Is the Aurieges too good for its own good?

[avta]

The Aurieges-L arrived yesterday and in good shape as far as I can tell. I have it running with my W4S amp as it's been quite warm and my Quicksilver Mono 88's give off a lot of heat. Even with that the sound is quite smooth. I'll do more listening tomorrow. ( Harbeth Compact 7's, Micromega Mydac, Squeezebox Touch, Audience ic's )

[guitardave]

I received my Monbrison, and did decide to sell my Aurieges. The Mon is better. But the Aurieges of course is still an excellent preamp by any standard.
Just wondering, is the Monbrison too good for it's own good?

Just kidding with that question...

[kev313]

Originally Posted by guitardave

I received my Monbrison, and did decide to sell my Aurieges. The Mon is better. But the Aurieges of course is still an excellent preamp by any standard.
Just wondering, is the Monbrison too good for it's own good?

Just kidding with that question...

Depends on the tubes.

I kid!! I kid!!

[vortrex]

Is there any difference between the two box Aurieges or the single chassis?

[CFz]

I've been considering adding an Aurieges to my system for a while now just from all the wonderful things I've read about it. I've never auditioned this preamp, although I have listened to the Masseto and Vosne Romanee, both under less than optimal conditions and I did not find anything extraordinary about them. Before we get out the pitch forks and torches for blaspheming Shindo gear, read on.

The Masseto was paired with the Cortese and DeVore O/96 with Shindo 301 TT, the only problem was I did not enjoy the music that was being played (Ry Cooder). This was on a recent trip to NYC where I was in the neighborhood of In Living Stereo and I dropped by without an appointment, so the store owner allowed me to sit in the demo room and listen to this combo while he was helping another customer. I dared not touch the Shindo 301 for fear of breaking it, but I saw a Jimi Hendrix album that I wanted to throw on there oh so badly. Still, I was impressed with the O/96 sound but not overly impressed as I was expecting. And as I mentioned, I think this was the music as there wasn't much dynamic swing or different instruments. It was more of an intimate session with Mr. Cooder, which I did not care for. I would like to spend more time with the O/96, as I think that may be my next speaker.

I should also state I have very limited experience with vinyl and have almost no interest going down that path. I'm young and like to listen to music on a whim, so my listening is 100% digital. The few times I've heard vinyl (all with Shindo 301) I was impressed with it's smoothness, but being of the new generation I could not get past the snap and crackling sound that seems to be present. Maybe that's just those particular records.

The Vosne Romanee I listened to was paired with the Montille EL84 and again with a Shindo 301 TT, but this time to Harbeth SHL5. The Montille and the Harbeth SHL5 definitely do not get along, at least not in comparison to the little Leben CS300XS which I was also demoing. This was a demo with a local dealer who I did have time to setup an appointment with, so we spent hours going back and forth between the two combos. The Shindo combo was lifeless in comparison to the Leben with these speakers, even the dealer agreed. More power, perhaps? It is odd because the Montille and Leben have the same 15wpc output.

So far, my experiences with Shindo have been in less than optimal listening conditions but I have to believe from all that I read that there is some magic to be heard from all this highly acclaimed gear.

My own setup consists of a Devore Nines and a Leben CS600 which I've had the pleasure of listening extensively over the last year. I've upgraded the stock 6CS7 tubes to NOS Japanese as per recommended by Yoshi (designer) and I've upgraded the power tubes to NOS EL34 DD getters, boy what an upgrade! The bass firmed up, more definition, and definitely more realistic tone to guitar strings and resonance, piano, and anything that hits in the lower frequencies.

I'm very happy with my setup but I'm very curious as to the Shindo sound, and I wonder if adding an Aurieges-L as a preamp to the Leben CS600 would be a good move. I wonder if anyone has experience with this combination they could share. Regardless, thanks for reading my post. If I ever do try the Aurieges with the Leben I'll post my impressions.

