Photograph by Jonathan Halpern
Great Machines: Audio: Raising a Glass to Class A Sound
June 1, 2006
When describing ultrahigh-fidelity audio, it is tempting to employ the gustatory argot of the wine connoisseur, and such descriptions are particularly appropriate when considering the Shindo Labs audio components. Like the winemaker of a respected Grand Cru, who carefully blends his varietals and vigilantly monitors the wine’s maturation, Tokyo-based audio designer Ken Shindo has spent 30 years carefully refining some of the world’s most extraordinary audio components.
Just as a great appellation’s wines exhibit
a character reflecting the philosophy of the winemaker, Shindo’s components express the exceptional and distinctive “house sound” of Shindo Labs. It is
no wonder that Shindo—a wine lover in his own right—has named his family of premier electronics after the French wines he
reveres, such as Petrus, Richebourg, Giscours, and Montrachet. Each Shindo component is a hand-built work of audio art,
meticulously constructed with the singular intent, according to Shindo, “to create the finest possible musical experience in the
home.” In Europe and Asia, Shindo Labs enjoys a mystique and a following that are rare even for so-called cult gear,
attributable to the musicality of the circuits, superb build quality, and rarity of the parts employed in construction. Few, if any,
other manufacturers build an entire line of audio components with such a careful selection of vintage and
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The flagship Western Electric 300B Limited Single-Ended Amplifier offers serious
listeners a slice of class A heaven. Photograph by Matthew Rotunda. (Click image to enlarge)
Vintage parts include new old-stock vacuum tubes, which Shindo considers rare
jewels unparalleled in sound quality. In addition to such tubes, the top-level
Shindo amplifiers and Latour speakers incorporate Western Electric paper-in-oil
capacitors, Allen Bradley resistors, and Sprague Vitamin Q capacitors. This
blend of vintage and modern parts and technology gives Shindo gear its signature
voice. After years of hunting down and collecting caches of rare tubes and
parts, Shindo has a well-stocked warehouse that is the stuff of legend. As a
result, customers likely will never have to worry about parts availability.
Moreover, these are heirloom-quality components that can be enjoyed for a
lifetime. Each Shindo Labs component is a standout designed to perform
brilliantly in a multimarque high-end rig. But the true musical synergy created
in an all–Shindo Labs system elevates reproduced sound into the realm of the
sublime. Such a system can alter an experienced listener’s notion of what is
possible in music reproduction.
Like the best wines, the Shindo sound has a
balance of highly refined qualities: musicality, effortless dynamics,
true-to-life tone, nuance of detail, expansive sound staging, and overall
coherence. But to these ears, it is the balance of these sonic virtues that sets
Shindo high on the short list of the world’s most musically compelling gear,
inviting the listener to forget that he or she is listening through stereo
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The Latour 15 Reference Field Coil Loudspeaker redefines dynamic
range. Photogragh by Matthew Rotunda. (Click image to enlarge)
Shindo Labs electronics have an appealing retro look, with
chassis finished in the distinctive Shindo bottle green with gold
accents.
The Giscours Preamplifier features old-stock Western Electric 349A
tubes in the line stage, amorphous core moving-coil step-up transformers,
dual-mono design, twin-tube rectification, and output transformers. This
full-featured preamplifier ($24,000) is a vinyl-lover’s dream, and when combined
with moving-coil cartridges like the Shindo SPU, it delivers amazing dynamics
and all the musical flesh and bones to be found in an analog recording.
The Western Electric 300B Limited Single-Ended Amplifier ($28,000 per pair) is
the flagship Shindo Labs amplifier. It employs old-stock 300B tubes from the original production run, producing 8 watts of class A output. The 300B Limited
will easily drive speakers of 90 dB sensitivity to volume levels that belie its
rated output. When coupled with Shindo’s 100 dB sensitive Latour Reference
loudspeakers, it drives them with thundering authority, even on the most
demanding orchestral or rock programming.
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