Gold Note DS-10 PLUS & PSU-10 EVO Review

https://soundnews.net/sources/dacs/gold-note-ds-10-plus-psu-10-evo-review/

…embodies 5 devices in a single component: it’s a fully-fledged streamer via Ethernet or Wi-Fi by its own GN Control app, it’s a Bluetooth receiver, a top-class digital-to-analog converter, a dedicated headphone amplifier and a proper preamplifier.

… their build quality is absolutely spectacular, they look eye-catching, fit and finish is at the highest level I’ve encountered with personal audio

… By far, the most interesting feature, is its chameleon DAC setting that can be accessed in the lower right side of the screen. You can tailor it exactly to your needs, you can make it linear and super extended in the frequency response, you can make it analytical or a lot smoother and easy going, you can even roll-off its upper treble if you want.

… Compared to a well-made Chinese DAC, there is more happening in the midrange, there is more vibration in the human voice, there are more nuances that I can pick and more important than ever, it just relaxes me every time I push that play button on the GN Control app. You can certainly make it drier, slightly more analytical sounding, but I think that its genuine Italian sound should be experienced first, before playing with those chameleon DAC settings. I’ve experienced a see-through transparency, a high level of detail retrieval and some of the best layering and depth I’ve heard with all-in-one units.

 

 

RIP Glenn Croft

The man I have looked-up to the most in my life has suddenly died.

He had many rare qualities and what he stood for spoke volumes to me.

In some ways he combined those rare British strengths of being inventive, stoical, loyal, honest, shy, an animal lover, kind by nature, a man of his word.

But also strong, sensitive and quiet with a sharp wit that came out of the blue.

I stocked only the Croft brand of amplifiers he built by hand because they ‘spoke’ to me and to thousands of others.
Voices were real, the soundstage was 3 dimensional, timing spot on.

His genius lay in the intuitive minimalism of his designs. Sometimes, other designers would look at his beautiful hand-wired work and scratch their heads in disbelief at the apparent simplicity.

I have been thinking lately about how to view death; the cocktail of being unwell mixed with the illness of these times is heavy.
He became angry with the unbelievable, self-serving egotism of the Conservative party, the absurd bureaucracy around Brexit, Covid, Putin’s war. Most sensitive and observant people feel this burden.

I will never forget you Glenn. You understood the duality between objective and subjective better than any person I know. I just can’t believe you have left us!

The objectivist/subjectivist battle rages on in audio forums

Denial that subjectivist types hear what they think they hear.

That the ear is not reliable in blind tests etc.

That natural body and resonance are coloration etc. 

That an explicit, hyper-detailed sound must be right.

When long-term realisation shows that it is just tiring. If you want to show your system picks up a vocal inflection, a click of the tongue ”more betterer” than your friend’s system that’s fair enough I suppose but you are probably cheating.

The fact that it is probably a manufacturer manipulated upturned frequency response to impress in a comparison audition… well never mind. When I look at Hi-Fi magazine reviews I am mainly looking out for the reviewer’s description of something as ‘musical’. That is what music is about not logic. Should not need to be said really…

Or equipment that you simply really enjoy that takes your mind off comparing – ”but this, but that”… that is always a good sign.

Or an album track suddenly ‘making sense’ that never quite gelled before – that is a good sign.

When it comes to music with vocals, I think we are too generous when we say people have different tastes. The voice is either as real as possible or it is not. Too many systems produce voices in a way that is slightly robotic and cold. (Speakers with baffles less than 8 inches wide tend to be poor in this area.) I don’t accept this trade-off !

I sometimes genuinely forget that I have loaned an item from my system such as a DC blocker and filter which would be hidden behind the equipment rack. I absent-mindedly wonder why the soundstage is relatively congested, where the life has gone. Then I remember I have loaned this or that.

Or when you audition something that should be better than what you had. You start by hearing what it does better. Then, maybe through tiredness, you just listen almost subconsciously, half-listening. Then you can really judge if overall it is more musical and enjoyable than what you had before. In other words, when you are not looking for a difference and you hear one that is what counts! Call it subconscious comparison. 

Nothing Comes Close

”It is true that you do not realise what you’ve got till it’s gone. You provided such a good service to me and everyone with Audioflair. Nothing comes close!”

Mick Humes who moved to Newcastle.  

Lavardin – Support Furniture Article

I LIKE THE HONESTY OF THIS ARTICLE SO I HAVE POSTED IT WITH PERMISSION FROM LAVARDIN.

What is the best rack to put under an amplifier?

