I am *also* could cry I am so happy :-)

[Alberto]

I love the title of Joeinid's recent thread about his Burmester gear: Oh my G*d I could cry I am soooooooo happy ... so I had to borrow it.

Although Shindo and Burmester are literally and figuratively oceans apart in design, approach, etc. I can perfectly imagine how Joe felt when he wrote that thread -- 'cause I've been feeling that way since I got my Shindo Cortese + Monbrison combination (along with the Tannoy speakers.)

I know I have a review of the Monbrison due to you guys, but I don't know what the heck to write or when to write it. Every time I start trying to dissect and analyze the sound, I get caught up in the music, toss off the laptop/notebook and just enjoy the music ... heck, I just did it right now (Jethro Tull's Aqualung on vinyl Side B - if you must know.)

Anyhoo, my listening sessions are so long these days that they are bordering on the ridiculous. Last week, my wife was visiting her sisters and I spent one gloriously sunny week-end listening to record after record - almost 10 hours over the week-end.

Listening fatigue? Not even a hint of it - not even after 5-6 hours, not even with CDs mastered in the 80. The only listening fatigue I am experiencing is because I am sleeping less, just so I can listen more.

I am looking into having an IV (intravenous) feed so I don't have to bother with such things as eating ... and wearing adult diapers so I don't have to stop listening to tend to lowly bodily functions.

Digital, vinyl, rock, jazz, classical, well recorded, poorly recorded, loud, soft, whatever, EVERYTHING SOUNDS GREAT.

This latest incarnation of my system has surpassed my most optimistic expectations for deliciousness. Heck, it has shredded those expectations, beat them into a pulp, made papier-mache finger puppets out of them and shoved them up my nose to taunt me ... as if to say: "And you thought you knew what delicious meant ... Mr. Delicious Sound Hound ... you had no idea it could be like this, did you? DID YOU? Punk!"

Tone controls? For the first time in my audiophile life I can honestly say: I don't have them and I don't need them. And I'm the guy who could not go 3 posts without mentioning tone controls and bitching about their disappearance. As Stephen (TwoDot) says: the Shindo is the tone control - how right he is. Sorry I was skeptical, but I am glad that I believed enough to go for it.

Last night, I played Joe Pass' Virtuoso on vinyl - the guitar sound was organic and orgasmic! So satisfying I felt like smoking a cigarette afterward .

The soundstage on Pink Floyd's The Wall busts through the walls (and ceiling) of my listening room.

I am even starting to enjoy some music I never really liked. If all I had to play was a Pia Zadora CD, I am sure I would enjoy it too on this system.

My definition of deliciousness has been totally re-calibrated. I never thought it was possible to get close to what, in my mind, was 10 on the 1-10 deliciousness scale. A 10 rating was one of those idealized states - a Platonic ideal that could only be imagined but not realized in the real world. But the sound I am l listening to now is BETTER than that! It's at least a 12.

So here I stand (or sit to be precise) – awestruck, schooled, re-calibrated and immensely happy.

Could I cry? You bet. I feel like I've won the audio lottery. I've had some delicious systems in my days, but I've never been as satisfied and as content in my audio life.

Joe I am holding a glass of Malbec and toasting to your Burmester and your "soooo happy I could cry" post!

Alberto