Shindo lab pre amps

I have heard the Shindo and the Lamm L2 at CSA and also preferred the Shindo. Both are excellent, but the Shindo has a little more of the tube virtues (space, natural bloom, etc.) that I value highly than the Lamm did. That would make some sense, as the Lamm really is a solid state unit in the signal path, though it doesn't sound it in comparison to most gear. And FWIW, I preferred the Lamm to the Conrad Johnson and VTL preamps that they used to have at CSA in the past, just seemed a little more natural sounding. Just keep in mind that in my experience the Shindo sounds best with shorter interconnect runs to its partnering amplifier(s)--when I tried it in my system while my Jadis was in for repairs, my 40 foot interconnect runs made it lose a lot of its magic, nice sounding but not great like I have heard it sound at CSA.

For what its worth, a dealer once related that they had a shootout and the lowly Aurieges blew away several highly regarded and more expensive pre's such as the Ref 3 and a Spectral. In his words, the Ref 3 sounded "broken" compared to the Aurieges. I can only imagine that the the higher end Shindos sound even better.

I've owned and heard many high-end preamps over the years. Most were very good but not until I owned and worked my way up the Shindo line of preamps did I realize how important an absolute top-notch preamp is to the overall sound of your system. Check-out my system. You will see the most expensive piece of gear I own is the Shindo Vosne-Romanee preamp.

I currently have the Vosne Romanee. I previously had the Hovland HP100, traded that for the Lamm LL2 and then that for the Lamm L2 which is a very good detailed preamp. After a few years with the L2 I changed to the Wyetech Opal which I found as detailed but with more bloom. I finally traded the Wyetech for the Massetto which I found to be every bit as good as the Wyetech but had better texture and nuance. I recently traded in my Massetto for the Vosne Romanee not expecting the difference to be that great. I was mistaken as there was a hugh improvement from the Massetto which took the virtues of the Massetto and provided much more of everything. The VR sounds very much like music. I can only imagine what the Giscours or Petrus must sound like. I found for best results to set on a wooden base and use the Shindo cabling. The tonality is right on with a you are there quality that is hard to describe. Sbayne is right. A top notch preamp can transform a system and IMHO none that I have heard does this better than the VR.