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Shindo Monbrison balance issue?

hi

anyone experienced this with their Monbrison (or other Shindo preamps)?

When playing at low volume, the sound is biased towards one side but once the volume is turned up, the level seems to balance itself...... i discovered this when I was burning in my set at low volume and when vocals are played - the voice will "shift" from one side to center as the volume is increased!

I have swapped the interconnects (left -right) going into and then out of the Monbrison to check if source or power amp could be the problem but the results seem to confirm that it is the Monbrison.

Another issue that I encountered accidentally was when playing cd and switching the input selector to other inputs, I can hear the music albeit at very low levels throught the speakers!! is this normal?

aside from these two worrying discoveries, the Monbrison sounds great!

thanking you in advance for your feedback.

best regards
fudgeo
dbjain
34 posts
 
Fudgeo,
I have a Monbrison with Corton Charlemagne 80's. I too notice the balance to one side at low levels that disappears when the volume is raised. The cross talk is also there. I make sure there is only one source playing at a time. Small price to pay for the sound.
fudgeo OP
9 posts
 
Hi Dbjain

yes, apparently this imbalance at low volume seems to be an inherent characteristic of Shindo preamps... i've learned to live with it. thankfully the problem disappears once you turn up the volume.... i was told that this is due to the type of vol pot that is used.....

With regards to the cross-talk, I've solved the problem by inserting shorting plugs into the unused rca sockets - i used Acoustic Revive's SIP 8F Short Plug and that eliminated the crosstalk completely - its now totally silent!
chashas1
596 posts
 
I just have to say, you guys are so lucky....I'd love to live with a Shindo for a while...must be glorious...
dbarger
215 posts
 
This effect is common on many volume pots, but it does not occur on the Masseto which uses a different pot. It is even between channels even at low volumes. There is also no cross talk between inputs.
xronx
55 posts
 
I strictly would use a power amp with input volume potentiometers on a Shindo preamp. Since Shindo preamps usually have a very high output, combinations with power amps without volume potentiometers can be a mismatch since you don't come up in the range where the preamp potentiometer works in it's optimal range. Therefore all Shindo power amps have a input potentiometer, separately for each channel. You should set them that the preamp potentiometer is between 10-12 o´clock position.

The mentioned behaviour is not a Shindo specialty it's common on a lot of preamps which use old shool carbon potentiometers. The only thing is that most preamps have a lower output which might be less critical when pairing them with power amps without input controls.
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