[sibelius]

As a Shindo owner this was a topic I raised with Matt before my purchase. I am comfortable because:

1) Shindo does maintain a cache of NOS parts for repairs.
2) Once supply gets down to a certain level my understanding is new production ceases of that model.
3) As Matt mentioned, Shindo has a son who has been involved in the production of equipment for a while and can carry on the legacy (ala Koetsu)

The issue of continuity applies to everyone. If anything, I'm more partial to the Shindo's and Koetsu's of the world who have had a consistant vision of Audio for 30+ years. That shows more stability to me than many US Audio manufacturers and dealers who are always trying to ride the latest audio wave (remember the stampede out of 2 channel to home theater?)

Further, I can't find even anecdotal evidance of anyone who has purchased a Shindo product that has had problems if any repair was needed. Compare that to the nightmares you hear on many audio forums.

Finally, while the dealer model may add some extra cost into the end product, we have individuals like Matt and Jonathan who we can go to when something goes wrong. Not only does the Shindo dealer provide pre sales assistance but they are a critical link on the back end as well.

Don't think I'm going to have any issues sleeping tonight as a Shindo owner.