shindo pre-amp and power amp reliabilty

Completely agree with Dbarger's comments. I too have made the transition from ARC to Shindo (Masseto) and Leben for the preamps in my primary systems.

A little off thread. This gear looks intriguing to me. I would like to get one of the pre-amps. However I have big Maggie speakers that I derive with a big 200w per channel solid state amp.

If I got a Shindo pre-amp, would I lose some of its benefits with a SS amp in the chain?

Nmgrant1 - Not in my experience. Before I upgraded to the Leben RS-28CX, I had an Aurieges teamed with an Accuphase P-3000 for about one year and that combo was sublime. (The Leben is even better, but I believe that has more to do with the Leben being an even better preamp than Shindo's entry level Aurieges.) And I know indirectly that the person who bought my Levinson 334 loves that amp with his Aurieges. You didn't mention which SS amp you have, but the 334 and P-3000 both work great with an Aurieges, and sonically, those two amps could not be more different.

No problem at all with my Masseto. Equipment is built one at a time by true artisans with extremely high standards. This is the type of gear you put in your will.

You just have to be careful when matching SS amps with the Aurieges since it has a very high output impedance. In my experience it mates best with tube amps.