A platform for audio components should firstly support the component stably and secondly be itself as neutral as possible.

For this reason, placing components on resonating materials seems like a really bad idea. Some materials which at first may not be suspected of resonating do in fact do so much more than expected: glass, marble, even granite and all minerals and metals have very poor self damping properties and allow vibrations to be stored, amplified and sent back to the component.

The ultimate material is wood. Wood is made of random fibres that conduct energy and reduce it when energy has to pass from one fibre to another. Moreover, plywood behaves much better than solid wood because of its thin crossed layers that allow a maximum dispersal of energy. Chipboard and “medite” powdered wood do not spread energy because they lose the fibrous structure of real wood.

For these reasons, avoid any stand made completely or partially with:

– Minerals, glass, marble, granite, ceramic: dry sound, too much treble, loss of nuances.

– Carbon fibre, compounds, polyester, etc: as above.

– Metal, steel, aluminium, …. loss of nuances, aggressive sound.

– Pressed wood and medite: loss of detail and nuances.

– Solid wood: expensive and not as good as plywood : simplified music, loss of nuances.

– Springs, rubbers, magnets, air chambers: loss of treble, detail and nuances.

From our point of view, combining minerals with metal, rubber and everything else, is not a demonstration of know-how…

As soon as the life of the music is killed by poor sounding audio racks, tonal balance remains the only thing to discuss, sadly…

If you have a solid, well-built, heavy piece of wood furniture supporting your equipment, it has a good chance of sounding far better than most of the Super High Tech Space or Formula One technology ( ! ) options available on the market.

Furthermore, you can add a thick board of plywood under each component for even better results….

Audioflair – A Great Experience

Pierluigi Savina, Informatico

I need a few words to describe Audioflair: great experience!
Adrian is more than a specialist. He’s like an old friend, someone to talk about your musical ideas and always ready to suggest a tailor-made solution for you.
In my case, I was looking for information on Croft acoustics and that was why I contacted Adrian.
At that time, my Rega P3 seemed perfect for my needs.
Now, on top of my Croft gear, there’s also a Gold Note Valore, probably the best turntable I’ve ever had (for my budget).
Thank you Adrian.

Le chiacchierate al telefono con Adrian sono quanto di più interessante e divertente io ricordi nei miei trascorsi audiofili. Mi hanno fatto ritrovare quel gusto della scoperta che avevo nei primi anni ’80, quando giravo per negozi a cercare il mio primo impianto.
Aldilà della composizione tecnica trovata, della quale sono estremamente soddisfatto, Adrian mi ha dimostrato il grande pregio di saper contagiare le persone con la sua passione per l’alta fedeltà. E si capisce da lontano che non è semplicemente lavoro.
Fosse anche solo per questo, consiglio Audioflair a tutti coloro che amano ascoltare bene la musica.

Vasari Gold Cartridge tested by TONE Audio

There’s a new little star in the constellation of our cartridges: the name is Vasari, the sound is…well, just read the review by Jeff Dorgay on this month’s issue of TONE Audio if you want to find out:

“With decent cartridges in the four-figure range, what’s the new audio enthusiast to do? Four words: Gold Note Vasari Gold. And you can get one for $385.”

read the article on the magazine

Gold Note DS-1000 Music Streamer is on 6moons

The brand new DS-1000 is our take on music streamers, we suggest to use it in pair with QNAP or Synology NAS and your favourite UPnP music server (like MinimServer) to achieve the best reproduction quality.

You can also use DS-1000 to enjoy TIDAL or Qobuz simply installing the MConnect Player app (see MConnect for iOS and MConnect for Android) on your smartphone and tablet.
Visit www.qobuz.com/goldnote to try the service for free with a 1 Month trial – please remember that Qobuz is not worldwide available yet.  

Now DS-1000 is also on 6moons:

“DS-1000 fears no competition. It is a very complete versatile machine with an unusually extensive upgrade path […] From a sonic standpoint, what else can be said than mission accomplished? Elegance, vividness, resolution, transparency and great dynamics honor the essence of music.”

read the complete review on 6moons.com

A review of the new Role Audio Enterprise Loudspeaker

Dear Music Lover,

I write to share a review of the new Enterprise. The review highlights our great achievements producing compact loudspeakers that outperform loudspeakers twice their size from the standpoint of bass reproduction, soundstaging/imaging, and value.

The Enterprise (at £3,295/pair) best the PSB Imagine T2 at £3,498/pair and the Vienna Acoustics Mozart Grand SE at £4,000/pair, two of the greatest speakers under £5,000.

