Does anybody hve any experience with or knowledge of the Sistrum rack by Sound Star? I spoke with someone who just sold his Mapleshade rack for the Sistrum and gushes aboput it's virtues. It doesn't use shelves of any sort, rather the gear sits on 3 upward facing brass cones. I need 2 new racks and NANA suggested the Quadraspire Reference since I can't spring for the Fraim. I have no experience with either so any input would be appreciated. Much Thanks
David

quote:

I need 2 new racks and NANA suggested the Quadraspire Reference since I can't spring for the Fraim.

You mean 'UNinspire' ?

Reference rack might be better, but the Q4 table is pretty lacklustre.( I use one in the office only because it fits in the space )

David

I have no experience of the Sistrum rack, but it looks distinctly dubious, especially with that musical note in the middle! I would be concerned that the upward facing spikes support the casework directly. The new Naim kit has isolating feet as part of the design, which would not be used with the Sistrum.

I used Quadraspire reference for a couple of years, as I could not afford Fraim. I later tried Fraim and realised how superior it is, so I sold the QS for a large loss. So if I were you I would wait and get Fraim - it really is the best for Naim and great value in the context of the whole system. An alternative would be to use Fraim for the CD, preamp etc, and use the basic QS, which is really rather good, for the power amp, supplies etc.

Another option is to use Hutter. This is an excellent rack, though I marginally prefer the presentation of the QS reference. I don't know if it's available in the US though.

Nigel

Sistrum(sacred rattle) was an Egyptian musical instrument made of metal and shaken. Does not sound like the basis for an equipment rack, assuming some link with the name.

Howard

I was quite dubious about the Sistrum rack. Unless somebody on the forum had hands-on experience with it, I was going to pass. I've got to re-evaluate the situation and see if I can somehow pick up at least 1 Fraim for the most sensitive of the equipment. Problem: I can't reinstall the audio equipment in the house since I now have more boxes than can possibly fit on 1 rack. Ok, back to the drawing board. It's good to know that the Hutter rack is positively received since the Hutter and Quadraspire Reference look as if they'd blow over in a light breeze. As always, you guys have been great, thanks.
David

quote:

It's good to know that the Hutter rack is positively received since the Hutter and Quadraspire Reference look as if they'd blow over in a light breeze.

If you have ever seen Hutter you would know that not to be true. It is very solid and stable!

Hutter and Isoblue are recognised as the second in line after Fraim, and both are a LOT cheaper. I'm not sure if you can get either in the US though.

Julian

The Quadraspire Reference works very well with Naim equipment. Until I got the Fraim a few months ago, I had two racks with the CDS 3, 552 and the large box for the 500 on the reference rack and the power supplies on the standard. The music was very good, though, not nearly as good as the Fraim. Contrary to the look, it was quite stable. Here are some links to pictures of my setup before the Fraim.

http://client.webshots.com/photo/230215680/270901189qmEQVa
http://client.webshots.com/photo/230215680/270901225bkCiOY
Anthony

It looks like Hutter isn't imported to the U.S., and the importer of Isoblue has had all their phone lines disconnected with no forwarding number. It would appear that I'm down to the choice of 2 Quadraspire Reference racks which by comparison are reasonably inexpensive or, a 4 shelf Fraim at 50% more than the 2 Q.R., and use my current rack to house the rest of the gear. Not an easy choice. Until I make that choice, all the music making equipment remains in storage. Nice, huh?
Thanks for all the input.
David

David

The UK price for a QS ref is about £700, so £1400 for two. A four level Fraim is about £350 for each of the three shelf levels, plus £550 for the base - that's £1600 in all.

If I were you I'd go for the Fraim and get more later. It seems a shame to have your gear in storage for lack of a rack. Can you not borrow one from your dealer, or simply plonk the gear on the floor - it won't sound its best, but it'll be infinitely better than silence!

Nigel

quote:

Until I make that choice, all the music making equipment remains in storage. Nice, huh?

David,

Let me get this straight.
You've got all that gear and without the *proper* rack, you'd rather have no tunes?

Nigel is right. i'd just put 'em on the floor!
If that's not feasable, I'd go to the nearest Ikea and get something!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by drdm:
It looks like Hutter isn't imported to the U.S., and the importer of Isoblue has had all their phone lines disconnected with no forwarding number.


