I want to spend less than $1000 (including $150-$200 shipping to Russia) for a floor goban. Could anybody helps me with the choice, please?

Here are the options I found so far:
http://r.ebay.com/NIX01m made of Shin-Kaya
http://r.ebay.com/bnOaRg made of Agathis

Maybe there are some other online shops besides Ebay that delivers from countries near to Russia? Or just what the difference betwee Agathis and Shin-Kaya in this case?

I don't have anything helpful to say, but I wanted to make sure you'd noticed the shipping on the first board you posted, which makes it significantly more than $1000.

All I know is that Agathis is a much harder wood. A shin-kaya board isn't as durable, and scratches and mars more easily. (Or so I have read.)

If you have expensive shell go stones, though, you want a softer surface that won't damage the stones, and should probably go with shin-kaya.

Hi ganq!

These are wikipedia pages for the trees...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agathis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picea_glauca (Shin-kaya is this one)

The visible difference of these two gobans is the color.
You may notice this by looking at the pictures on ebay , shin-kaya goban is somewhat goldish, while agathis goban more darker maybe light-brown.

But you can't pay more $500 for color though...

Well, the kaya goban is considered the best for its color, sound when you place stones, durability, fine scent, and many others.
The shin-kaya is considered similar to original kaya, while it is actually a different type of tree. It may be a good choice if you want fine quality from moderate price.

Agathis is the most popular tree in making gobans, for it is so common to find from Indonesian rainforests. My own goban is agathis , the biggest problem of this I think is the stone placing sound. It is very dull.. not just mine, also the same in the gobans of my local go club, which are also agathis. However, unless you are too sensitive on sounds, I recommend this one, more than shin-kaya. Maybe I think $999 too expensive for a game board .


BTW, there is a korean goban shop also online, http://www.hanilbadook.com/goods/produc ... tg_code=01 . I actually told you about here before, and it does support oversea delivery.

Thanks rlaarswo! Indeed your advice was very helpful. I'm just gathering information about the materials - I think, that I will buy in in the shop you have noted anyway. I think that the sound is important in this case.

By the way are there kaya (or shin-kaya) gobans in this section of the website? http://www.hanilbadook.com/goods/produc ... tg_code=02 Google Translate sucks in traslating from Korean plus many websites just insert pictures instead of letters!

http://www.hanilbadook.com/goods/produc ... tg_code=02

these are the shin kaya.

the ones on the first page are agathis.

Maybe anyone can record the sound of the shi-kaya goban and put it on the You Tube?
I managed to find kaya sound , but not shin-kaya

For that to be useful, you would really both in the same recording with similarly sized boards. I don't think it has to be scientific or anything, but two separate records made with different equipment, sound cards, sound settings, conditions, etc., could very well mislead you. (Even on the same recording it will sound different than it will live, but it should at least give you some idea).

Unfortunately, I don't have an agathis board, or I'd oblige.

.

That's of course true but it would give the first impression on the sound. Here is another great sound, just listen how soft it is! (1:48)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rYULAK7 ... age#t=108s

Here is another board sound, a lot more clicky and not so pleasant. I guess it's agathis (04:19): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O-lwNzN ... age#t=259s

Here is the video where the sounds of the different kinds of gobans is compared with each other:
Very nice, I know now that Agathis is way more clicky that the pine (shin-kaya):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfG1NTkw ... 9qj6AEK9rQ

Just FYI, shin-kaya is spruce, not pine. I've seen it variously described as "White Spruce", "Alaskan White Spruce", and "Tibetan Spruce". Though I'm not sure that each of those colloquial descriptions are the same species.

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