Both the PSB T2 and the Vienna Mozart Grand SE are roughly twice the size of the Enterprise. Moreover, The PSB T2 has (3) 5.25 inch woofers. The Vienna Acoustics has (2) 6.5 inch woofers. The Enterprise has (2) 4.5 inch woofers.

The reviewer found the Vienna Mozart Grand SE is similar to the Enterprise in the overall beauty of its tonality and color, but its bass is not as extended, as taut, or as accurate as the Enterprise’s. And Vienna Mozart Grand SE doesn’t produce the large, layered soundstage that the Enterprise renders both in height and width. He noted that the “PSB Imagine T2 has very good macro-dynamics, but its overall presentation is not as silky smooth/musical as the Enterprise.”

And concluded that, The Enterprise will compete with speakers at least double their price and outperform much more expensive stand-mounted monitors both in soundstaging and bass extension.”

You can read the review here.

Tuscany Gold Moving-Coil Cartridge new review in Stereophile.

Look for the new review of the Tuscany Gold by Michael Fremer in this Month’s issue of Stereophile and you will not be disappointed!

“The Tuscany Gold had a fine, beautifully balanced sound”

read the review

Tuscany cartridges feature an extra-thin Micro Ridge diamond tip developed with Adamant-Namiki, the worlds most famous professional Diamond manufacturer: the special multi faced shape cut guarantees the best deep vinyl groove contact possible.

Gold Note – New Year, New Speakers – the XT-7

The new full-range, 3 way loudspeaker with anti-turbulence rear bass reflex and ribbon tweeter is finally here!

  • TWEETER – custom AMT ribbon.MIDS – 150mm curved cone in ultra-hardened woven polypropylene with custom copper phaser.
  • BASS – 2 x 180mm curved cones in ultra-hardened woven polypropylene with custom copper phaser.
  • CROSSOVER – low-high dual-slope at 280Hz & 3000Hz with resistive design and triple crossover network.

XT-7 means Italian design and craftsmanship, high quality materials,  the best audio grade components made in Germany by Mundorf and amazing custom drivers developed in collaboration with SEAS.

With many solutions directly derived from our flagship model XS-85, here is one of the best loudspeakers we have ever created. Handmade with passion in Italy.

discover the new XT-7

Potentiometers

1 x 50K TKD 2CP-2511. 1 wafer removed because of faulty track. Other channel wafer fine. TKD do not supply replacement wafers! Works fine as a mono or for spares. £25
1 x 100K Black Alps stepped. £85

1 x 500K Alps Black stepped. £65

2 x 250K Blue Alps £6 each.
3 x 100K 128Y stereo (Bourns) metal frame potentiometers. Stepped. £40
1 x 10K Noble potentiometer (excellent sound) in good condition. £28.

1 x 470K Sfernice – tighter bass than Blue Alps. £15

Gold Note XS-93 speakers ex-dem £3500

Retail £7500

White leather with piano black lacquered baffles.

Classic 3 way design with paper drivers.

Includes bespoke stands and spikes.

Rhodium plated terminals.

Crossover upgrades.

93db sensitivity, infinite baffle (sealed) , thin-wall construction.

Deep, fast bass, great detail. Superb with 300B SE amps!

Like a Spendor SP100R but faster, more responsive and suited to all music types.

A pretty-unique design combining the best practices of classic designs with modern technology.

More information from Gold Note’s website at the time in 2013 directly below the images…

The XS-93 is a real 93dB high sensitivity 3 way sealed loudspeaker designed to achieve the best possible natural audio resolution in an elegant cabinet which cosmetically matches any modern environment. The XS-93s use a new extra light plywood cabinet specifically tuned which features the whole frame treated with real leather that provides a rational frequency resonance control. The rear panel works as passive driver helping the bass response extension of the speaker, thus obtaining an exceptional lifelike sound quality. The 100 litres volume cabinet houses one 12.5″ paper custom cone woofer, the only available on the market today of this size powering a sealed design. This special driver has a soft foam suspension that ensures low bass response, astonishing speed and a very high efficiency. The 6.5″ midrange is the same XS-96 top quality hand made paper semi-flat cone capable of handling high power with fine detail and extremely fast transient and dynamic response. The 1″ soft dome tweeter has a double split phaser which enables great dispersion over the front baffle of the speaker and provides ultra-fine detail that guarantees a wide and deep soundstage with very natural resolution. The hand made crossover is made with custom components such as large size film foil capacitors and precision MOX resistors wired with Goldenote solid core custom cables. The XS-93 features the Goldenote BP-01 binding posts exclusively treated with rhodium 100% nickel free to preserve perfect conductivity.

