My customer Steve, who recently welcomed the Shindo Petite Latour Field Coil into his listening room, had this to say upon setting them up. Dig it.
“…an hour later, I just can’t see myself moving
for about the next 3 days. This is a different ballpark, different musical
dimension I landed in, the scale just went from Lego blocks to bricks and
mortar, the presence just went from “here I am” to “you are there”, the
soundstage went from, well screw the soundstage, I’ve got some very famous
musicians in my room. It took the Petites about 20 minutes to get organized
and now they are sounding better with every LP I spin. I know they’re not
broken in, but damn, if they stay where they are right now I’d be in music
heaven…”
2 weeks later…
“These speakers are uncanny. Astounding. They have gone into hiding and music has appeared like I’ve never heard it appear…sounds like real folks with real instruments. Spellbinding.”
Steve owns a Masseto & Cortese.
[ Post edit: Click here for an update on Steve’s system… ]
Photos courtesy of Stephen D.
p i t c h p e r f e c t a u d i o 
Stephen, …and another palpable step up for your wonderful system. Congratulations! The addition of the B&W photos and the Mr. T x 2 enhances your room, too. I would say “Have fun!” but then you already are. Cheers, Doug
Thanks, Doug. Did you say palpable as in visceral? These speakers are visceral. I can feel cellos, string base, drums, etc. in my chest. Since this has never happened with any other speaker I’ve heard or owned I went to my sister-in-law’s chamber music concert recently and sat in the front row. Yep, I could feel the big strings just like the Petites dish them out. (There is nothing petite about these speakers, I assure you.) I’m having fun, all right! Wish someone would review these speakers so I don’t sound like raving idiot. Steve
How much do the Petite’s sell for?
Hey Vik,
They start at $22.9k per pair in full Alnico, then move up to $36k pr. in Field Coil.
-Matt
This Petite Latour looks different compared to the Latour shown on the page “Customer Music System – Alan T. – San Francisco, CA”
What is the differemce exactly? The one has the port on the back, the other on the front?
Nice pages by the way….
Hi Alain,
Yes, the one in Alan’s system was designed for a small room. They are less deep, and a bit wider, than the standard Petite Latour, so the listener can sit a bit farther back from the speaker. Shindo maintained the same internal cabinet volume, though.
Thanks for the kind words.
-Matt
Hi Matt,
I am fascinated by everything i hear/read about Shindo gear. I will be in Sf in July and would love to come and visit what seems to be one of the most inviting Musical experiences around.
I have a question about the sound differences between Alnico and Field Coil, do you have examples of either type there?
Also how long is the average wait for Shindo gear?
Thanks and hope to see meet you soon.
Jack
Hello Jack,
Let me know when you plan on being in town, and we’ll set up a day that is convenient for you. At the moment, I have the field coil based Latour on demonstration. Since Shindo is built to order, it’s not immediate, but far from a long wait. It entirely depends on the product, but it can be as few as 2 weeks, up to about 8~ weeks.
Matt:
Every time I see a picture of those Petite Latours, I say to myself, is there anyway I can afford to purchase them. They are just lovely and would likely be a perfect match for my Haut Brion/Masseto combination, which I purchased from Jonathon in NYC. Do you offer payment plans to lessen the cashflow drain?
Larry
Hey Larry,
Glad you are enjoying the Monbrison and Haut Brion – great combo eh? Regarding the Petite Latours, they are very special, indeed. Credit cards are a wonderful thing. 🙂 Let’s chat.
I actually own a Masseto/Haut combo and yes it is wonderful, but waiting for an outstanding speaker to match. I will keep saving my pennies until the day arrives that I can afford the Petite Latours or perhaps the Devore Orangutans
Steve, Now that you have had the Petite Latours in the system for awhile what are your thoughts? Are you still spinning CDs in the Ayre piece, too? Thanks for sharing comments earlier. Best, Doug
Doug, When I listen to music now it is impossible to think about anything that might be missing. The music enthralls. Matt’s great deals on Shindo upgrades don’t tempt me; Stereophile is only read for the music reviews. I’m a bore as an audiophile. I started writing a review of the P. Latours but would lose my concentration in the music. I gave up. I was invited to audition this high end dealer’s “all in” set up, a Continuum Caliburn front end, tube gear that cost more than both my cars, speakers that were made on Mars. I brought my own LPs. I’m sorry, the system made hi fi; Mr. Shindo makes music. I have played only a handful of CD’s–mostly rock to see if the P. Latours could rock. They rock. Steve
Steve, Wow, thanks! This piece of praise speaks volumes. Great that you can sit back and listen to the music and comfortably say, “No, thanks: I’m happy” when other potentially tempting systems are available. Perhaps “The Shed” and an evening of music this weekend… Enjoy! Doug
A superb system indeed. I have been thinking about the Petite Latours as a possibility for my music room which is rather small at 11 x 19. I have been told they need a huge space and was very interested to see that these Latours were specially designed for a smaller room. Steve, I was wondering what the size of your room is – it certainly doesn’t look huge and you are obviously enjoying the heck out of the Latours.
cheers doug
Hi Doug,
Sorry so long in responding, been traveling.
My room is 13′ wide, 12′ high, and 27′ long. My Petite Latours are 54″ from front wall and 46″ from side walls. I think the dimensions of your room would work beautifully, especially if you have flexibility in speaker placement. The first thing Matt said when he visited was, “You know if Ken Shindo were here he would move your speakers almost against the front wall!” They get richer and deeper there, but you give up a little depth and soundstaging. In my experience the P. Latour is musical and engrossing anywhere you place them–and they are very responsive to further tuning to your taste and room. Lastly, they do not need to played loudly to thrill you.