is the Montille a real Shindo?

The Montille is a real Shindo. The comment from the other poster seemed to have been made looking at the price rather than performance.

The Montille has all of the characteristic Shindo sound, typical Shindo parts, and build quality. Of course, you are not getting vintage Western Electric transformers. The NOS EL84 tubes in the Montille also do not cost nearly as much as the NOS 300B (i.e. real Western Electric tubes not moder production) tubes in the Western Electric limited.

The Shindo preamps all have the same sonic signature but with more refinement, weight, dynamics, etc. as you go up the line. The amps, however, all sound slightly different. They each take on the characteristics of the tubes used. The Montille will be immediately familiar to anyone who has used an EL84 amp. The EL84 is a very under appreciated tube.

I own a Shindo Vosne Romanee and a Cortese amp. People constantly ask me why I use the much more expensive Shindo preamp an a less expensive amp. The simple answer is I like the particular sound of the Cortese and the F2a tube. I also really like the push-pull 6L6 Haut Brion. It's not that I don't think that the Shindo flagship 300B limited isn't a better amp. It's just that the signature of the Cortese appeals to me more.

The Montille and Auriges would be my desert island combo. The main thing about Shindo is the correctness of tone. You get this with this combo. It also works with a fairly decent range of speakers. You don't have to have 95dB+ speakers. I've heard them work well with Devore and Verity audio speakers.

Shindo has been in business since the early 70's. I can only think of a handful of high end companies that have been around as long. There is no 'fake' Shindo. The price is based on what is needed to build rather than a price point.
If you do a search of old Shindo gear (especially is Asia), you'll find a range of prices. For example, a Shindo Apetite push-pull integrated.

Rchau: thanks for your informative comments. what speakers are you using with yours?

I'm in a transitional period right now.

I was using a pair of Ocellia Kedros (PHY-HP based speaker). I sold those because they were annoying my neighbors.

I made a temporary move to a pair of Devore Gibbon Nines (the first production pair actually). They work well with the Shindo gear and are very apartment friendly.

I currently switching to an Altec 604 based speaker. I'm getting quotes from Ken Shindo on a Shindo crossover and cabinet for the 604s. Eventually, I'd like to get a pair of Shindo Compact Latours if I don't go for the Shindo 604 speaker. I currently have the 604s in an open baffle. These work well in my room but are a bit too wide for long term use. The Altec speakers such as the 604 or the 515B and 288C combo work ideally with the Shindo gear since this is what Ken uses in voicing his equipment.

Thought of buying the Montille myself but...... it is still push pull amp and is not a DHT. They actually offer it it a single ended version which you see on some sites and not others. Strange.

There are other things issues to consider with Shindo that I have read about (can't get electric approval in North America, is sold for considerably less in Japan, and forget about direct customer support from Shindo should you need it as they won't return emails with you due to the language barrier).

Having said all that if it sounds great some things can be overlooked I suppose.