Bookends

In my childhood home I grew up listening to music through EL34 tube based amps, the qualities of which have subliminally etched a deeply meaningful spot in my aural memory.  Interestingly enough, I wire up my Shindo Corton-Charlemage amps – time and time again – when I am at the shop requiring a dose of strong music.

A few quick notes from my customer Billy and Greg, themselves proud new owners of a Shindo Labs Corton-Charlemagne EL34 mono amps…

“Hey Matt, Just a note to let you know how the ‘CC 34s’ sound.  It has been 3 months now and I’m not sure they have completely settled in as the sound just keeps getting better an better.  I’m listening to Paul Desmond and Gerry Mulligan(“Two of a mind”) right now and this has to be as close as listening live as I have ever been…Great amps!…also Received the Vosne-Romanée  in excellent fashion.  I absolutely love it.  The phono stage is just superb.  This is the preamp I have been looking for.

Thank you,
Billy”

Thank you Billy! – I always appreciate the feedback.

Ahh, another one from my good customer Greg L, in Hillsborough, California..

“Matt, I am really enjoying the CC 34s and really the entire set up. I cannot thank you enough for all of your help. It really is an incredible system and I cannot seem to get enough listening time in.

-Greg”

Greg enjoys the Shindo Masseto Preamp, Rega P9, EMT TSD15 Phono Cartridge, A23 SUT, Shindo Mr. T & Interconnects, A23 Speaker Signal Cable driving a pair of the outstanding DeVore Fidelity Silverback Loudspeakers.  Sweet!

“Does it Matter?”

…The musically illuminating Well Tempered Versalex Turntable with A23 Hommage Mat…

No, not the Alan Watts essay of 1970.

I speak of the the Auditorium 23 (A23) Hommage Turntable Mat, of course.  A great addition to your turntable – especially if your  table has come with one of those basic foam mats, that cause static cling headaches.  Additionally, the A23 mat’s are infinitely better than the ghastly original mats on stock Garrard, Thorens or other vintage type tables.

A23′s dense, yet light, material provides a gentle foundation for your vinyl records and is sonically conducive in bringing forth best in your music.

Consider the A23 mat one of the many quality ingredients necessary for  vinyl playback.  Yes, it matters.

A23 also produces the Standard Turntable Mat, which is slightly thinner and made of a different material.  Works well on tables where VTA is not easily adjustable.

Inquire for pricing.

The Power Of Two

The new Devore Fidelity Gibbon 88 Loudspeakers are now available!

Replacing the ever popular Gibbon Super 8 was no easy task.  Design brief: A svelte (yes, kind of like a Gibbon) floor standing speaker that painlessly integrates into your living/listening space.  Gibbon 88′s must be driven easily by a wide range of amplifiers, so they need to be efficient with stable impedance.  Most importantly, they need to be fun to listen to!  Mission accomplished.

As you know John has been fastidiously working on all aspects of this new Gibbon series.  They are comprised of  the Gibbon 3XL, Gibbon 88 – and the pending 99 and X model).  Think of it as an evolution in his Gibbon lineup.

Aesthetically these new 88′s are seriously attractive.  Additional photos soon.

Now on display at pitch perfect audio for demonstration.

Come and listen.

Available in beautiful Mink, Mahogany and Cherry finishes in solid Bamboo.

Tech specs: 33Hz-40kHz, 90.5dB/W/M @ 8Ω, 37″ h (not including feet) x 8.5″ w x 13.75″ d

(Photos courtesy DeVore Fidelity)

Master Plan

...create your own transcendental experience...

What do you achieve when you judiciously stir a powerful mixture of synergistic analog components together?  The pitch perfect audio LignoLab Vinyl Player System, of course.

Let’s talk about what it all consists of:

A Garrard 301 or 401 Idler Drive Turnable, LignoLab plinth with arm board, and the still produced classics – EMT 997 tone arm and EMT TSD15 moving coil phono cartridge…

Add an EMT OFD15, OFD25, OFD65 phono cartridge for pitch perfect mono LP and 78 music playback.

LignoLab plinth has been in production, literally, for decades.  LignoLab is one of the foremost companies in Europe producing beautiful plinths designed to extract the capabilities of the legendary Garrard 301 and 401 idler turntables.  LignoLab also makes their extraordinary equipment support (as displayed on my website numerous times).

I build up these systems for you- Start with your choice of 301 or 401 Garrard turntables (supplied by you or I), add the appropriate plinth for either table and sprinkle it with expertise and system setup touch…

Base setup includes plinth, arm board, EMT tone arm, EMT cartridge, starting at $11,490 + plus cost of 301 or 401.

Plinth is available in Palisander (shown) or Walnut.

Additional options are available, such as upgrade platter/bearing/spindle, A23 or Shindo mat, record weight, upgrade isolation feet and your choice of A23 or Shindo interconnects round out the packages available.  Add a Auditorium 23 Step Up Transformer or the renownedA23 Hommage T1 Step Up Transfomer (now available in an EMT specific version called the T2, btw) and finally see the light within the shadows.

Wall of Sound

Never one to rest on his laurels, Ken Shindo is always striving to develop new and unique designs (which end up in production for years).

Take the Shindo Cortese, for example.  It has been produced for over a decade and has remained one of his most popular and loved stereo chassis single ended amplifiers, which provides 10wpc.

Are you experienced?

Like the Haut Brion, it has recently undergone a few twists in it’s design to bring out even more of the qualities Shindo enjoys in the F2a tube (I suppose this will sprinkle a touch of sand in the gears  of the part-time, garage based copy-cat DIY ‘companies’ and forum armchair experts out there, trying to keep up.. but I digress…)

Current owners – no reason for audiophile nervosa to set in..  Just like the Haut-Brion, evolutionary design changes engender the previous model especially coveted for those who enjoy them.

Cortese, always on display at pitch perfect!

...A tasty treat, freshly unwrapped from Shindo...

Shindo Lafite

Like a parents watchful eye over their kids at the playground, the larger Field Coil Latour stand proudly behind the latest in the line of Shindo Loudspeakers.

The Shindo Lafite… now on demonstration!

Fun, slightly rambunctious, perhaps even a little daring – with gobs of  brilliance thrown in for good measure – they are everything you yearned for in an entry point Shindo speaker… and more…

Design brief: An efficient (96db/8Ω) full range Shindo 8″ field coil driver integrated within a unique, carefully tuned cabinet.  Beautifully constructed, the field coil driver is Shindo’s own design.  The internal Shindo field coil power supply completes the tidy package.

Dimensions: 365mm(14.5″) W  x 1000mm(39.5″) H x 450mm(17.75″) D

Crowded House

You will enjoy reading Jack Roberts commentary on my first annual Greenhaus™ event. Check it out!

If you missed it, here is my follow up post on the get together.