MAIN DETAILS Loudspeaker – 93dB high efficiency sealed speaker – 6ohm – 3way Floorstanding 105cm tall, 37cm wide, 40cm deep – 40Hz-20000Hz – 12″ paper woofer – 6,5″ paper Midrange – 1″ soft dome Tweeter TYPE: 3 way sealed speaker FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 40-20000Hz ±3dB SENSITIVITY: 93dB spl (2,83Volts/1mt) TWEETER: 1″ soft dome driver. MIDRANGE: 6,5″ paper cone driver. WOOFER: 12,5″ paper cone custom driver. SUGGESTED POWER AMPLIFIER: 5Watts – 100Watt MAX POWER HANDLING: 160Watts RMS IMPEDANCE: 4Ω nominal (8Ω from 500-20000Hz) quite resistive phase CROSSOVER: 350Hz@12dB/Octave – 4500Hz@12dB/Octave UPGRADES CROSSOVER components: PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS: (LxDxH): 360mm x 400mm x 1050mm with Integrated Stand VOLUME: 100 Litres each WEIGHT: 30.00 Kilos (88Lbs.) each packed FINISHES GENUINE LEATHER: Handcrafted real Italian leather with walnut front panel.

Gorgeous Mediterraneo Turntable by Gold Note.

This fabulous Gold Note deck is available ex-dem with the  Tuscany Gold cartridge and the PH-11 phono stage.

The sculpted, solid walnut lower plinth adds an authority to the sound and the new pulse-width modulating Fiorino TSC speed control/power supply gives great pitch and dynamics offering the advantages of AC set-ups which major on torque together with the detail-enhancing silent background DC set-ups are renowned for.

DEMONSTRATOR  AVAILABLE FOR SALE AT EX-DEM PRICE – please e-mail me for details.

See link for more details: http://www.goldnote.it/wordpress/mediterraneo/

Mediterraneo Turntable

Vertex AQ

Manufacturers website: www.vertexaq.com

With their renowned range of support platforms, mains leads, mains filters, distribution boxes, analogue/digital interconnects and speaker cables they offer a comprehensive strategy to get the very best from your system. A compelling argument can be made for the purchase of this range of products before the upgrading of ancillaries! Introduce them into a decent system in a systematic way and the benefits are vast. They tackle head-on the increasing problems of RFI (getting worse almost daily! ) and also microphony and vibration within components and from their external environment.

While many customers go for the Jaya filter as a quick fix to their mains problems, there is a logical order to proceed which includes starting with a Kinabalu support platform under the source component. By getting the supports right, the effects of their filters, mains leads, distribution block, interconnects and speaker leads all become more obvious.

They have produced a comprehensive guide book which discusses a hierarchical approach to these problems.
They are ingenious designs ranging from platforms which sink vibrations and energy from within a piece of equipment placed on them while blocking unwanted energy from outside getting in.

Mains filtration devices that work in parallel with the mains rather than in series and therefore avoid robbing equipment of its dynamics while minimising interference.

Interconnects and speaker cables with in-line boxes which ‘sink’ the vibrations from transformers and valves from travelling to the next component in the chain.

Steve at Vertex does an impressive demonstration where he scrapes the end of a conventional interconnect plug while you listen at the other end of the lead with a stethoscope. The rubbing and vibration is plain to hear whereas with a Vertex lead this unwanted interference is inaudible, clearly showing how conventional interconnects let electrical and mechanical vibrations pass along the component chain. Once auditioned in your system, the results prove that motors, valves and transformers produce mechanical noises which travel down the wires which link your system and are amplified like the music signal itself!

I admire the fact that they have formed a knowledge alliance between themselves, Nordost and Acuity to technically measure the effects of their products. There have been too many unknown facts about mechanical energy control up till now. With their Aerospace and military background, Vertex have proved they have the experience to put together a cohesive solution.

In sonic terms, there is a greater background silence and more space and accuracy in the placement of instruments. A once boomy bass becomes focused and followable, a bright top end gains refinement and definition.

The latest Hi-Fi equipment tends to be very detailed and dynamic and Vertex kit can really help control these greater energy demands.

I like the fact that Vertex solutions can bring the best out of any philosophy; valve designs becoming tighter and more focused, solid-state sweeter with better tone. This is proof in itself that it does what it claims.