Shindo + Digital...Your Experiences

[Cucumber_Jones]

My Metrum Octave should be here in 2 weeks. Should be a very nice upgrade from my Dacmagic!

[dpetr]

Plink,

Yes, the UnitiServe to the AN Kit 4. There are no extra parts to buy, except a power cord. Definitely worth the time.

Dave

[adhesiv]

Originally Posted by Cucumber_Jones

My Metrum Octave should be here in 2 weeks. Should be a very nice upgrade from my Dacmagic!

I've been very excited about this purchase. I've read and heard so many glowing comments about this piece and for the price I had to check it out for myself. The wait was loooooong, but that must mean these are in extremely high demand or the parts to construct arent that plentiful. My guess is it's the former.

Once you get yours I'd love to hear your impressions. Right now I'm just using the built in DAC on the Transporter which has been a surprising delight, and passing it through the Arome. I've had literally nothing else to compare it to so another reason I'm excited for the Metrum.

[adhesiv]

Originally Posted by DesW

G'day Ad' gotta agree with G-man the Black Cat Cable is the best bang for the buck out there--I tried others and only found the Stereolab TRON to better it--albeit at considerable cost.

Des

Des, how much does the Black Cat run? Is it coax or toslink?

[Lunchy]

Welcome to AA Dave! I've been wanting to find and build a kit like this for a while, but haven't found any that I really wanted. These kits look awesome! Have any advice?

Originally Posted by dpetr

But the prices shocked me, even as a Shindo owner. Then I discovered Audio Note Kits - they offered a limited edition Level 4 kit at a fraction of what it would cost as a finished product. The only problem was, I'd never built a kit. After a little encouragement from my dad, who built a few kits when I was a kid, I placed my order, and bought a soldering station. After 3 weeks of very late nights, I finished it, and it powered-up on the first try.

[adhesiv]

Originally Posted by dpetr

Hi all - I'm new to the forum, but I've been a Shindo owner for 6 years. I started with an Aurieges and Montille, then I upgraded to a Monbrison, and a Montrachet about 6 months ago. I started out all digital, then I tried vinyl, but I just couldn't get into it like I thought I would, so I went back to digital, but this time, to a music server.

My Shindo dealer also sells Naim, and I found the convenience of the Naim UnitiServe to much to pass up, so I tried it and I love it. The challenge for me has been to find a DAC that fits a Shindo system well. I started with a Naim DAC, that I found it to be very flexible with many different inputs, but sonically I found it to be very dry. So I tried a power supply upgrade (Teddy Pardo XPS) which smoothed it out a bit, but still not what I wanted. While I had the Naim, I was searching for a new DAC solution, and I began reading about Audio Note and their famous DACs.

But the prices shocked me, even as a Shindo owner. Then I discovered Audio Note Kits - they offered a limited edition Level 4 kit at a fraction of what it would cost as a finished product. The only problem was, I'd never built a kit. After a little encouragement from my dad, who built a few kits when I was a kid, I placed my order, and bought a soldering station. After 3 weeks of very late nights, I finished it, and it powered-up on the first try.

What a difference! After just a few hours of burn-in, I was amazed at the sound. After a week of A/B-ing, I found the Audio Note to be much warmer and more detailed with a much larger sound stage - much more similar to the Garrard 401 turntable I had, so I sold the Naim. I knew I was on to something special.

I've been using the Audio Note DAC for 3 months, and I have added 2 tweaks - an Empirical Audio Pace Car reclocker between the server and the DAC, and a Shindo Arome CD transformer between the DAC and the Monbrison. The reclocker is basically a jitter reduction device, and it brings out a lot more detail. The Arome is more difficult to describe, but it seems to add more dimension to vocals.

I think my current setup sounds just about as good as that Garrard 401 and it's a heck of a lot more convenient. I'm going to stay put for a while.

Dave

Hi Dave, welcome to AA.

You and I seem to be the few on here with an Arome, what cables are you using to connect all of this up? I'm in a similar configuration (Music Server > DAC > Arome > Pre) and not sure quite sure yet how I'll hook it all up. Also can you elaborate more on how the Pace Car is incorporated in your setup. I've followed the manufacurers posts on another site and have considered one as well but that stretches the signal path from source to pre by 3 additional pieces and the cables in between and that makes me reconsider.

I've also been intrigued by the AN DAC but as you mentioned the prices are pretty shocking. If the Metrum doesn't work out for me though I might look into AN kit myself. How many hours did you put into it?

[G-Man]

Originally Posted by adhesiv

Des, how much does the Black Cat run? Is it coax or toslink?

The Black Cat digital cables are all BNC with 75 ohm RCA adapters. There is only one length available - 1.23 meters. The Veloce retails for $123; however the latest version of Black Cat's digital cable, the Silver Star 75, retails for $150.

I received a Silver Star 75 two weeks ago and I've been burning it in ever since. My initial impression of this cable is quite favorable. Time will tell...

[DesW]

Originally Posted by adhesiv

Des, how much does the Black Cat run? Is it coax or toslink?

The G-men have the answer for you--trust them-ha!

Des

[adhesiv]

Metrum arrived today! Earlier than I expected.

G-man/DesW,
I see that the designer of the Black Cat cables also made the Stereolab/Stereovox Reference XV which is supposedly the reference version of the black cat line. Any info on this cable?

[chessman]

dpetr, welcome aboard!