Found my bliss with Shindo Vosne-Romanee (+ Nagra 300p)

[essrand]

I recently replaced my Nagra Jazz going into the Nagra 300p with a Shindo Vosne Romanee and finally had my aha! moment. The moment when you realise that your quest for gear is over and now you will only buy music.

I wrote a long post about it, which turned into an essay, so I published it in my substack: https://audiofool.substack.com/p/the-beginning-of-the-end-the-shindo

I was wondering how a Shindo+Nagra combo would work out, didn't find anyone else in any forum try it out, but I am putting it out there for someone who might have this very same question: Shindo pre + Nagra tube amp ROCKS

 

[LL21]

Congrats. Shindo is indeed a unique form of magic. I still remember dropping it into the system and playing Clapton Unplugged. One of the perfect albums (I thought) for appreciating what Shindo does. His voice came into lifelike bloom, and it was extraordinary. Enjoy.

 

[Tlay]

Thanks for the write up. I too have a pair of O96 speakers and have lusted after a shindo piece to see what it’s all about. I hope it brings years of joy for you.

 

[essrand]

Thanks for the write up. I too have a pair of O96 speakers and have lusted after a shindo piece to see what it’s all about. I hope it brings years of joy for you.

Thank you!

What amplifier are you running your speakers with?

 

[Tlay]

Thank you!

What amplifier are you running your speakers with?

Whammerdyne DAA 2a3 amp. Sounds lovely, zero complaints. Using an Audio Note M3 preamp. Nice combo.

 

[essrand]

Whammerdyne DAA 2a3 amp. Sounds lovely, zero complaints. Using an Audio Note M3 preamp. Nice combo.

That's a very cool looking amp. Are 4W enough for O96? I have been tempted to try out 2a3 and 45 tubes, but always wondered if they would drive the O96 properly.

 

[Tlay]

That's a very cool looking amp. Are 4W enough for O96? I have been tempted to try out 2a3 and 45 tubes, but always wondered if they would drive the O96 properly.

If I run the amp as an integrated it doesn’t have the juice unless I listen to acoustic and small jazz but it sounds wonderful if the music isn’t complex. Great tonality and clarity. Very good amp. When I add the preamp it is a completely different story. It has plenty of dynamics and meat for about 95% of the music I listen to. The subwoofer does help as well. My room is quite large at 18x40. I don’t feel I’m missing much but I’d love to see what a shindo Monbrison and a Montille would do. Maybe a bit more effortlessness to the music? Dunno. I really never listen past about 75-80db also.

 

[Tuckers]

The Shindo Catherine preamp is the best I've ever had.

 

[AudioBear]

I have not heard your Shindo preamp, but we do have the Nagra 300i (Integrated version) with recently fitted (450hr) matched quad of Elrog 300B's fed by a totaldac d1 tube DAC mk2 and I have to say the sound is very good indeed, at least to my ear in our room. I am glad you are enjoying yours!

 

[DasguteOhr]

Shindo monbrison + thöress 845/f2a mono amps is a killer combo
When ever chance to test do it...goosebumps plays along emotionally. you quickly get tears of joy.
I think another Shindo preamp will give a similar feeling.

845 Single-Ended Triode Mono Power Amplifier - Thöress

The Thöress 845 Single-Ended Triode Mono Power Amplifier: our most powerful amplifier, hard-wired, single-stage driver topology with EL803S power pentodes.

www.thoeress.com

 

[essrand]

I have not heard your Shindo preamp, but we do have the Nagra 300i (Integrated version) with recently fitted (450hr) matched quad of Elrog 300B's fed by a totaldac d1 tube DAC mk2 and I have to say the sound is very good indeed, at least to my ear in our room. I am glad you are enjoying yours!

Oh very cool! I have been wanting to meet another Nagra 300p/i user on the forums.

How was the upgrade to Elrog from Nagra's stock JJ tubes? Was it a big upgrade?

In my case, my stock JJ tubes were better than psvane 300b replica (which was supposed to be an upgrade). Wondering what I would get if I went to Elrog or Takatsuki.

 

[essrand]

Shindo monbrison + thöress 845/f2a mono amps is a killer combo
When ever chance to test do it...goosebumps plays along emotionally. you quickly get tears of joy.
I think another Shindo preamp will give a similar feeling.

845 Single-Ended Triode Mono Power Amplifier - Thöress

The Thöress 845 Single-Ended Triode Mono Power Amplifier: our most powerful amplifier, hard-wired, single-stage driver topology with EL803S power pentodes.

www.thoeress.com

Oh nice! I was considering that combo sometime back actually. Glad to get an affirmation that it works well. I didn't know Thoress had an f2a mono as well, I only see the 845 mono.

