Shindo and Coincident


To coincident TE 2 owners (or any coincident owners)
Any experience with Shindo gear - specifically the Cortese?
This is all about my recent infatuation with SE amps.
My Yamamoto A-08S seemed overwhelmed, but there were moments of pure palpable midrange bliss. My Manley neo 250 in triode just does not reproduce that magical feeling. So I am thinking either Frankenstein, Art Audio, or most intriguing of all - Shindo Cortese. Please respond if you can enlighten me.
128x128das
Shindo might be fine.
You also might want to pick up a Canary Audio amp.
300B's run in push-pull mode.
Probably perfect for that speaker and can usually be found cheap used on Audiogon.
Be careful of Shindo if you buy used. I get the impression that the dealers and distributors are not too supportive of owners of used Shindo products unless you buy it from a dealer. Also they tell me system Matching is much more critical with Shindo and use of short interconnects much preferred. Audition before you buy this one and use a dealer.

Carey
I would not under any circumstances buy a product from any manufacturer who looks down upon secondary owners. Its rude, cheap, pathetic...and totally unprofessional. Now, have you looked at Wyetech Labs? Personally, I love my Opal pre...and as far as the amps go...some of the best period in the field. Good luck.
Hello,

I don't know what your budget is.. but I second the suggestion of Wyetech. I know that Roger has (or had) Coincidents at his home. I have a Topaz 211C.
So far I have nods for Canary, Wavelength, and Wyetech labs. Still no word on Shindo, Art Audio or the Frankensteins. This should be a very instructive thread for me and anyone vested in the Coincident TE2 and SET amps. Please keep your thought coming.
I have an Art Audio Gill Signature Power amp ( 16 watts ) with Art Audio VP1 Mark II preamp and I could not be happier. I bought used and had contacted the owner of the company before I purchased; he could not have been more helpful. I have had the Canary preamp but it had no tape loop and no mute which I like to have. If you looked at the Canary next to the Art Audio you would think it would be a a better sounding unit. Once you listen I was drawn back to the Art Audio. If I were to move out of the Art Audio family it would take an extremely good deal and then I would probably end up back with an Art Audio in the future. Call Joe at Art Audio he is more then willing to give his advice. I am a very satisfied user.
I have a Shindo Monbrison and I have spoken with Jonathan Halpern the importer of Shindo on several occasions and know him to be a thoroughly responsible, ethical "good guy." It seems to me that he may be getting a bad rap here for no good reason. I must say however that if we are talking about gray market gear that would be a dfferent situation and I would not expect there to be any support for the product.
I agree with Aronsss, this thread is about gear synergy not a certain distributors reputation. Let us assume I will purchase new from a dealer. Has anyone head coincident speakers with those beautiful Shindo amps?
Hi Das

Have you heard the frankensteins yet? Israel knows what he is doing I would think those amps could be magical with your speakers. If they can drive the TV4 and the Pure reference full range with utter ease why not theTE2.
Yea, it seems the Franks are the obvious way to go. You can't audition any of these amps, even here in Chicago. Just wanted to get some informed thoughts before I pull the trigger (yet again). I dream of achieving audio nirvana this time so I don't I have to waste my every minute surfing and researching audio gear. Thanks everyone for your input

PK Das
I must respectfully disagree with Aronsss' statement above. Absent his saying otherwise, I assume he purchased his Monbrison through an authorized dealer. Thus I am not surprised that he had/has positive experiences dealing with the distributor (distributors/dealers who mistreat the buyers of their "luxury priced" goods do not ususally stay in business for long). I'm sure Mr. Halpern is a fine fellow, but unless Aronsss has direct knowledge of Mr. Halpern's attitiude regarding aftermarket servicing and support of products purchased on the secdondary market he has no standing to comment on whether Mr. Halpern is getting a "bad rap." If Aronsss has such direct knowledge he should post it rather than making general statements about how Mr. Halpern treated him as a "paying customer." Secondary owners of Shindo gear who have needed servicing of their equipment would be the most qualified to comment on this matter, and I for one would welcome their remarks. I do agree with the statement that purchasers of grey market gear should expect no support.

I also disagree with the assertion that question of aftermarket support or lack thereof (regardless of whether one is the original purchaser or not) is off-topic in this thead. For the vast majority of people who read this forum aftermarket support should be a key consideration in the decision making process of which gear to purchase. As an analogy, audio gear could be compared to car ownership. There are a lot of Toyota Camrys, Honda Accords, etc. out there (think mid and upper mid-fi gear) and there is abundant aftermarket support for them if they need repair. Then there are the exotics--the Ferrraris, Laborghinis and Lotuses (?spelling). Imports that are very expensive with very limited dealer networks but which offer a level of performance that aficionados feel justifies the price and frustrations of ownership. Now, would you buy one of these lovely beasties (regardless of thrill factor) if you knew that the importer would not grant you access to replacement parts unless you bought it from an authorized dealer or that you would have to ship the car out of the country to have it serviced? Caveat emptor unless you work for Goldmann Sachs or have a bottomless trust fund. If you think I exagerate just look in this Forum. One does not have to look far to find tales of woe from owners of "orphaned" gear which for lack of support have become very expensive paperweights.

