I've been thru quite a bit of gear over the last five years. All of it was quite good and eventually I found it's really about finding your personal listening preference and then .......system matching.
Some systems wow'ed me with all the hi-fi attributes but ultimately left me cold.
I've bought and sold 3-4 pairs of Lamm amps (looking for something better) only to always return. Bear in mind, with my Kharma's the match is quite spectacular.
The Shindo line of pre's are also one of those products (to me at least) that stand alone. From my first audition of the Monbrisson (reasonably priced...relatively), I knew I was a Shindo guy.
I originally tried to get into analog several years ago with the latest current acrylic,suspended gear but still found myself preferring the EMM stack (since sold). I then discovered high mass non-suspended tables with proper arm/cartridge matching and found another level of playback enjoyment.