 

[essrand]

If I run the amp as an integrated it doesn’t have the juice unless I listen to acoustic and small jazz but it sounds wonderful if the music isn’t complex. Great tonality and clarity. Very good amp. When I add the preamp it is a completely different story. It has plenty of dynamics and meat for about 95% of the music I listen to. The subwoofer does help as well. My room is quite large at 18x40. I don’t feel I’m missing much but I’d love to see what a shindo Monbrison and a Montille would do. Maybe a bit more effortlessness to the music? Dunno. I really never listen past about 75-80db also.

Thanks for the info.

I have a large room too, and I listen to around 75-85db, guessing I would need at least 8W then

A monbrison will give you great tonal colours and bliss. Nothing else I have heard does that, Accuphase maybe comes close.

 

[DasguteOhr]

Oh nice! I was considering that combo sometime back actually. Glad to get an affirmation that it works well. I didn't know Thoress had an f2a mono as well, I only see the 845 mono.

Strictly speaking, the integrated amplifier is actually a power amplifier with three switchable inputs and level controls.sorry its a stereo amp

 

[AudioBear]

Oh very cool! I have been wanting to meet another Nagra 300p/i user on the forums.

How was the upgrade to Elrog from Nagra's stock JJ tubes? Was it a big upgrade?

In my case, my stock JJ tubes were better than psvane 300b replica (which was supposed to be an upgrade). Wondering what I would get if I went to Elrog or Takatsuki.

Hi essrand, always nice to meet a fellow Nagra 300 lover
With the provisos that our JJ tubes were probably not at their best, we'd highly recommend the upgrade to the ELROGs. Just more of everything and a lovely Thoriated tungsten glow.
Sorry about the slightly blurry image.



Downsides are the costs for a matched quad, we'd have loved to get a quad of the TM300B, but that is nearly €8,000...so we went for the ER300B

Some things worth mentioning:
+ Thomas Meyer (ELROG) recommended not using the glass tubes with his 300B's.
+ Keep an eye on the bias, we had a few shifts in the initial burning in phase and then it settled down. However, when we came to check with about 420hrs on the tubes it had moved again. After that last re-bias everything seems to be stable again with currently 495hs (approx) on the tubes and sounding just lovely.

 

[essrand]

Strictly speaking, the integrated amplifier is actually a power amplifier with three switchable inputs and level controls.sorry its a stereo amp

Ah! That's good info. Thanks.

Have you compared their f2a with their 845, which do you prefer? I heard rumours that Thoeress himself prefers his f2a.

 

[essrand]

haha

Hi essrand, always nice to meet a fellow Nagra 300 lover
With the provisos that our JJ tubes were probably not at their best, we'd highly recommend the upgrade to the ELROGs. Just more of everything and a lovely Thoriated tungsten glow.
Sorry about the slightly blurry image.

View attachment 116407

Downsides are the costs for a matched quad, we'd have loved to get a quad of the TM300B, but that is nearly €8,000...so we went for the ER300B

Some things worth mentioning:
+ Thomas Meyer (ELROG) recommended not using the glass tubes with his 300B's.
+ Keep an eye on the bias, we had a few shifts in the initial burning in phase and then it settled down. However, when we came to check with about 420hrs on the tubes it had moved again. After that last re-bias everything seems to be stable again with currently 495hs (approx) on the tubes and sounding just lovely.

haha, yes. That's why I have been making do with the stock tubes, a quad of 300b tubes are pricey!

Not using the glass tube would suck, they really add to the aesthetic value of the Nagra 300. Once I am done with other upgrades I might try a Takatsuki. I might try picking it up from Japan, it might not be 8000 euros in that case

 

[AudioHR]

Shindo monbrison + thöress 845/f2a mono amps is a killer combo
When ever chance to test do it...goosebumps plays along emotionally. you quickly get tears of joy.
I think another Shindo preamp will give a similar feeling.

845 Single-Ended Triode Mono Power Amplifier - Thöress

The Thöress 845 Single-Ended Triode Mono Power Amplifier: our most powerful amplifier, hard-wired, single-stage driver topology with EL803S power pentodes.

www.thoeress.com

The 845 looks like a very interesting design and with its low input sensitivity it should work well with the Monbrison. Obviously from your comment they are an excellent match.

I am currently using my Monbrison with a Shindo Cortese 300b they work exceptionally well together as they should. The 2w Decware Zen Triode also works very well!

 

[AudioHR]

Thanks for the write up. I too have a pair of O96 speakers and have lusted after a shindo piece to see what it’s all about. I hope it brings years of joy for you.

There is something special about Shindo!

 

[Birdwatcher]

Essrand, try to add some other Shindo and A23 gear to your system. Maybe first an amp, interconnect and speaker cables. All these add some significant magic in that direction.
Shindo can be sonically very special, as special, as the structures in the dealer/distributor/service can unfortunately be, too. If you have a dealer and you are a good client, you can receive many help, but otherwise it can be difficult…
I for myself had a complete Shindo system (as second system) in the past, from cartridge to speaker, everything was Shindo. It was a nice journey, some nice years, but I am glad to live Shindo-free now… ;-)

Actually all forums seem to be dead on Shindo themes, but the Facebook group is very active and I can recommend it.