My advise is to save up for a shindo amp. You have a superb preamp, that will only reach its potential with a matching Shindo amp. I own a Shindo Masseto and a Haut Brion and couldnt be happier. |
the quicksilvers are extremely refined, and way underpriced compared to many. i would suggest looking into their pre as well. |
I disagree that a Shindo pre can only reach its potential with a Shindo amp. I would say, however, that my Shindo power amp only reaches its true potential with my Shindo pre.
I have an Aurieges-L that sounds awesome with my Canary CA-339's as well as my Shindo Corton-Charlemagnes.
The Shindo pre will bring out the best in whatever amp it's partnered with as long as you use Shindo IC's btwn the pre and power amp and as long as the power amp's input impedance is simpatico with the output impedance of the Shindo pre.
You own the Massetto which has a low output imp. thanks to its transformers so you could pretty much use any tubed power amp. |
I agree with Jaybo and Bnrlaw comments about the QS and compatability in general. Since you don't need a lot of power, I would try the Music Reference RM10 that uses EL84s for output. It lists for 1,995 but there was a summers sale for 1295 or something like that. It is a very, very good sounding amp if 35 watts is enough, I preferred it to my Quicksilver V4s, but I don't need a lot of power to drive my Merlin VSMs. |
Lowens, nice system. The Haut Brion must sound great. I will have to contact Jonathan and get some retail prices on some of the Shindo amps. The Haut Brion w/ the 300B's are interesting though. The one that I have been considering is the standard Corton's, w/ El 34's, but they are around 12K. I wanted to do something for around 6-8K or even less right now. Jaybo, no doubts as to the value of the Quickies. I owned both the balanced and SE versions of the V4's, and they are no doubt great amps for the money IMO. Bnrlaw, I actually have the Monbrison, which does not have the transformer in the output stage. So, your Aurieges L and my Monbrison are the only Shindo preamps that do not have the T-F. It is the Massetto and above above that do. I should try the Shindo or A23 IC's as well, certainly between my Monbrison and amp. I agree with you, in that there is definitely quite a few people running Shindo pre's with different amps. Not as many as the all Shindo, but quite a few. I have noticed C-J , Quicksilver, and Accuphase besides your Canary. Pubul57, c'mon, I sold you that V4. That has to be the best amp you have ever owned. Thanks to all. |
I have the Quicksilver 6C33C Triode Monoblocs (55 watts) with the Monbrison and the combination is great (transparent and sweet with a reasonable amount of drive) with my Merlins. I have been thinking about the Haut Brion (and thinking about possibly changing speakers to Proac D38's, Devore Nines, AG Uno Nano's, or Verity), but I would want to hear it in my system (or future system) against the Quickies for a few days before I made the decision as I would want to make certain that there is enough dynamic drive.
The decision to go all Shindo is must take into account the the efficiency of the speakers in one's system and their impedance curve. BTW, I heard the Cortese with the Devore Nines at In Living Stereo last week and was very impressed with what the 10 watt Cortese could do. Absolutely, loved it with the Monbrison.
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Aronss, good to hear from you. You were the one I was referring to as having used Quickies with a Shindo pre. So, glad to hear that you are happy with the combo. I was thinking about the Mid Mono's which have about the same power rating as your Triodes while fitted w/ El-34's. It would be hard to go wrong with the Mid Mono at around $1,100 used. Besides, I don't know that people really go wrong with Quicksilver in general. I will look in to the input impedance of your amps, to see if their rating is close to the MM's. I may have to call Mr. Sanders, as your Triode is the amp he never listed on his website. As far as your speaker quest goes, I have about 50-60 hours on my Nines and have been very impressed so far. Although like you, I would really want to hear a Shindo amp in my system. I owned Parsifal Encore's, and IMO they are a great speaker. However, I feel like the 55 watts may be an issue depending on your room size, how loud you listen.... They do have a new speaker called the Leonore that is much more efficient. You may be aware of this, since ILS is a dealer. I don't know the Proac, other than having heard here in the forums that they like a bit of power. The good thing is ILS is a dealer for all you mentioned except the Avant-Garde's. |
I owned the Verity Parsifals for 7yrs, now have the Sarastros, used the Masseto and the Corton Charlemagne 80s with the Parsifals... worked very, very well. Contact me if you go that way. I do agree that you can use another amp as well, but if you can, go for the CC80s. I did not try lower power Shindos, but I would recommend the power of the 80s as being required to bring the Parsifals to life. |
Fjn04 I'm running a Aurieges MM with the new Shindo Montille 6V6 version and Shindo interconnects. The Montille with Shindo interconnects is in your $$ range and I doubt that you could do better for the money and then some. If you can, give the Montille 6V6 a listen especially with your speakers and preamp. Highly recommended. |
Fjn04 I have had the mid monos in my system and while they are good, they are not nearly as transparent as my Quickies. If possible I would try to find a used pair of V4's and replace the KT88's with EL34's. I have heard the EL34's in Quickies at Audio Connection and they were fastastic. If I get the Proacs and need more power I may go for the V4's and do just that. Another option would be to try the Music Reference EL 84 based amp. It's quite nice and killer on electric guitar.
BTW why did you get rid of your Parsifals? And how do the Nines compare? |
Fjn04, I remember now. Yes, the V4s are wonderful amps - reliable, well engineered, and very good sound. But, I think you will find it hard to find a better sounding 35 watt amp than the Music Reference RM10, but it is a matter of sufficient power. Maybe it is the use of the EL84, which seems to be a wonderful tube, but almost always too low in power for many speakers. Another benefit is that the amps is rated for 10,000 hours on those tubes. Well, anyway, just a thought. As good as the V4s are, and you know there sound, I think you would be very impressed with what the little Music Reference amp can do. |
Hatari, I am with you on that. I did use Tenor the 75 Wi during my 6+ years with the PE's. They were borderline for me for having enough drive. They sounded so good though. My other favorite amp on the PE was the CJ Premier 8A's. These were the only tubes I owned on the Parsifal, although an audition of an Ait Tight ATM-2 was very impressive IMO. I would like to have the opportunity to try the Corton El-34 monos w/ my Nines. Doclamb, thanks for the info. I will check in to the Montille 6V6, the Nines are 91Db, 7ohm load. I have been thinking at least 25-30 watts, which I believe is the power rating for the Corton El-34 monos. An amp like the Mid Mono or Rm-10ii may make for a painless wait until I am in a position to spend 12K on the CC's. Aronss, at this point the Parsifals' were my favorite speaker. It seems that people hold on to Parsifal's for a while. I listen to alot of Door's, Led Zep, SRV..., and I wanted something that would move amore air , and play bigger than the PE's. That said, they were no slouch on rock IMO. The Nines have impressed me very much, so much that I they are worth the effort to find a good amp match. I think The Parsifal's may add a little bit of their own warmth in the mid's, and the tweeter is very naturally detailed but not offensive. The Nines seem a bit more neutral, but not in a bad way. It does seem to have a tighter, better defined bass than the Verity. I think they will take on the character of their partnering amp and upstream components. Beyond that, it's tough to compare , because I had three speakers in and out between the PE's and the Nines. So, literally none of the same components in front of them. All that said, I look forward to finally have the ability to play with low-mid power tube amps. I am hoping that a good, properly matched low powered tube amp will have that refinement and magic that I am seeking. Yep, magic. There, I said it. Thanks again for all your input so far. |
I have a Shindo Monbrison matched very well with a McIntosh MC-275 (rev V).
I am totally thrilled with the performance. |
