As I am currently moving from the Autieges (the two box version) to the Masseto (will the package never arrive?), my feelings are: a) The Auriegies is a very good pre-amp, with lots of tone and feeling, (b) When I had my session with Matt, I was stunned by the sound difference when we moved to the Monbrison - clarity, depth, etc. - everything else being equal (same Montille, speakers, everything), (c) I could not hear as big a difference from the Monbrison to the Masseto, it was much more subtle. I choose the Masseto over the Monbrison because it was a bit different with the transformers and I felt that it was a "better" long-term selection, but I could have been exceptionally happy with the Monbrison. Having said that, when Matt put the Aurieges back into play after the Monbrison, after just a couple of songs, I quickly asked him to take it out for the Monbrison. And that was that...I have had my Aurieges for a couple of years now, and it is very good, but IMHO and in my system (I'll be staying with the Montille to power the O/96s for a while), it is not in the same category as the others above it, technically...I have not heard the V-R or above yet...Jonathan K.

Personally, I was absolutely floored with the move from the Aurieges to the Monbrison. One caveat, though, I was running a SS amp at the time. The Monbrison tamed it quite well and the difference was night and day.

Everyone of these units are fantastic for their price. I loved my Aurieges but the monbrison is everything the aurieges was but brings it to a higher level and the same goes for the Masseto. I agree the aurieges presents the sound the same as the others but each level up the line brings detail, openness, and improved sound stage that the others were missing.

Depending on what you are trying to achieve depends on what you should buy. For me there would be no going back with the rest of my system. I am looking for all the openness and complexity that the Masseto offers and it is stunning. I can only imagine how much better it gets as you progress up the line.

Indeed. There are clear and distinct jumps in performance as you move up the line. Aurieges to Monbrison brings much more scale and even handed musical playback top to bottom. Musical tone and texture takes on a more palpable presence. The Monbrison to Masseto difference is more about finesse, nuance and a bump in resolution. You will also notice much more weight and 'foundation' with the Masseto.

All 3 allow you to enjoy a tremendous degree of great music, no doubt about it!

The key to maximizing the performance of these products is making sure the rest of the system is capable.

As a few of previous posts implied, some missed their Aurieges after moving to a higher end model. This is emotionally justifiable since it is giant killer of a preamp and we all have a special place in our heart for our first Shindo preamp! ;-) But if it is preferred sonically, it definitely highlights, to me, a potential bottleneck in the rest of the system when a model such as Monbrison, Masseto or Vosne-Romannée is placed in the setup.

Higher end models will demand a bit more care in setup to maximize their potential. Ie. Speakers that aren't squeezing the life out of the music, proper speaker setup, proper cabling, better equipment stands..better source components, so on and so forth.

-M

I think the thrust of the original post was that most first timers that start with an Aurieges are astounded that such a little thing can produce such amazing music. While going up the Shindo line may produce better sound (and furnish you with a wonderful phono stage), you may still find yourself looking back at the Aurieges and marveling at what it does in the name of music, at THAT price.

Upgrading any component in your system should be considered carefully.
Doing so can sometimes cause more heartache than joy.

Matt:thumbsup:

Exactly, well said.

Hello. This is my first post here. I recently found this web site and have enjoyed all the discussions and banter. I will be meeting with Matt Rotunda of Pitch Perfect this Sat. and will likely buy an Aurieges-L. I'm quite excited as I expect a significant improvement in the sound of my system which consists of Harbeth Compact 7's, Quicksilver Silver Mono 88's, Nuforce P8 preamp and Micromega Mydac. I listen to Classical and opera mostly.

avta
Welcome!

Thank you SS77