I have the Shindo Auriges and it is the best preamp I have ever owned. Connects me emotionally with music unlike any other I have heard. Have used it with VTL-ST-85, ASL Hurricanes and Odessey Khartego's. Sounds great with all of them. Also it has a great moving magnet phono stage unless you get the line stage only version. You will not be dissapointed by this Pre |
I like the Shindo Aurieges, but I think there are better values out there. The Modwright LS-100, and the TRL Dude would, in my opinion, be better bang for buck. |
I tend to agree with Wilson. I've owned the Auriges twice and while its very good, it has flaws and there are better pre amps that can be had for less. I preferred an Audion premiere to my Shindo by a wide margin and the Audion gave me an extremely good phono stage. I actually preferred the Audion to the Dude Wilson mentions as well, but synergy may have been off as I expected more from the Dude. |
ok i start to understand that this model of shindo is the enter level of shindo company and it doesnt agood value only the name of the good company "shindo" .
the only reason i look for shindo is because JOHN DEVORE (the person that built the devore speakers) recommend to use shindo amplification and this is what he is demo with this speakers with them .
now i like to know for sure if john devore use shindo because he get money for them or maybe it because is sound amazing this comb?
and last thing EAR868 now is in audiogon for 3900$ is it worth it is it better sound then shindo auriges or not (i mean what is more musically) ?
please help me decided :-) |
I've been a bit unfair to the Shindo Aurieges. It is certainly one of the better preamplifiers on the market. It particularly excels at mid-range tonal beauty. But what it doesn't do so without giving up something, and that something is transparency, clarity and detail. On the other hand, it's full bodied and beautiful, and by all measures you would say that it sounds musical. It sounds like what you would expect a very good tube preamplifier to sound. But tube as in tube euphony, not tube as in tube transparency -- an old school tube component as opposed to what we might call a modern tube component.
As I understand, as you move up the Shindo lineup, the more expensive Shindos give you progressively more of the goods without giving up on the beautiful Shindo sound. But at the entry level, and at $4000 list price, the Shindo Aurieges would not be my first choice.
As for Devore speakers, I have no doubt that Devore speakers sound great with Shindo amps. That's Shindo amplifiers of course which presumably also imply a pairing with Shindo preamplifiers for synergy across the product lines.
What should you buy? You should buy whatever sounds great to you. John Devore loves his speakers with Shindo, but you might not. Which Devore speakers do you have? Efficiency and impedance may eliminate some types of amplifiers from consideration. |
I think Wilsynet makes some good points. I am a Shindo preamp owner (Vosne-Romanee) and my feelings toward Shindo is similar to my feelings toward Koetsu. Both products prioritize tone. As you move up both product lines, you get additional texture and detail (especially at the frequency extremes).
IMO, Shindo and Koetsu lean toward the "old school" camp of audio sound. They draw inspiration from the classics of the past while trying to build upon them. A lot of Shindo owners are also into analog rigs, SET amps and high efficiency speakers. They embrace a wholistic system approach toward audio reproduction. Shindo dealers spend a lot of their time providing guidance to proper system matching to help achieve the "Shindo sound". As an example, I doubt a dealer would ever advise a Shindo preamp for someone who has high powered SS amps, inefficient speakers and a preference for digital sources. It will work but is not really the kind of sound Shindo voiced his gear around.
If you are the type of audiophile who prioritizes extreme detail and clarity, then I don't think Shindo is necessarily the best fit. If, however, you are a tone junkie who loves Garrard TT's and tube amps, then Shindo should probably be on your short list of equipment to audition. |
I'll come right out and say it: I do not understand how or why a number of audiophiles prioritize extreme detail and clarity over musicality and tone. I want to hear the music, not the pen dropped by a percussionist, or a small fart let go by the 2nd violinist, and so forth...well, to each his own, glad we have a choice and the musical and tone folks still have some great choices such as Shindo, Leben, Devore and others. |
wow im really impressed by all the details you are all write me ,im really agree with you all you open my mind again ,really i think it was the best post here that people write me in audiogon -:) .
im now wonder if i need tube suond at all or maybe ss amp?
and second think is i dont know if to buy integrated amp or preamp+power ?
all i know is that the devore fidelity nines need warm sound and clarity and detail too.
i hve budget until 5000$
my option are alot and i still not know what to do what to choose :
1.i really like too knw the different between EAR 868 AND SHINDO AURIGES AND TO ADD THEM GOOD SS AMP ?
2.TWO INTIGRATED TO THINK OF : LEBEN CS600 OR PASS LABS INTA30
3.OPEN TO MORE GOOD ADVICES THAT BETTER THEN MY THINKIN ??
THANKS ALOT WAIT FOR YOU ARE ALL POSTS HERE BYE. |
Speaking only in generalities, many solid state amplifiers do not have a high input impedance. Once again, speaking in generalities, the Shindo Aurieges with an output impedance of 5000 ohms will need careful system matching.
As a rule of thumb, the input impedance should be at least 20x the output impedance of the source component. You can, of course, get a buffer, but that's yet another component which may add its own coloration.
The Leben CS600 versus the Pass INTA30. Given what I know of their house sound I'd say that they're totally different. I think you would be happy with either.
I haven't heard the INTA30, but as I understand, it's based on the X30.5, which I have indeed heard and like very much. Pick one, buy it used, and if you really don't like it, get the Leben later.
For what it's worth, I have an LFD Zero LE MKIV integrated amplifier. It is wonderful. There is one available on Audiogon right now for a great price. I bought mine new and don't regret it. |
> I do not understand how or why a number of audiophiles
> prioritize extreme detail and clarity over musicality and tone.
Some prioritize tone and musicality over detail and clarity. Some do it the other way around.
