Adieu Monbrison & Cortese: The End Of An Era –*At Least For Now
 

It was with very mixed feelings that I decided to send my Monbrison and Cortese back to Pitch Perfect Audio so they can find a new home and still get the support of Matt and opportunity to trade-in for upgrades.

The Monbrison + Cortese have given me many years of awesomely delicious sound, but now that I am not set up with a dedicated listening room and do most of my listening while working, they were being wasted. Even though those Siemes F2A tubes are designed to last for many 1,000s of hours, I still did not like keeping the system on all day, or turning it on/off for quick listening sessions.

Matt already has a buyer for the Monbrison, but the Cortese is likely to be still available. Check with him and know that I've taken great care of it and Matt will take great care of you.

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So what now?

I have no immediate plans to replace the Shindo gear with anything new.

Most of my listening is CD-"quality" streaming MDA1000->McIntosh C34V->McIntosh MC250->Tannoy Sandringhams ... and while it can't compare with the refinement and detail of the Shindo gear, it sounds DELICIOUS: full-bodied, smooth, non-fatiguing.

The phono preamp on the C24V is probably where I miss the Monbrison the most. To me, it was a first-class phono-stage that happened to also have a few line inputs.

Bottom-line: I'll miss the Shindo, but now I have no worries keeping my system on 10-12hrs a day, and the sound is less distracting than the Shindo which always amazed me even after all these years with delicious sonic surprises.

Alberto

Alberto.......Just too good to keep, uha? :D

More like "Just too good to keep sitting unplugged and collecting dust" now that I don't spend a couple of hours a night doing audiophile listening in a dedicated room.

My condolences. We all know how passionate you were about Shindo. Your audio soul mate.

No condolences necessary my friend. Nor is my passion for Shindo in the past tense. This was not a forced sale, there is no duress of any kind involved. Quite the contrary actually.

I am choosing to focus and enjoy some things more than audiophile listening these days ... it's a healthy thing to occasionally swap obsessions :-).

Alberto

Hi Alberto, I reluctantly sent my Cortese back to Matt last week. In return he sent me a brand spanking new pair of the Western Electric 300b monos. Needless to say I'm ecstatic. The scale of "deliciousness" has gone up several fold. I can't begin to express how satisfied I am.

For an all day listening system in another room I recently purchased a Devialet D200 to pair with Harbeth C7s I've had for several years. While completely different than the Shindo room, if you get a chance to demo, you will likely not be disappointed. Although I have not tried it, the D200 phono section is reported to be a killer.

I, for one, will miss your always upbeat Shindo posts and attitude!

Good luck,

Bill Denton

Alberto,

You are so right my friend about swapping obsessions....
We just moved in a flat in Paris center.
I guess that hifi won't be a priority for me anymore. The car is in the street, fully packed of gear I did not even take the time to bring up in the flat !

Hi Bill,

Congrats on you upgrade to the 300b -- what a great power tube. I am not surprised you are ecstatic!

I am curious about the Devialet, but I strongly suspect that its sound signature will not be to my liking. I will have to audition it one of these days though.

Alberto

Hello Jerome,

At the risk of sounding a bit too lyrical, I will say that: Sometime we begin a new chapter and sometime we begin a new book.

I've gone through a LOT of chapters in the audiophile book, sometime focusing more on the audio part than the music part (I have to admit to that, for that's the only thing that can account for those Chesky, Diana Krall and "Jazz at the Pawnshop" recordings -- and a few too many listening sessions of Roger Water's "Amused to Death" just because it sounded awesome.)

I've enjoyed the audiophile book tremendously -- which I hope is obvious from reading any of my posts. But now I am enjoying myself tremendously doing something else -- with music as the accompaniment and audiophile equipment as the accompaniment to the accompaniment.

There is a also the possibility that I like challenges and, in a way, with my Shindo system I had reached the peak of what I was after. I summited my audio Everest with Shindo as my sherpa -- a goal I never thought I'd read. I've enjoyed several years at the summit and now I am coming down.

I must admit that it was with a very heavy heart that I shipped my Monbrison and Cortese back to Matt at Pitch Perfect. But I know that through him they'll find a great new home and help another climber move up the audiophile mountain.

This does not mean, in any way, that I will not continue to be a contributor to AA -- even in the Shindo forum. I will continue to read and contribute as I have in the past.

I am not sure what motivated your move my friend. That audio room of yours was truly unique and special. But whatever the cause, I send you my best wishes!

Alberto

Alberto, It's hard to tell. I certainly like its signature with the Harbeth, but with another speaker... Who knows. It's all about synergy. The Devialet is a very versatile piece and perfect for my implementation. Nothing at all like the Shindo system. But still immensely enjoyable.