Tube Research Labs Dude vs. Shindo Labs preamps

@Grannyring,

I understand your point and already realized from your comments and review that you believe the Dude punches way above its price point. I suspect many of us have that belief about one or more components we have used and enjoyed.

Case in point is the Shindo Aurieges, which costs ~ $3.3K now. When I get the Aurieges, for me, in my experience (I previously owned one for nearly one year before upgrading to the Masseto) and IMHO, it will be a significant upgrade over my ~$10K Ref 3 in terms of sheer musicality. When I had both the Ref 3 and the Aurieges I A/B'd them in 3 different systems and the Aurieges was far better musically. Of course, the Ref 3 offers many more features and conveniences than the Aurieges.

Sounds like a nice piece 4musica44107. Would be great to compare the two directly in the same system.

Beyond sound, take a look at the quality of the internal layout and construction of the Shindo gear - it inspires a lot of confidence.

They do seem to have a different approach. The Dude weights about 4 times more and the transformer alone weights just about as much as the entire Shindo preamp.

Not sure if the Shindo uses circuit boards at all? I know the Dude has none and is 100% point to point hard wired.

The Dude is all about the sound and offering state of the art performance at real world prices.

4music, you may want to call Paul and TRL and he can tell you more about the Dude and send some pictures of recent Dudes.

Grannyring - Shindo uses no circuit boards; they are 100 percent point to point wired. The interior of a Shindo component, like the exterior, is literally a work of art.

I try to keep an open mind about all things audio with one exception - Shindo preamps. For 2-channel audio and if there is no need for a remote, Shindo is THE preamp for me. Case closed! ;->

All The Best,

Steven