Dave, You are very happy with your current system and that is certainly commendable. In addition you have the added fulfilling satisfaction of doingThis yourself via building your kits. Keep it up. Charles
I'm sorry for the very delayed response. Directly comparing it to my past Shindo gear wouldn't be fair. I sold the Shindo gear not because I was unhappy but because I wanted to build kits and see what I could get out of them. After I finished the DAC and the preamp, I was really surprised how good they sounded. I followed the DAC and pre with an EL34 amp kit, and I was loving it. But soon after that I heard a full Audio Note setup for the first time at the NY Audio Show and I thought I'd try and get close to that on a "budget". Well, the budget soon went right out the window. I replaced the EL34 amp with Quest monos, did a ton of upgrades on the DAC and preamp, then started experimenting with interconnects and speaker wire. Now I am at a completely different price-point than I was when I had the Shindo setup.....and I have level 4 Audio Note speakers, which I didn't have when I had the Shindo gear....but..... There is no comparison between my past Shindo and what I have now. The dymamics are spectacular now, and vocals and instruments are more realistic. Bass is much deeper and more defined, mids and vocals move around the room, and the highs are more sharp. Also, I found the Shindo to be a bit dark, and the 300B SETs that I have now are brighter and more engaging. To be fair, I never had Shindo SETs or a preamp at the level I have now to compare to. I am extremely happy with my current setup, and for the first time in 10yrs, I don't have a wish list.
