Shambala Bavarian experiences

After I decided to buy one last record player, I had to buy a new larger hi-fi rack as a result. I've been searching for a long time, but nothing has completely convinced me. By chance, I came across a report in Fidelity magazine in which the Shambala rack was discussed.

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After many emails and a few very friendly and informative phone calls with Mr. Schlipper, my Shambala was made exactly according to my ideas and with my desired veneer. The workmanship, look and feel of the entire rack and especially the veneer are absolutely top class!

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With over four decades of hifi/high-end experience, I was honestly a bit skeptical as to whether Mr. Schlipper's statements or promises regarding the sound effects would actually be true. Immediately after setting up the rack and installing the system, my very first listening impression was good overall but not overly euphoric. But what happened in terms of sound in the following days completely surprised me. Practically all of my well-known test discs now showed me clearly noticeable positive changes in the sound image.

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In particular, the increased fine and fine dynamics (across ALL frequency ranges!) , more spatial sound information (not only in width and depth but also in height (!) of the sound room) were impressive. Vocal voices had a noticeably and audible finer structure and more natural suppleness and timbre. There were also significant improvements in the bass range. All impulses in this area had more pressure, more depth, more structure and precision. It almost seemed as if the skins of timpani, congas, bongos, etc. were being stretched fresh and tight.

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In order not to succumb to self-deception, according to the motto... such a beautiful and expensive rack simply MUST play better, I asked my wife for an audio sample. And after just a few minutes, she confirmed the accuracy of my impressions! I was also amazed by the following findings: The warm-up phase of the entire system seemed shorter to me now. After just half an hour, I often had the feeling that the system was already running for 2-3 hours. I was also now able to suddenly drive higher volumes without the occasional unpleasant bright/sharp ringing/whirling in my ear, especially with high-frequency music and loud singing voices, which had almost always caused me to lower the volume.

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But the biggest phenomenon for me was a completely different one. I have been using the H2 Harmonizer system from Stein Music to optimize room acoustics for 2 years. Without this system, I was actually never able to listen to music seriously and with pleasure in the past. In the first 5 days with the Shambala rack, it actually happened to me in 3 days that I hadn't noticed that the system wasn't switched on at the start of my listening sessions! This impressively confirms Mr. Schlipper's theory: the cleaner, more unpolluted (e.g. from resonances/vibrations caused by footfall, body, airborne sound) the less effect room acoustic deficiencies have on music playback.

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I would also like to note that during this test phase, the devices were all “just” standing on the Shamala rack with their original feet. I'm curious to see what else will happen in terms of sound when the devices include the Composant S platforms. In any case, I can highly recommend the Shambala rack in full translation for high-enders who want to get the most out of their devices.

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And it's great that there is such a passionate and perfectionist manufacturer in Germany.

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G.F. from Bavaria