Shindo advice

Asa, good questions. I personally have not heard all the Shindo preamps so its hard to say where the "sweet spot" is in the Shindo lineup. The same is true for a Catherine, if you are able to find one. I can tell you Matt Rotunda at Pitch Perfect Audio is a very good guy and will not lead you astray when it comes to questions such as these and is one of the few, besides Jonathan, who can give you an informed answer. He has definately helped me with my system so I try to buy from him when ever I can.

Asa, You really can't go wrong with Shindo. I have heard the Monbrison and it is a winner. BTW, if you have enjoyed the Joule preamp have you had a chance to hear the Joule LA300 ME? I have owned this preamp for about 5 months and can't imagine a preamp better then the LA300ME.

My first Shindo preamp was the Masseto and it sounded better to me than any of my previous preamps (Lamm L2 and LL2, Wytech Opal, Hovland HP100). All of which are very good preamps. I did trade up to the Vosne-Romanee and was suprised how much better it is than the Masseto. Same basic sound but more. I expect that there is a similar difference from Monbrison to Masseto. BTW, I agree with Sbayne regarding Matt at Pitch Perfect.

Thanks again everyone. On the Joule LA300, I saw that Jud was running a special $7100 price and it is enticing. I just became enamored with a Shindo before he came out with it. I'm also attracted to the one box solution on line/phono. On the other hand, my phono runs off the tube rectified power supply in the Joule linestage and I could then keep my phono, which is the most recent MkV and sounds heavenly. My experience with Joule pre's is that they have always been a tad rolled on top and plummy on the bottom end (and resist rolling...)and which is why I am looking for my next pre. Bobheinatz, if you would, do you have any general opinons on the LA300 versus the Monbrison, just in their types of sound, even if its only a cursory opinion?

On Matt at Pitch Perfect, I have only heard very good comments on him. Alas, I am a spoiled former TAS/Ultimate Audio reviewer who now always buys used, so I'm sure that his time would be better spent with paying customers, which is the way it should be. When my book gets published and I'm on Oprah, then...Petrus retail, fedex'd overnight, here I come!!

Asa.

I heard the Monbrison in a system that I was not familiar with but the system was very musical. In comparing the LA300 vs. Monbrison since it was two completely different systems I am not sure my opinion would be worth much. Shindo now has a great following in the US, go for it and if you don't like it just sell it. BTW if you are still looking for speakers take a look at KCS Loudspeakers the value is outstanding.