Only a few months ago, I thought I had arrived. I thought I was done.
My Nagra DAC with its resolution and full-bodied sound was mating very well with the very musical Accuphase Integrated. With Acoustic Revive cabling and the Acoustic Revive power conditioner. Things were set. The sound was natural, and enveloped the entire room with warmth, glow and resolution.
It even got to a point that I was enjoying concerts in my living room more than live classical concerts (might have more to do with bad sound engineers and annoying audience at classical concerts
). Once in a while, for a change, I would toss in the Nagra amp. Those were good times while they lasted.
Then suddenly a Shindo preamp suddenly appeared in the used market. Used Shindos are hard to find outside the USA, and a used Shindo VR in 230V in Singapore, was too tempting to resist.
Adding the Shindo preamp into the mix, blew me away. Suddenly that sound that I always had in my head came to my living room. It was alive, and suddenly even mediocre recordings sounded alive and inviting and beautiful. A sitar sounded like a live sitar not some recording on a CD. I resisted and resisted the Shindo call for a system reset, but weeks and months later, I finally broke:
It was heartbreaking to see first the Nagra 300p go, then the Accuphase that I thought I would pass on as a heirloom. All my current gear (even my beloved AR power conditioner) is either sold or in the classifieds market up for sale.
The Shindo Vosne Romanee (the preamp) new mate, a Shindo f2a SET amp is on the way....and now I plan to go all in on Shindo, with Shindo silver cabling and perhaps a Shindo 301 Player system if I get lucky, it might take a while, but I hope it will be worth it, and perhaps the last big change I will make to my system. Wish me luck
My Nagra DAC with its resolution and full-bodied sound was mating very well with the very musical Accuphase Integrated. With Acoustic Revive cabling and the Acoustic Revive power conditioner. Things were set. The sound was natural, and enveloped the entire room with warmth, glow and resolution.
It even got to a point that I was enjoying concerts in my living room more than live classical concerts (might have more to do with bad sound engineers and annoying audience at classical concerts
). Once in a while, for a change, I would toss in the Nagra amp. Those were good times while they lasted.Then suddenly a Shindo preamp suddenly appeared in the used market. Used Shindos are hard to find outside the USA, and a used Shindo VR in 230V in Singapore, was too tempting to resist.
Adding the Shindo preamp into the mix, blew me away. Suddenly that sound that I always had in my head came to my living room. It was alive, and suddenly even mediocre recordings sounded alive and inviting and beautiful. A sitar sounded like a live sitar not some recording on a CD. I resisted and resisted the Shindo call for a system reset, but weeks and months later, I finally broke:
It was heartbreaking to see first the Nagra 300p go, then the Accuphase that I thought I would pass on as a heirloom. All my current gear (even my beloved AR power conditioner) is either sold or in the classifieds market up for sale.
The Shindo Vosne Romanee (the preamp) new mate, a Shindo f2a SET amp is on the way....and now I plan to go all in on Shindo, with Shindo silver cabling and perhaps a Shindo 301 Player system if I get lucky, it might take a while, but I hope it will be worth it, and perhaps the last big change I will make to my system. Wish me luck
