No problem, glad I could help.

Happy listening!

jldcat February 23, 2010 22:11

Thanks John. Much better imaging and bass impact!

sbayne February 23, 2010 21:56

Hello Sbayne,

It's a beautiful system you've put together there, the Vosne-Romanee is one of my favorite preamps. I just wanted to point out that you have the Nines reversed, right-for-left. The tweeters should be towards the outside edge and the side-mounted woofers should face into the room. This should give you better image density, focus and more impact in the lower midrange and bass. With the speakers set-up as you have them the sound can get a bit hollow and even a little ungrounded.

Thanks for your support and happy listening,
John DeVore

jldcat February 22, 2010 16:47

System edited: Now using a pair of Devore Nines. Not as much bass as the Altecs but a more balanced sound with a slightly better soundstage.

sbayne February 20, 2010 12:17

Like all of Shindo's products, the first impression I had of the Shindo TT in my system was he obviously spent hours and hours refining the mechanics and ultimately the sound. I own another very nice Garrard 301 set-up but the Shindo 301 truly is better. I know I've said this a number times before but the sound just seems too "relax" - all of the dynamics are there but it never makes you tired. I've heard a lot of systems which you can check-off all the requirements for good sound: solid bass, open midrange, clear treble, big soundstage, etc but in the end you don't want to listen for more than 15 minutes or so. Shindo is not like that at all, it hits you on a much more emotional level.

sbayne August 30, 2009 14:50

Scott: I noticed you moved from the Garrard 301 to the Shindo Garrard, what are your impressions of the the new table?

mikeyc8 August 30, 2009 01:28

Thanks everyone for your kind words!

sbayne August 29, 2009 09:03

Congrats on the Shindo 301!! Great system you've put together.

doc_stereo August 28, 2009 04:00

Hello Scott, Way to go with your addition of the Shindo 301 Player system. Unbelievable music making machine...enjoy!

Best, Alan

unoear August 28, 2009 03:18

Well done!!

You're becoming a Shindologist.

lapierre August 28, 2009 02:14

System edited: I've added the Shindo 301 to my system and CH Audio Design field coils to my Valencias. Not much to say other than these are major steps forward.

sbayne August 27, 2009 22:21

Thanks Mjcmt. I've been around this hobby for many years. I'm starting to realize the way to improve a sound system is not through whiz-bang electrical engineering but through time-tested changes in the mechanical aspect of reproducing sound. In the Altecs for example, the winding of the voice coil, the quality of diaphram, the ratio of woofer to horn size, cabinet resistance (how much it flexes) and many other factors all add to the sound of the Altecs. Thats why I've been drawn to Shindo equipment. I've never met the man but its obvious Shindo understands this is as much art as it is science. He refines well-known, time-tested designs. Nothing fancy. Just a lot of hard-work and passion for music. I now realize the "old" Altecs made a lot of musical sense back in the 1960s and still do today.

sbayne July 26, 2009 13:16

Love your Altecs. I had a friend in high school that had a Dynaco SS system and the Valencia (circa '68-'70) speakers. I was blown away by his system and it started me down the journey of high end audio. I will never forget those speakers and would love to own a pair someday.

Congratulation on a beautiful system.

mjcmt July 20, 2009 23:31

Hi, still with the Valencias. Remarkable how good these are with the Shindo amps I have.

sbayne July 12, 2009 23:35

Are you still liking the Valencias or are you moving on?

bnrlaw July 11, 2009 13:07

ahhh, I see. A Shindo TT or speakers would round out your system very nicely. I see you've got a pretty bad case of the Shindo bug! :)

mikeyc8 July 02, 2009 16:36

Hi, I have a F2A Cortese as well so that is what I'm currently using for an amp. I'm just trying to raise some money to perhaps go into a pair of Shindo speakers or Shindo turntable. Scott

sbayne July 02, 2009 15:06

Scott, I notice you're selling your Sinhonias, what are you planning to replace them with?

mikeyc8 July 02, 2009 00:59

Thanks Ken. I have not tried the bass busters although I probably will at some point in time.

sbayne June 07, 2009 22:35

Hi Scott.

Love the changes you've made. I would love to hear those Valancia's some day myself. Do you have any room treatments on board? I thought I spotted some ceiling-corner tune's in one of your pics, and I see the Shatki Hallograph resonators in your corners. It seems you would really benefit from some 1/4 round bass busters in the corners behind the speakers?? Maybe you've tried them?

Nice job on a very fine system.

Regards,
Ken

kehut June 07, 2009 19:28

Think of this way: they shoot across the width of the room not the length - so they shoot across a 15' distance. What you see in the pictures is an enclove where my equipment and albums sit which then opens into a much bigger area that extends 35' in length. The short answer to your question is yes I would use Altec Valencias in a fairly large room because that horn and woofer need room to breath.

sbayne June 07, 2009 19:28

I'm not sure I understand. Your pix would indicated you have them set up on the short (15 ft.) wall. If your room is 35 ft. long and they are only 5 ft. from front wall and you sit just in front of back wall, wouldn't this make you about 30 ft. away from them?

bnrlaw June 07, 2009 17:56

Mine shoot into a room thats about 35' long and 15' wide with 10' ceilings. The speakers sit out about 5' from the front wall. I sit just in front of the back wall which puts me about 9'-10' away from the speakers. I messed with the toe-in a lot. Finally decided on toe-in point that falls just in front of my listening position. Hope this helps.

sbayne June 05, 2009 15:44

I, too, am interested in the Valencias but have heard they need some room to breathe. Would you be so kind as to share your room dimensions and how far you sit from the speakers?
Thanks!

bnrlaw June 05, 2009 02:16

The Harbeths are excellent speakers. I could have lived with them much longer if I had not found these Valencias locally and given them a try. Its fairly obvious Ken Shindo uses speakers like Altec to voice his amps. I can't say the Valencias sound better in any particular area than the Harbeths but I can say they just sound "right" with my Shindo amps - thats the only way I know how to explain it.

sbayne June 04, 2009 22:14