It all started with an upgrade from a basic cassette deck to a decent CD separates setup. I thought I had reached the pinnacle of sound quality. That illusion was shattered when I stumbled into a small Hi-Fi shop where classical music played on an carefully set up old Rotel system, turntable mounted on a wall shelf. Blown away by this experience, my perception of vinyl was changed forever. Lesson learned: great sound isn’t just about magazine ratings. Setup and synergy are crucial factors.

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With this premise in mind, I set about improving stereo sound through better support and vibration rejection.

For me listening to music has always been a visual affair, in fact I think of it more as watching than listening. The ability to suspend your belief that the music is happening in your space has always been the goal.

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When we listen to music, the auditory cortex is engaged, but music also activates other areas of the brain, including those responsible for emotions, memory, and visual imagery. This phenomenon, known as cross-modal perception, allows one sensory experience to influence another.

 

Visual thinkers tend to have a heightened ability to create mental imagery, which helps them discern and appreciate the nuances in sound. This ability allows them to visualise the architectural layers, and dynamics of music, providing a deeper understanding of its quality.

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A background in design has shaped not only the visual structure of our products but also played a fundamental role in the research and development process. Years of rigorous testing, with both successes and failures, led to the discovery of several materials that deliver consistently high performance, which with the aesthetic and sonic beauty of wood gave us a winning combination. This journey gave rise to Shida.