[fjn04]

CFz- Thanks for sharing your experiences. I think Leben actually may have a switch, where you can chose 8ohm, 4ohm.... So, the Leben may be better suited to tougher impedance loads. It appears from what I have read and learned, that the Shindo amps are better suited to higher impedance speakers. The Leben/Harbeth pairing specifically is said to to be one that works nicely. The system you heard at ILS is one I have heard as well.
The mellower music can be very intimate as you describe, but too bad you didn't get to listen to the Hendrix. I find my system with the 96's and CC el 34's, can be convincing with rock. I use an EMT tsd-15 through an A23 standard SUT. My guess is you may have felt different had you listened to the Hendrix. If that still didn't do it for you, there would have been some things to try. You may have really liked the EMT through an appropriate SUT. Another thing that comes to mind would have been to try the Haut Brion or CC 80's.
The Steve's certainly know their know their stuff. I have also heard some very respectable digital from their system. On a lighter and simpler note, check out a table. The stuff like Hendrix and Led Zep is made to be heard on vinyl. If you are a spontaneous listener, you still have to turn on your equipment. So if you ony have 45 minutes, spin a record...!

[avta]

I don't think you will be able to know with certainty how adding an Aurieges will effect you system without trying it. I know that sounds trite but system specifics are critical in my view. I recently added an Aurieges-L preamp to my system which consists of Harbeth Compact 7 speakers, Quicksilver Mono 88 tube amps, Anedio DAC1 and Squeezebox Touch. Like you I don't do vinyl for the same reasons. I noticed a signficant improvement in sound quality which I described in an earlier post as " more meat on the bones. " The sound is more realistic with improved spacial characteristics and richness. Others will likely chime in but do try to borrow one if you can.
Guy

[CFz]

Originally Posted by fjn04

CFz- Thanks for sharing your experiences. I think Leben actually may have a switch, where you can chose 8ohm, 4ohm.... So, the Leben may be better suited to tougher impedance loads. It appears from what I have read and learned, that the Shindo amps are better suited to higher impedance speakers. The Leben/Harbeth pairing specifically is said to to be one that works nicely. The system you heard at ILS is one I have heard as well.
The mellower music can be very intimate as you describe, but too bad you didn't get to listen to the Hendrix. I find my system with the 96's and CC el 34's, can be convincing with rock. I use an EMT tsd-15 through an A23 standard SUT. My guess is you may have felt different had you listened to the Hendrix. If that still didn't do it for you, there would have been some things to try. You may have really liked the EMT through an appropriate SUT. Another thing that comes to mind would have been to try the Haut Brion or CC 80's.
The Steve's certainly know their know their stuff. I have also heard some very respectable digital from their system. On a lighter and simpler note, check out a table. The stuff like Hendrix and Led Zep is made to be heard on vinyl. If you are a spontaneous listener, you still have to turn on your equipment. So if you ony have 45 minutes, spin a record...!

Good advice fjn. I would one day like to try vinyl but at the moment the investment seems to be to much for me. A turntable, step up transformer, phono preamp, cables, etc. I'm hoping the Shindo preamp will analog-up the sound a bit. Hopefully I can find a Aurieges-L on the used market to maximize my investment, otherwise I'll look at upgrading my DAC. Good point with the impedance matching, I forgot the Leben amps have this feature and that's a good explanation for the Leben's prowess with the Harbeths.

[CFz]

Originally Posted by avta

I don't think you will be able to know with certainty how adding an Aurieges will effect you system without trying it. I know that sounds trite but system specifics are critical in my view. I recently added an Aurieges-L preamp to my system which consists of Harbeth Compact 7 speakers, Quicksilver Mono 88 tube amps, Anedio DAC1 and Squeezebox Touch. Like you I don't do vinyl for the same reasons. I noticed a signficant improvement in sound quality which I described in an earlier post as " more meat on the bones. " The sound is more realistic with improved spacial characteristics and richness. Others will likely chime in but do try to borrow one if you can.
Guy

Thanks Guy, glad to hear it helped your system out. I've been considering reaching out to my dealer to see if I can borrow one before taking the plunge. My hope is that he'll have or can sell me a used one, because I have no intention of buying new equipment and I'd hate to waste his time if he has nothing used to sell me. In addition to loving music, I love to save and new audio equipment is a horrible value for me at the moment. A used Aurieges sounds like it would be a good upgrade for the money.

[junker]

Just curious but what does an Aurieges (w/MM) and the Monbrison retail for?

Would one or the other be more suited to go between a DAC and the MC452 SS amp that I currently have?