Shindo Labs Amps and Preamps

Hi pacific-nw,

Congrats on your new purchase. It's very exciting. First thing to seriously consider is your budget, or what you feel comfortable investing in. Then work within those parameters to get the most performance you can for your money. Everyone thus far has provided you with very sage suggestions.

To add to it I would say check out Rogue Audio - slightly lower price point without sacrificing quality. It would allow you maximize your investment by opening up potential funds in your budget to also invest in cabling, etc.

http://www.rogueaudio.com/Products_RP7.htm
http://www.rogueaudio.com/Products_100.htm
http://www.aaudioimports.com/ShowProduct.asp?hProduct=246

I have heard the Hera 2 preamp & M180 from Rogue, in Triode Mode hooked into the DeVore Nines with Thales Cabling and it was truly magical. I am sure it would be even better with Orangutan O/96.

What I like about Rogue is that it sounds as good if not better than products 2 - 3 times their price point. They are also very friendly to Tweaks, like tube rolling. The Thales cables are the best cables for the money, hands down.

Something that has not been mentioned , but also very important is that you want to make sure that you have enough in your budget to invest in your Power - whether it be chords,  distributor, Outlet or a combination. 

I happen to be sitting on an extra pair of Thales RCA interconnects if your interested. I moved into a pair of XLRs. 

Whatever you decide -  Have Fun and Good Luck

Hi Pacific_NW,

While my entire system is not Shindo, at one time or another, I've demo'd each of the Shindo amps, preamps and Devore O/96 in my home.

When I think of Shindo and Devore, of course the Box Furniture Audio Rack comes to mind......best purchase I've made in years.  

Anyway, I have A23 products (Turntable Mat, T2 Step-Up Transformer) as well as the EMT 75th Anniversary Cartridge (perfect match for the A23 Hommage T2 SUT).

I also have Shindo cabling throughout. The A23 cabling is more "easy going," but I preferred the Shindo cabling. 

Not sure what kind of music you listen to, but the Cortese is my favorite (and least expensive) SET Shindo amp for Classical and Jazz. With your O/96 speakers, you really would have something special for the price.

Even with my current mono amps, which are more expensive than the Cortese, I have never been able to reproduce strings and wood instruments as I did with the Cortese. 

I'd recommend spending more on a Shindo pre-amp (than on the Shindo amp)......they really are that good. I'm taking my Giscours Western Electric 349A pre-amp to my grave!

To avoid a debate, I'm not suggesting that the pre-amp is more important than the amp!

With the high-efficiency O/96, I'd go for the Shindo Cortese and the Shindo Vosne-Romanee pre-amp.

Fell free to send additional questions on Shindo and A23.

Happy Listening!

 

I listened to some Shindo gear at Don Better Audio in Shaker Heights, Ohio a few years back. Also heard the Leben gear, Audio Note speakers and Devore Fidelity speakers. I ended up buying a Line Magnetic Audio amp (because that was the limit of my budget), but the Shindo equipment was superb in every way. I think Ken Shindo had passed in early 2014. I can say if I come into mucho dinero I might buy his Shindo/Garrard 301 turntable.

The Shindo and Devore combination with a quality turntable was very, very musical and warm sounding. A very inviting sound that one could listen for days... with that system. I would look at the upper end Line Magnetic gear, since you also get great sounding gear but not as high in price. The LM Audio gear to my ears had a better sound than Rogue, Primaluna or ARC. The LM Audio 218ia and the 219ia SET amps are very musical.

2pysop did you listen to any of that equipment with AN speakers?

Yes I did. Audio Note and Devore Fidelity are really fine with lower powered tube amps. You cannot go wrong with either brand. I only had a short listening session with the Audio Note speakers.
It’s kinda funny because higher powered tube amps and SS amps with hard to drive speakers sound great, but many audiophiles can miss the marvelous sound often achieved when matching great lower powered tube amps to very efficient quality speakers, like AN.
I also listened to the LM Audio field coil speaker. Just a work of art. Take a look here
http://www.dagogo.com/line-magnetic-audio-lm-755i-field-coil-speaker-review
..... so beautiful and paired with a good analog front end. HEAVEN!