AudioAficionado.org - Vintage shindo

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- Shindo Laboratory (https://www.audioaficionado.org/forumdisplay.php?f=112)

- - Vintage shindo (https://www.audioaficionado.org/showthread.php?t=16814)

Here is a new thread for chit chat and photos of the evolution of shindo gear...

I took the liberty of quoting Schmitz below for his comments on the RA-1857 and the list of vintage Shindo items. It found it comprehensive.

Later today I can post and repost photos of some of the vintage Shindo I have had and have seen around and about. I also have the original basic circuit plans for the Model 77 preamp that came with the kit. Personally I prefer even the Model 77 to the more recent Leben RS-28CX. What the Leben gained in transparency it lost in musicality.

For the moment we are apple picking and pressing...cider season has begun :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schmitz (Post 382492)

Hi Ile_D_Arz,
many thanks for sharing those pics, always interesting.
I do know Shindo for 20 years and have always been in love with his gear, preferably the older models like yours. If you have ever trouble with them I can repair it with original parts, no problem for me as I know many of his gear.

Interesting tube combination, so it is 12AX7 phono stage, 6072 and EL84 line stage tubes, WE 412A rectifier tube (he has changed this later to 6X4, wow, really rare today). Intersting too, that EL84 has many applications and was excessivly used in the golden tube days as radio power tubes, so many of the "experts" would not give a high rating on this tube as preamp output tube. Shindo uses it and for sure he knows how it has to be used to sound very good in this application.

Nowadays original WE 185A sells for high$$$ so that shows the rarety of the parts inside and its quality. He surely hasnt unlimited stock on those parts but it was a surprise already that he has been able to build a (limited?) series of preamps with it, so that tells something about his massive stock of parts those days. With later Petrus he changed output trans to different types.
I know two versions of 300B power amp, the earlier one with four oil caps instead of three and without a cover above them. Wow, what an amplifier and what a nice tone this was being able to reproduce with such intimacy and power.
Here is a little list of Shindos early works, found in japanese.

Shindo Laboratory Co., Ltd. was established in 1977.
1978: development of RA124D vacuum tube mono amplifier Offering RA1474 before class.
1980: Offering A124B mono amplifier output 28W, output cattle out of the U.S. TRIAD products.
1981: the launch of RA186 amplifier for a mono output 25W, Western Electric 300B vacuum tube, TRIAD transformer.
1982: RA324 and RA252 mono after the offering of MA288S Cantabile amplifier also debut. 1983: launch of four models of mono grade: RA42 output of 10W with Western Electric Double pole 42; 6B4G of output 10W, 6.3V tube with 2A3 6B4G; RA342II output 20W, with EL34 tubes; the RA349-type output 10W, Western Electric 349A tube.
1983: Offer 300B single-ended output 8W Western Electric 300B tube; launched RA1561 equipped with built-in MC phono amplifier stage.
1984: 101 and 77 MC phono boost the market.
1985: year one breath launched multiple new machine are level before ALLEGRO 604S, the level before RA1474II, after GRAZIOSO EL34, output 10W, CONCERTO mono output 8W with Siemens Ed triode The push-pull Class A operation, the 77-type, 25 type the mono level output 25W Finally, there CANTABILE mono-level output 22W with EL34 vacuum tube.
1986: Offering F2A SINHONIA mono amplifier output 40W Siemens F2A vacuum tube.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ile_D_ARZ (Post 383036)

The 77 plans would be *great* as I also have that unit. I'll try to get some pics of it up here. I also have an older 2 chassis Arome that I can post up here. Not quite sure it qualifies as "vintage" Shindo like the 77, but it is different than the new model.

I imagine the "vintage"Shindo is all 220volt?

When did it first start getting imported or made for 110?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freestone (Post 383114)

I imagine the "vintage"Shindo is all 220volt?

When did it first start getting imported or made for 110?

That's a good question that Matt or JH can address. As best as I know Tone Imports started handling Shindo sometime in the early 2000's. I first became aware of the brand after Jules Coleman's raves over the Monbrison and Sinhonia on 6Moons in 2004. I believe that Hart at Audio Advancements may have imported Shindo or carried the line in some capacity prior to this, but I cannot be sure. I seem to recall him mentioning that to me 6 or so years ago.

So, yes, all really vintage Shindo is likely Japanese or European voltage. Perhaps even just for the Japanese market for the earliest stuff. That said, and speaking only for my Model 77, the voltage is adjustable at the transformer.

Model 77 Ampkit has some different versions (as do most Shindos do): There was a version with output trannies and one with output caps (which implies a different output stage as well). Circuit is like the very early Allegro 604S but with a more spartanic and less refined power source. Parts quality is almost the same as they are from the same era.
Old Allegro was a fine preamp with good musicality but for smaller rooms, not so much energy output as being possible from him and Model 77 should be similar.

I think Shindos strongest side are the preamps with their musicality. They should be the heart of a system and define the qualities its capable of. The whole System falls and rises with the quality of the preamp. So you could not be wrong with the finest at this place.

Ile_D_ARZ,
please tell us more about the RA 349 power amp, seems to be an interesting model.

Here are a few images of a Model 77 that looks to be exactly like mine.

Thanks for posting.
It seems that he splitted the line and this could be the forerunner of two models:
Claret Model 343 (with same circuit as Model 77 but very economic build quality compared to this model) and Allegro 604S (with better power supply and output transformer circuit, still not as good as RA1857).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schmitz (Post 383128)

Ile_D_ARZ,
please tell us more about the RA 349 power amp, seems to be an interesting model.

Evening.

I could only find the photos of the interior of my old 349A amps..strangely not the exterior...however I managed to find some photos from my archive of other persons amps. Furthermore, a photo of someone's 349A with strange tube alternatives?

http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2b92ab01.jpg

http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/...psa6579549.jpg

http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/...psdf429d9d.jpg

http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/...ps512d7136.gif

Here are some photos of the Shindo 604S, also not my own, but to compare with the Model 77. The 604S was a very good sounding preamp.

http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/...psb0511f87.jpg

http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/...ps47eafc33.jpg

http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/...ps77a4c5fc.jpg

:tresbon: