Shindo 301 Turntable Review

Visitors

About a week after I had gotten the Shindo 301 system, Constantine came over to get his fix of Jambalaya. Afterwards we settle down to spin some tunes. I started with “Fever” from Elvis is Back, then played Nojima Plays Liszt, followed by Belafonte Live at Carnegie Hall, and ended the session with Rob Wasserman Duets. Because we live so close together Constantine and I are very familiar with each other’s systems and taste in music. Still, I have never seen him react to any audio system like he did from the first cut to the last one we played. He sat and listened, chuckled, laughed out loud, taped his foot, and shook his head. When he left he was still shaking his head and said, “how are you going to write about this, people won’t believe you.” (Dear editor, I know I’m paraphrasing but I’m not talking about how much jambalaya you consumed.) (You keep saying that. –Ed.)

Mike Zivkovic, founder of Teresonic, brought his friend Jim Hannon of The Absolute Sound over to hear my system. Mike has heard it through stages, it was Jim’s first time of hearing it. Still, the comments from both were consistent with this review. People are always surprised at how a system can have such drive, such bite, such detail, dynamics, and still be so easy to listen to. I contribute much of this to the sound of the Shindo 301.

The last visitor I want to mention is Warren Gregoire of Ikonoklast. The reason for mentioning Warren is that he is a fellow rim drive enthusiast. He uses a modded Thorens 124 with a Dynavector tonearm, and a London Decca Reference phono cartridge. I’ve heard this unit and it’s quite a vinyl playback system in and of itself. Warren has been listening to my system for over four hears. Warren brought over the new VSEI modded Sony SACD player. Let me tell you, it is a winner. We played Willy Nelson’s Stardust on both SACD and vinyl. I asked Warren which was better. He said from the very first bars it was obvious how much better the vinyl sounded. He added it’s not that big of a difference compared to his modded Thorens 124. Then I asked what was better about the Shindo, and he simply said, “everything.” I think that about sums it up.

All four visitors have made one comment in common. They have all said in some form or other that all that was left to improve the sound with was just to buy new records.

Comparisons

The longer I have the Shindo 301 Vinyl Playback System, the more the thought of writing about comparisons with other table seems wrong. Why? Simple, no other turntable I have heard compares. This doesn’t mean that the Clearaudio Anniversary or Innovation is any less good than I said in their reviews. They are excellent tables, with the best transparency I have ever heard. Also the Miyabi cartridges and the Benz Ebony TR are still incredible cartridges; the most musical I have heard except for the full-Shindo system. Likewise, the Merrill-Scillia turntable still is just as incredible in bass and PRaT as any table I have heard.

I could go on, but as I discussed above, to talk about the things we have to talk about to make the comparison is to ask the wrong question. The reason is that nothing else I have heard involves me in the musical event like the Shindo 301 system.

There is one place where I think making a few comparison would be in order, price. There is no doubt that at $25,000 this is a very expensive purchase, but let’s look at the total cost of some other turntable systems I have reviewed. The total for Merrill-Scillia MS21, the Triplanar, and the Benz Ebony was $32,500 when I reviewed it. Since then they have dropped the price by $9,600 (I don’t even want to go there), and it now only sells for $22,900; if you add an Audience Au24 powerChord, it would be $25,100. The DaVinciAudio Labs In Unison with the Grand Reference Grandezza tonearm, the Audience Au24 powerChrod and the Miyabi Standard cartridge would run you $42,900. Lastly, the Clearaudio Anniversary Wood CMB turntable with the way I used it with their Universal Tonearm, the Clearaudio Synchro Power Generator, their Outer Limit Peripheral Ring, their Statement Clamp, and Audience Au24 powerChord, and the Miyabi Standard phono cartridge cost $24,600.

Now, I’m not going to say something stupid, like a $25,000 turntable is a bargain. If you’re looking for a bargain I suggest the Clearaudio Ambient. No, but at $25,000 the Shindo 301 system is head and shoulders above the other four turntable system I have reviewed in its price range. It would be interesting to hear the Shindo 301 and the total Continuum Vinyl system in my system. I doubt anyone will make that happen though, and come to think about the Continuum tables that I have heard, they are always set up in systems with multi-driver speakers used with big powerful amps, which is a whole different sound.

Conclusion

As I reread the review with the prospective of several months of listening, I see there is something I have left out. While I felt it a mistake to breakdown the sound of the Shindo Vinyl Playback System into parts, I must say something about the bass. I don’t have the right system to comment on how deep the bass is, but I can tell you without a doubt that it produces the most defined bass I have ever heard. This incredible bass definition is combined with the most powerful bass I have ever heard. The bass is just so much more like live music and less like noise coming out of a box than anything I have heard before.

Well I guess you got the idea that this is without a doubt the most significant component I have ever heard or reviewed. I’m sure Constantine is right, there is no way I can really tell you what it sounds like. There are also lots of turntables I haven’t heard, but you can’t overlook the system. There is really something amazing about how the Shindo 301 phono system and their preamps work together. No other cartridge, tonearm, turntable system was as quiet and hum-free in my system. In addition, no other preamp I’ve tried matches up with the Shindo table quite as well as the Shindo preamps. The Shindo 301 System and their Giscours preamp match up wonderfully with my Wavac EC-300B single-ended amp, and the Teresonic Ingenium Silver speakers at 103 dB efficiency. I’ve asked myself why everyone who came and heard the system generally had the same reaction. I think the reason gets back to not getting hung up on the wrong questions. Instead, just let yourself get caught up in the performance. For with this system, your brain doesn’t have to do the work as you are experiencing the music in your soul.

Addendum: Five Things I Love About the Shindo 301 Phono Playback System

Having now lived with this system for several more months I want to add this addendum. There are some things about this vinyl playback system that I simply love, and I want to share them with you.

It’s beautiful to behold, especially the tonearm. I also think the platter and plinth are exceptionally beautiful.
The stylus stays cleaner than any stylus I have ever owned, and it is equally easy to clean when it gets dirty. I don’t know why, but it sure is nice.
It plays record grooves quieter than any other system I have heard, and when there is surface noise it plays it back in a very non-intrusive way. The reason this is great is now I can enjoy all the records in my collection, especially the ones I seldom listen to.
The center record weight and platter mat somehow deal with warped records almost as well as a center weight and peripheral clamp. Best of all, you don’t have to fool with the peripheral ring.

Most of all, I love the way it lets me forget the equipment and simply get lost in the music.