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Have been quite impressed by the Shinai and also Grandinotes RIAA who's name is totally lost at the moment!
They are expensive, the homepage is a disaster and the product line seems like the collected works from an mental institute but they sound absolutely marvellous!
I mean, how many 37W amplifiers can there be a need for in a line up? :)
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brilliant mike , I have put the proemio back in system and certainly makes the speakers sound a bit like Wilson watt puppys , the grunt and drive is exceptional . playing the farm `altogether now ` this morning , deep purple `smoke on the water` and pinball wizard . it really is quite a beastie . extremely different from the modwright 9.0 which very sweet , textured and creamy smooth and also very enjoyable .
I just love to see how different designers can produce such different sounds from pre amps
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Cheers Phil, agree about the powerful presentation. And the RIAAs name is Celio i believe?
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ah got it . listening to the grandi now and its pretty real sounding.
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so far I have had 3 tom evans vibes , about 6 music first pre amps including the mfa baby ref , bel cant pre 3, vbs and non vbs models , and a few more I can`t remember . I have had the grandinote proemio in the system for a few weeks now and sadly it has to go back very soon so is available to demo . I would be extremely interested if any one tries it against a vitus pre or boulder or krell or any other pre in that league .
certainly it has that je ne se quoi that some ss amps lack , occasionally I have found them slightly clinical . the proemio has texture , is very addictive . last night I was up high in the symphony hall listening to chopin no 1 in a very good concert . it was a bit too far away for me and I actually found myself thinking I wish I was at home listening to the piano on this pre . the attack of the notes is rather good and sounds just like a piano should
I hope to compare the eminently excellent modwright valve dm pre against this proemio next week . it is most certainly on a par from memory though
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so the proemio went back and what a pre amp it is . my word its a cracker . if any of you are at munich this year , get in touch with max to hear his system playing . he is playing the high end genesi with demone power amps , the latter seem to be rather good by all accounts
anyway so we have a grandinote shinai in situ at the moment , integrated and that's extremely good as well
been playing a lot for past few days . its pretty good I must say . I am most impressed with the separation of instruments . I am playing supertramp retrospective currently . sometimes I find this album slightly forward with some kit but not with this integrated. just very enjoyable and not a hint of fatigue .
beautifully made but very heavy . on another forum stateside they have called it pig ugly !! but I don`t think they are bad looking !!!
anyway this will soon be off to to another audiophile hopefully for demo . will post more thoughts
the supertramp track `rudy` is so good and has a train announcer giving all the stations . they are clear as a bell ....in fact clearer . the resolution is superb without any brightness or sense of clinical sound .
next week I hope to hear the co-founder of supertramp live at symphony hall so maybe have a chance to compare !
https://youtu.be/aaAfmlGz-3Q
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so the shinai has gone to another audiophile to enjoy for a few days . as an integrated it is beautiful sounding . compared briefly to a valve integrated from japan . it compared very very well . tremendous separation and organic sound from the shinai . certainly could replace many pre power systems with ease and sound better with less cables .
so if you are looking for an integrated amp this one is definitely one to compare .
now my modwright is back in situ ,its got lovely texture and timbre and pretty addictive to listen to . it has very tight bass
its different to the proemio . the latter definitely has more subterranean bass which means you might have to be just a bit more careful with your room and speakers . however the DM continues to delight with its delicacy and beautiful shimmering sound with bells and cymbals .
I am so grateful to jack at BD audio in Malvern for letting me hear the proemio and the shinai .
https://youtu.be/reBHaP5enME
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video of max`s new mach 4 speakers with the shinai i had here recently . i rather like it .
https://youtu.be/VmLCK0U3L3Q
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