Please do not think that I am specifidcally disparagaing Shindo and its distributor. I merely wish to point out that the question of aftermarket support for secondary owners of this marque has not been answered either way. I personally am fascinated by Shindo gear and would love to try some out. My research has indicated that a great deal of the Shindo sound is due to extremely meticulous componenet matching by Mr. Shindo. It would seem therefore that one could not repair the equipment by simply replacing a failed paart (resistor, capacitor, or what have you) with one of the same electronic value and have a product that sounded the same. The fact that at least some of the Shindo products use esoteric or very hard to find NOS tubes also makes manufacturer/importer support critical if you are planning to keep the gear for a long time and having it perform at the lame level. I would love it if someone (perhaps Mr. Halpern himself) would weigh in on this topic. One way or another it would be valuable to me in my personal decision as to whether or not to try Shindo gear.
I cannot imagine why you would not consider the Coincident Technology Frankenstein II. This amp with your speakers go together like "peas and carrots." I have the Coincident Technology Total Reference and I cannot imagine a more synergistic combination.

I must respectfully disagree with Aronsss' statement above. Absent his saying otherwise, I assume he purchased his Monbrison through an authorized dealer. Thus I am not surprised that he had/has positive experiences dealing with the distributor (distributors/dealers who mistreat the buyers of their "luxury priced" goods do not ususally stay in business for long). I'm sure Mr. Halpern is a fine fellow, but unless Aronsss has direct knowledge of Mr. Halpern's attitiude regarding aftermarket servicing and support of products purchased on the secdondary market he has no standing to comment on whether Mr. Halpern is getting a "bad rap." If Aronsss has such direct knowledge he should post it rather than making general statements about how Mr. Halpern treated him as a "paying customer." Secondary owners of Shindo gear who have needed servicing of their equipment would be the most qualified to comment on this matter, and I for one would welcome their remarks. I do agree with the statement that purchasers of grey market gear should expect no support.

I also disagree with the assertion that question of aftermarket support or lack thereof (regardless of whether one is the original purchaser or not) is off-topic in this thead. For the vast majority of people who read this forum aftermarket support should be a key consideration in the decision making process of which gear to purchase. As an analogy, audio gear could be compared to car ownership. There are a lot of Toyota Camrys, Honda Accords, etc. out there (think mid and upper mid-fi gear) and there is abundant aftermarket support for them if they need repair. Then there are the exotics--the Ferrraris, Laborghinis and Lotuses (?spelling). Imports that are very expensive with very limited dealer networks but which offer a level of performance that aficionados feel justifies the price and frustrations of ownership. Now, would you buy one of these lovely beasties (regardless of thrill factor) if you knew that the importer would not grant you access to replacement parts unless you bought it from an authorized dealer or that you would have to ship the car out of the country to have it serviced? Caveat emptor unless you work for Goldmann Sachs or have a bottomless trust fund. If you think I exagerate just look in this Forum. One does not have to look far to find tales of woe from owners of "orphaned" gear which for lack of support have become very expensive paperweights.

Please do not think that I am specifidcally disparagaing Shindo and its distributor. I merely wish to point out that the question of aftermarket support for secondary owners of this marque has not been answered either way. I personally am fascinated by Shindo gear and would love to try some out. My research has indicated that a great deal of the Shindo sound is due to extremely meticulous componenet matching by Mr. Shindo. It would seem therefore that one could not repair the equipment by simply replacing a failed paart (resistor, capacitor, or what have you) with one of the same electronic value and have a product that sounded the same. The fact that at least some of the Shindo products use esoteric or very hard to find NOS tubes also makes manufacturer/importer support critical if you are planning to keep the gear for a long time and having it perform at the lame level. I would love it if someone (perhaps Mr. Halpern himself) would weigh in on this topic. One way or another it would be valuable to me in my personal decision as to whether or not to try Shindo gear.

Lots of words to waste after the OP just got through telling you that his thread isn't about the reputation of Shindo dealers. Next time read before your rant.
I think you should give NAT audio a try. I have heard these amps on numerous occasions and they are incredible. They are not a huge company but have gotten great reviews by those who hear them. Their balanced preamps are some of the best I have heard regardless of price. I have heard 2 of their amps on the coincident pure reference and it was truly magical. Their amps are also some of the most powerful set amps you can find. I agree whole heartedly about the coincident speakers, especially the pure reference. They are the best speakers I have heard at any price. My best friend traded in his pair of Avalon Isis to get the pure reference and saved a ton of money. He just thought they were better at everything. Hope this helps you out. I have no affiliation with NAT Audio or coincident.
I purchased a Shindo Masetto used on Audiogon and Matt at Pitch Perfect Audio was very helpful with suggestions on the best way for me to set up. I ended up trading it in to him for a Vosne Romanee. If you do pick up a Shindo amp and have an issue I feel that Matt would be very helpful to you.
The Franks were designed for your speakers
The combo would be exceptional
Together they create a system