The North American Importer for IsoBlue is Euro Products and can be reached at 1-604-522-6168 there phone lines have not/ never been cut.
you must of had the wrong number

I have used this email address of importer to get Hutter info in the US last year; alexander.zederbauer@cc-imex.com

Perhaps somebody should explain to those without the experience to judge for themselves:

Any rack is (probably) better than no rack at all and infinitely better than no tunes at all.

Fancy racks extract the last drop of whatever it is you hope they will extract. It is gilding on the cake.

Certainly not essential. However desirable the owners of the various racks suggest they might be. Racks modify what the boxes are doing by isolating from airborne or structural resonances. Black magic and rocket science are not essential to rack choice. Merely a bank account.

Racks have a pecking order like all hifi objects. Not being at the top of the food chain does not make your rack a poor rack. It merely offers an alternative perspective on the noise(s) your hifi makes.

It is impossible to tell from looking at a rack if it is the dog's bølløcks or dog's pøøp.

All hifi favourites have a half-life beyond which the smart money moves onto something better. (Unless they live in Chelsea or Essex)

Nime

I'll admitt, my situation is whacky. However, when the house got put on the market, my wife and broker ganged up on me and strongly suggested that I absent the audio gear from the home. The chief complaint was the visual aesthetics of the Quad ESL 63s. Clearly they lack in the sophisticated taste department. Nevertheless, I gave in last August or so. Thus far the house hasn't sold. Recently we've decided to spring for serious re-decorating feeling that it will help sell the house which is on the ocean and commands a hefty price or, we stay where we are if we can't get the asking price. In that vein, I said what about my audio!! How's about I find new speakers which meet your aesthetic tastes and we put it in the re-decorating budget? To my amazement, she took the bait. I currently have a deposit on a set of Dali Helicon 800s. The deal is that I can have a week at home to review them . So, I've been trying to get all the variables squared away before I bring the speakers home which means a second rack. I'd love to get the Fraim but it's just outside my means at this time. I can get a pretty good deal on the Quadraspire Reference rack which isn't bad to look at. Frankly, unless you have two racks you can do A/B comparisons with, you get used to hearing your gear on whatever it's sitting on. That's the strange story. As soon as I get the second rack or pair of racks, I'll bring the electronics home, let them (135's, 82, CDX, XPS, Mod Marantz FM, LP12) warm up for a few days then go pick up the Dali's and see what we've got. Thanks everyone for your generous input.
David

David

The house doctor normally makes you tidy away the junk, paint everything beige and shampoo the mutt - but put away the stereo, no, no, no.

The Dalis look interesting - have you thought of SL2s, or are they more expensive in the US? As you say the QS ref will be good and if you have never heard a Fraim you won't know what you are missing. Life is full of compromises, after all.

Nigel

Nigel:
My closest Naim dealer is a good 5+ hr drive and several states away. The short answer is that I have not heard the SL2. They perhaps are superior in some way to the Dali, but I'd have a hard time imagining just how. Whether or not the Dalis want to perform up to snuff with the 135s is an unknown at this point. They have a 4 ohm nominal load so I imagine they'll be just fine. You know, with the 82, CDX and XPS I picked up while everything was either back at NANA being recapped or in storage, not to mention the new speakers, I have no idea what this system will sound like.The racks will be the least of things to fret over. Somehow it must have slipped my mind to inform the missus about the 3 new Naim boxes that are now in storage. Think she'll notice the 2nd rack? The new remote might be a give away since the 82 replaced a 62. I like to look on the up-side, you can only die once. BTW, if you care to hear a set of speakers that set me back on my heels that are virtually impossible to get in the states, put your ears to the Audiovector speakers. I heard them in Glasgow last Oct. and have not been able to forget the experience. Perhaps it was that horrid room they had them in but I was simply stunned by how good they were with a Naim front end. The California based distributor is the only US vendor. He sells to the Hollywood movie crowd who put them in their home theater setups. The distributor actually said "nobody uses these JUST for music".Go figure.
Cheers
David

quote:

Originally posted by hi fi fo fum:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by drdm:
It looks like Hutter isn't imported to the U.S., and the importer of Isoblue has had all their phone lines disconnected with no forwarding number.


The North American Importer for IsoBlue is Euro Products and can be reached at 1-604-522-6168 there phone lines have not/ never been cut.
you must of had the wrong number

Yeah, I wish someone would distribute Hutter here as half my store is outfitted with Racktime. The US distributor bailed a few months ago. I've tried contacting Hutter, but they ignore me. I think I'm the only Isoblue dealer in the US. At least I was six months ago...

Brian