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Shindo Monbrison balance issue?

hi

anyone experienced this with their Monbrison (or other Shindo preamps)?

When playing at low volume, the sound is biased towards one side but once the volume is turned up, the level seems to balance itself...... i discovered this when I was burning in my set at low volume and when vocals are played - the voice will "shift" from one side to center as the volume is increased!

I have swapped the interconnects (left -right) going into and then out of the Monbrison to check if source or power amp could be the problem but the results seem to confirm that it is the Monbrison.

Another issue that I encountered accidentally was when playing cd and switching the input selector to other inputs, I can hear the music albeit at very low levels throught the speakers!! is this normal?

aside from these two worrying discoveries, the Monbrison sounds great!

thanking you in advance for your feedback.

best regards
fudgeo
fudgeo OP
9 posts
 
thanks Jhardy for your feedback.

it's bothers me a bit as I do play at that low level occasionally when i leave it on for background music....

yes, I did set the vol dial at 8 o'clock and adjusted my amp's vol level to my normal listening level. did notice that the Monbrison's vol dial is quite sensitive and i hardly play above 9 o'clock but thats not an issue for me :)

anyone else with similar experience? thanks.
lokie's avatar
lokie
528 posts
 
I had a Monbrison paired with several differnet amps and never had your described problem.

Did you buy your Monbrison new or used and from an individual or dealer? Someday I would like to get another Shindo pre but am concerned about how to go about getting a non-dealer unit serviced or retubed.
fudgeo OP
9 posts
 
I bought it brand new from dealer.....
restock
831 posts
 
Almost all carbon-based volume potentiometers have problems in the very
low volume setting (7-8 o'clock). Ideally you want to have regular listening
volume in the 10-11 position, loud volume in the 2 o'clock position. If it is an
issue for you really should be talking to your dealer.

My Monbrison is pretty close but I had problems with several previous
preamps (Fi Y which has extreme gain and forced you to listen at 8-9). Also
most potentiometers I measured have severe channel imbalance at low
volumes. Here is a thread I started on Asylum about the Fi channel imbalance:

Channel imbalance and attenuators

There is a reason why so may manufactures use dual volume controls for
carbon based pots or use a resistor based ladder. The problem is I don't quite
like both of those approaches either; a dual volume would be a deal breaker
for me (e.g. Lamm preamps, Verdier preamp, several others).
mikeyc8
174 posts
 
Fudgeo you don't mention what type of amp you have? I have a Shindo amp as well and my dealer told me to have the amp's volume at the 12 O'clock position. As a result I have no issues with my Shindo Auriege's volume control.
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