2. amps-preamps
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Shindo Auriges vs. Cary SLP98

Hello! I have an opportunity to purchase a Shindo Auriges preamp at a great price, but will have no opportunity to hear it in my system or compare against my existing Cary SLP-98 F1. I have heard great things about the Shindo, so I am tempted to pull the trigger on this deal. Rest of the system is Cary V-12i, Audio Physic Virgos, VPI Scout w/Blackbird, Shanling T-100 CD through modded EAD 7000 DAC, Audience AU24 cabling.
I know this is pretty subjective, but any thoughts?
slaw3
tholt
545 posts
 
I am an owner of an Aurieges and like all things, it is system dependent. They probably sound best with tube amps (though I'm pairing mine with Nuforce Class D's). If you buy it for anything less then $2k you should be able to recoup your money on resale, assuming it's in excellent condition
tholt
545 posts
 
One thing to keep in mind is the relatively high output impedance of the Auriges of ~5k ohm.
macdadtexas
1,794 posts
 
Never heard the Shindo, but I have the same Cary as you, and it's the best preamp I have ever owned.
aronsss
110 posts
 
I have had both units in my system and currently on a Monbrison. the Cary has a more romantic sound (even the F1) than the Shindo's. The Aurieges and the Monbrison excel at providing the tonality and musical flow. I believe the Shindo's are the better product to my ears, but the ultimate decision is yours in that your may like the flavor of the Cary better.
The only reservation I would have with the Shindo is that you should not use and interconnect from it to the amp more than 3 meters, the sound will seriously degrade.
Finally, I found Jonathan Halpern the importer of Shindo to be honest and ethical -- a true gentlemen.
vinyljh
46 posts
 
Slaw3,

The Blackbird is a 2.5 mv output cart, this will not work so well with the Aurieges. The Aurieges is a MM preamp which means 3mv minimum.
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