when I split my simrack into Brawn and Brains there was an immediate improvement in soundstage and separation.
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Thanks for the information. I want the rack to get under a TV stand so will check out the measurements. Good to know that they can be made to specifications. They also look great.
One more question. Do the glass shelves locate on the frame with spikes or ball bearings. I can never quite tell from the images.
I have x 4 10mm toughened glass shelves from a DIY rack I could maybe re-use but not sure if this would work.
Ok, i understand now. It’s a Dave stand and it costs a lot. But the combo looks really great. And it provides certainly a good isolation from vibrations.
Hi Stu,
It’s a very wide angle cone that sits in a shallow tapered cup, so more spikes than balls.
re measurements, I recommend sending a photo of your current arrangement to Simon, together with critical measurements. He will send you back a dimensioned design that you can then check & sign off.
It really is a wonderful, bespoke service.
Best regards, BF
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Great. Thanks BF
The glass shelf’s have shallow spikes that sit in shallow cups on the actual wooden support.
Here’s a picture of mine in oak.
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That’s some stack. I presume it’s solid as a rock even with all that weight?
They do have a great aesthetic.
The standard size looks like it was designed for Naim boxes - they look perfect on them.
Re: carpet and underlay, how thick is your carpet actually? You should plan on making make a small incision on it to get to the concrete underneath rather than relying on just the spikes doing their thing, which might mean you get away with using the standard item.
For context, I also use Simrak for my gear and quite like it; it was certainly an upgrade on the Isoblue I had before (which is nice in its own way). I wouldn’t consider Fraim based on the looks, so didn’t compare to that.
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Thanks Ricsimas
The carpet itself is probably not that thick but the underlay is pretty deep. I haven’t measured the thickness tbh but I may get away un-noticed with some small puncture holes for the spikes. 
I personally don’t mind the look of the fraim but with the extra base isolation shelf and a further two levels may take it a bit too high to fit under TV unit.
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