But worse, some want both -- which I think is difficult to achieve and expensive. As if it wasn't expensive enough already. |
I believe that if you called John Devore he would give a big thumbs up to tubes and Leben and Shindo in particular. |
I have had a few correspondences with Mr. Devore and he definitely loves Shindo but there are other amps that he likes too. I am using shindo apetite with silverbacks and the sound is phenomenal but would be better with some more power. For whatever reason, Shindo seems to be a great fit with Devore speakers. |
Mikirob,
I'm not sure if my comments led you to that conclusion, but extreme detail over tone certainly doesn't describe my listening priorities.
The Auriegies is definitely a beautiful piece and I spent many a night seduced by it. Especially when I used to have it paired to my 845 set monos.
That said, some of its lore is hype and there are other pieces with similarly wonderful tone that have greater transparency and pull the listener in without being quite as colored. I like a colored sound for certain listening, but its generally not versatile.
For the record I hate sterile, super transparent audio pile brag rigs. |
I demo'd DeVores in 2008 at Sound by Singer with a solid sate amp and a digital source and just didn't understand all the hype. Mind you, I had just demo'd some Sehring speakers and thought the Sehrings were far better for less money. In any case, I thought the DeVores sounded pretty unforgiving with solid state amplification and a digital source. If DeVore voiced his speakers with a warm tube preamp and amp, I would certainly lean towards buying the same amp.
It is very unlikely DeVore gets paid by Shindo (although DeVore started out as a salesperson at Sound by Singer, which is a black mark against him in my book.). I think he just caught on early to the move towards efficient speakers and low powered tube amps, and Shindo has a cult following in that area of audio. |
Hi Gopher, no it wasn't your comments per se, but it did spark the thought. I believe my sentiments are similar to yours in most ways/cases. I certainly did'nt want to offend, if I did I apologize. |
I have to say that I just don't see the Shindo sound as being "coloured" or "old school". I listen to very little jazz or chamber music or anything of the sort - it's mostly indie rock for me.
I find it hard to describe Shindo as lacking in detail. When I compared Shindo preamp with VTL amp to all Nagra, it was the Nagra that seemed to be smoothing things over - whereas the Shindo/VTL combo really allows you to focus in on details deep into the soundstage. Similarly, I found the Shindo/VTL combo to have better inner detail than an Ayre combo I auditioned as well.
I know this is getting off topic a bit, since I have no experience with the EAR unit - but IMHO, the Shindo sound is a very detailed sound. What the Aurieges lacks compared to its higher-end brethren is a few "layers" of tonality and some frequency extension - making it sound a bit "thin" compared to other Shindo pieces. Keep in mind...that's not "thin" compared to other gear - Shindo seems to specialize in layers of supreme tonality, and the Aurieges just does a bit less of that then their other preamps, so it doesn't sound as thick as they do. |
im understand that shindo aurieges fail alittle in compared to other shindo gear.
i still not sure if the shindo aurieges for is budget is value for the money or just the name talk???
i still not know if the shindo aurieges better then the ear868 preamp ??
and im not understand is the shindo not so detailed ??
and last question what is good comb with aurieges (i read here that is output is very high impednce and he need amp with input of 20 multiplie)? give me good comb with shindo that is not expensive (budget of 2000$) |
I use a Butler amp with my Shindo Aurieges. The Butler input is 47k and the Shindo output is 5k ( Importer says it is actually lower on another thread) , never had any problems. Also used with the original Belcanto 1000 which on paper is a horrible mismatch but never seemed to have any trouble. Matt at Pitchperfect said if you keep your IC short it would be OK and offered money back if I was not satisfied. Pulled the system to a higher level so I still have it. Only looking to upgrade along Shindo line at this time.
The only preamps I compared with the Shindo were Manley Shrimp, Quicksilver, and the Belcanto Pre 3.
Hope this helps and good luck. |
Bolero32, another thing I think is important to this discussion. When I had the Belcanto amps I used copper IC's and speaker wire to tone down the amps, but when I changed to the Butler it was way to warm for me. I changed to silver and copper/silver to get the resolution the preamplifier and amp were capable of.
It could be that the posters who think the amp is euphoric sounding were listening to it with components and wire which tended to go in that direction. Maybe not.
Also I have the 2 box version with a great MM stage. I have not heard the one box Aurieges. |
The Auregies is a great preamp, thats the reason I owned it twice, but using it with a very transparant amp like a Decware Torii in comparison to my Audion pre and a Dodd preamp (which i dont prefer this is mentioned for contrast only) some warts do show. Its got a nice flow and tone, but is a less resolved presentation.
Its a gorgeous presentation, but its a little candy coated. Sometimes that romance is exaclt.what i crave though sometimes i want a splash more truth. |
thanks for you all to the posts im enjoy to read them my friends. :-}
two things pls :
1.what about compare the shindo auregies to ear 868 ?
2.what about comb with pass labs amp with shindo ?
3.where i can find shindo aurieges for sale used or new in good price ?
thanks all have anice day |
Bolero, it has been my observation that the lesser priced shindo pre-amps sell very quickly here on agon so if one happens to come up that would work for you be prepared to act quickly and decisively or you will be waiting again. I notice wanted ads here and on the canuck audio mart web-site for auriges and monbrison pre-amps pretty often. |
I'm a late contributor to this thread. Bolero, I have compared my Shindo Aurieges L to an EAR 868 with 2 friends present. We all agreed the Aurieges was convincingly better sounding and more alive than the EAR 868. The difference was almost immediately obvious. In the past, I have run an Aurieges with a Pass Labs XA30.5 very successfully. I have since sold the Pass Labs, I still own the Aurieges. |
