Shindo preamps


I heard the Masseto last week at a dealers, and was very impressed. I will be taking the next step soon, to hear it with my amp at that point. I have heard from another source that the Shindo's are designed to sound close to an older Marantz preamp design, can't remember the model though. I am trying to get opinions on the following. Does this mean that the Shindo has a somewhat forgiving character to it, as compared to the more modern designs such as Cat or ARC. I know this may be a generalization, but am curious as to what the thoughts may be on this. FWIW, I have no plans to do Shindo amps, because I will be sticking with mid-efficiency speakers. I did not feel when hearing the Masseto, that it was not detailed enough. In fact, it was a strong point. I heard a very low noise floor, allowing the detail to come through. It just sounded right to me, simply got right out of the way.
fjn04
Thank you for the link.

To expand the context of your comment, the schematic mentioned is a version of the Shindo Claret preamp, as built by Thorsten Loesch. Interestingly enough, he comments, "The Claret copy, while not able to match my 'reference', the modified Arthur Loesch Preamp (called Toccata) for transparency and detail ... comes close enough for me not feel any major loss. The Phonostage is MM only, mostly the classic dual ECC83 with negative Feedback Equaliser."

Like the Marantz 7C, it uses 12AX7's, and like the Shindo Masseto, it uses 12AT7's.

However, this article in 6moons mentions that the Claret was discontinued when the schematics were leaked and that to this day Shindo does not allow schematics, or even photos of the insides of his units, to be published.

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/shindo/monbrison.html

So, while the Claret may offer a glimpse into Shindo's earlier thinking, we still don't know exactly how the Masseto uses this classic tube. And, yes, given the endless tales of upgrades and mods found on so many sites, one can clearly change the character of any component by appropriate parts selection.
Hello Solitare,

I thank you for getting a new moniker just to chat about Shindo. I checked your website but couldn't figure out which tube is used in your brands phono.

The Claret was the entry level kit pre about 20 years ago. It has little to do with the Masseto's circuit. Either way the tube used for phono has no bearing on whether or not it was designed to sound like a Marantz. The question has already been answered a few weeks ago. Thanks for your intetrest in my products.

Regards,
Jonathan
Jonathan,

I have no idea who you are, don't have another moniker, don't have a website, and have no particular interest in your products, whatever they may be. I'm simply musing on the use of classic tubes in a modern phono circuit.

Jonathan,

I have no idea who you are, don't have another moniker, don't have a website, and have no particular interest in your products, whatever they may be. I'm simply musing on the use of classic tubes in a modern phono circuit.
Solitaire

Hmmm. Mr. Loesch would be disappointed.
Arthur Loesch has nothing to do with Shindo, if that's what you meant. Vinyljh is Jonathan Halpern of Tone Imports, US distributor of Shindo.