Shindo vs the world
Shindo keeps coming up as a highly responded brand with incredible products that have great sound quality. My question only to prior owners is do you still have your shindo amp or preamp? If not why did you sell and also did you find something else you liked better? What about something cheaper that you liked more.
I have had two Shindo Appetite amps. I liked the sound. My only problem was the availability of tubes. From what I could gather, all the Shindo approved tubes are hoarded by dealers and if you didn't buy the amp from them you are out of luck as they won't sell to you. Audio Note is much more to my liking. Just my experience |
Generalizations and my impressions should be taken with a grain of salt and we all recognize, system synergy and matching is key. I’ve run both brands with their respective recommended speakers and with Brand X speakers. Pick your speakers first and since you have Tannoy, then I will direct my comments in that direction. Without knowing which Tannoy and since I’m just an amateur audio hobbyist like you, this is but one opinion.
If you are sticking with your Tannoys, the only current production Shindo amplifier that would do nicely with those would be the Montille cv391. That is a TERRIFIC amp, the cv391 power tube is so darn good within its power envelope that you will wonder why that tube isn’t used more by designers. IIRC, the STC cv391 was the British agent for Western Electric and I find the sonic signature quite elegant with the ability to "get angry" when called upon. I do not presently own a Shindo Montille cv391 but I will again. The thing to remember about Shindo is each amp circuit is a clean sheet design around a particular power tube. Mr. Shindo, and now his son, weren’t trying to build amps for all speaker brands and types. They were typically designed to drive golden age Altecs and derivatives with higher impedances. The cv391 is optimized for 8ohm speakers while most of the others perform their best with 10ohm and above speakers. Shindo sounds like music, the silence between the notes is very special and their preamps and the equivalent of a boutique built Swiss mechanical watch. Perhaps the "typical" sound leans to more tubey sound but it hardly euphonic. Consider a full Shindo setup and A23 or Shindo cables....the Aureges preamp is an absolute audio bargain, the Monbrison is the sweetspot but be forewarned, it is a gateway drug to their upper end preamps.
Audio Note is interesting gear. You have to get into their very best Level 2 gear (OTO SE Signature or Silver Signature) or Level 3 and up to match the Shindo tone in my opinion. I believe the OTO SE Signature is the best I’ve ever heard an el84 sound. The old Meishu was very "tubey" and the new Meishu Tonmeister is not. The addition of the interstage transformer is adapted directly from the Jinro/Tomei/Ongaku and brings a mature sound to the Tonmeister. I owned the Tonmeister and to my ears with my speakers in my room, it wasn’t right for me. I wanted a little more romantic midrange and the Tonmeister is pretty darn linear. That shouldn’t be a knock, it just wasn’t what I was after. Audio Note gear seems to play well with a wide variety of speakers provided they have reasonable sensitivity. Their transformers are beasts and can drive more difficult loads than Shindo. Something to keep in mind since you own Tannoys. And every Tannoy owner thinks Tannoys are easy to drive until they hear them with an amplifier capable of driving difficult loads. BUT....the OTO SE SIgnature is maybe 6wpc and the Tonmeister 8wpc so make sure YOU recognize those limitations. To my ears and in my opinion, the Jinro is the sweetspot of all the Audio Note integrateds. 20ish wpc, triode sound, startling bass and a stranglehold on your speakers. Thats the amp, depending on your budget, that I would use with your speakers.
If you are changing speakers then pick those first and then pick appropriate electronics, which might not be either brand. Leben comes to mind as I can imagine that the cs600x or the 1000 amp would do a nice job with Tannoys and to my ears, Leben shares alot of sonic similarities to Shindo. I have not heard the Audio Note Soro SE Signature but it would likely do a great job with your Tannoys.
And finally, aesthetics. I like the looks of every piece of Shindo gear I’ve ever seen or owned. Just a beautiful piece of form follows function industrial design. Audio Note open chassis gear is a love it or hate it proposition. I happen to love the look of the Jinro/Tomei/Ongaku, YMMV. I don’t find their enclosed gear (like the OTO or SORO) unattractive but it isn’t particularly interesting aesthetically. I am not a fan of the size of the Tonmeister but that is an individual thing. I HATE how many screws you have to futz with to roll tubes but again, that’s individual preference. Shindo build quality is excellent as is Audio Note although Audio Note gear is probably more robust (and Shindo more delicate) if your UPS guy is prone to dropping your deliveries. Audio Note packing materials are FAR superior and suitable for multiple uses whereas Shindo packs things safely for the initial transit but its almost like they anticipate the original owner won’t ever need to ship it anywhere thereafter. In some ways, I find that kindof cool...one company expects you will ship it many times, the other expects the initial install is for life. LOL.
With the long diatribe above, if you are madly in love with your Tannoys, I don’t believe either brand is optimal for your speakers. You can glean ALOT from the dealers. What brand of speakers are Shindo dealers carrying to compliment their electronics for buyers desirous of non-Shindo or vintage Altec speakers. What brand of speakers are Audio Note dealers carrying for those desirous of non-Audio Note speakers? For valve electronics, Tannoys are probably best matched with push-pull pentodes. My 2-cents.
|
Since the title is "Shindo vs the world" and ask "something else you liked better?"
Both amps sound great. They have least veil sounds from unnatural sound systems. I think WT sound is comparable. Audio Note Meishu Tonmeister, ANE spkr, TT3 TTable- Florida show WT audio (Nikon D7100 w/ ext mics, 8ft from spkrs) WT audio (11 ft from spkrs. 1 hr set up in a bigger/empty hotel room.) Alex/Wavetouch |
