Gold Note might not be familiar to us here in the States as they are a relatively new company from Italy that is rapidly filling its offerings with anything and everything a music loving audiophile could imagine; from amplifiers, preamplifiers, speakers, turntables, servers and DACs, they have it all. And all made with that Italian focus on quality and appearance. The Gold Note line is stunningly beautiful to see and to touch—their line whispers oh so seductively, “Reach out and touch me." This is a well-thought line of components with an emphasis on quality, musicality, and affordability.
While I have in house the Mediterraneo turntable mounted with the Donatello Gold HD MC cartridge—that will be a later Ramblings—my focus here is the PH-10 phono stage, so, let's dig in on that. There is a lot going on with the PH-10, and at the asking price of a mere $1390, way more going on than pretty much anything I can think of for under way, way more money than I could ever want to spend. The PH-10 offers control over loading (9 options), gain (4 levels), RIAA curve (3 curves), MM or MC, along with two inputs… all via the front panel. All visible and done very attractively and user friendly. Push a button and rotate till you get what you want. Easy as one could ask for.
The case work is a beautifully machined aluminum shell that belies the asking price. Fit and finish is solid as are all the sockets on the rear. Stunning work for $1390, hell stunning work for twice that!
Now, I am not a spec guy since for me, the proof is in the pudding. I can list whatever, done by whatnot, but if it does not deliver my music the way I want, well… what's the point? So, if you need all the bits and pieces, then head on over to the Gold Note website (HERE). Take a visit, read all you want, but till you sit down with the PH-10 and set it for your cartridge, well… all of that is just a suggestion of what one might hear.
And so, what did I hear with the PH-10 set for my “vintage" Transrotor Leonardo Doppio 25/25/60 turntable with an audiomod Series 5 arm and Shelter 901 cartridge?
I heard a very lively presentation that was clean, clear, and quite articulate. One where the music moved with that pRat that Art Dudley so appropriately termed many years ago—pace, rhythm, and timing. And with solid bass and extension, the PH-10 could rattle the room with the right LPs. Slam and dynamics… the PH-10 did not disappoint. Think luxury cosmetics—the look and feel of an Italian luxury sedan—and the driving the experience of an Italian sports car racing through the countryside.
Wonderful separation of instruments and resolution that was not spotlit or artificial. That is, the PH-10 did not augment or focus on any one sonic area, nor did it come across as being colored or tilted in any one direction… no, the PH-10 made me want to turn up the volume to hear more and more of whatever we had on the turntable. For sure the PH-10 offers a different sonic character than that of my Heed Thesis—the Thesis presents the music as more of a whole with more warmth, and that Heed touch of elegantly musical classy-ness. More oomph perhaps… which could easily be laid at the Heed having an external LPS to boost the juice, though that will be a future option for the PH-10 as I have heard.
The PH-10, compared to the Heed, is a bit “lighter" than the “darker" Heed. Differences for sure, but not differences that detract or imply one being superior or inferior. With the PH-10 music has a touch more clarity for lack of a better word, more separation as separate entities. Differences for sure. Colorations? Lack of colorations... no idea, just different. Like I said, the Heed sounds more of a whole, and smoother too. You say potāto and I say potâto. Either way you slice it or mash it… you got potatoes. Well, in this case music.
Listening to the new UNKLE, The Road was way fun. It was so easy to slip into the music and be taken away emotionally—either crying with the song “Farewell" that Carol and used at RMAF to find that emotional magic in various components, or dancing with the song “Looking for the Rain". The PH-10 made this album come alive showing the attention to the mix and composition. There is a lot going on within any track and the PH-10 lets you hear it all. The album opens with actor Brian Cox asking, “Have you thought about the mistakes you've made?" … uh, the PH-10 makes none that we could point a finger at, its presentation of this album was so much fun that, like I said earlier, turn it up! And we did.
The new National album, Sleep Well Beast, is another new favorite (we have the limited edition on blue vinyl and it sounds really damn good). The song “Walk it Back" is somewhat reflective in nature as one thinks about their actions, and the PH-10 got us to really sink into the flow and direction that singer Matt Berninger strives for, not only in his lyrics, but in his delivery. This song is one of their best… the PH-10 delivers the music as an enticing foray into what the National are all about. Emotion, song writing, production… you get it all. A wonderful balance with nothing jumping out or raising its head above the sonic mix. The music flowed, was engaging, and showed all that they left in the studio with this album. Clean and articulate… wonderful presence. Balanced. Musical. Now I have no idea what the music on the LP should sound like, nor any LP or disc, file, whatever we have. And the truth is, neither do you. You certainly know what it sounds like on your system, and perhaps love it or hate it at home and perhaps vice versa elsewhere… but what I do know is that we liked everything we heard with the PH-10, and with any LP we tossed its way. Is it accurate? Is it producing what is in the groves as intended? No clue… but like I said, we loved what it did here.
Case in point, the re-release of the first four Brian Eno LPs, Here Come the Warm Jets, Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy), Before and After Science, and Another Green World. Carol gave these to me for my birthday last June and while they sound wonderful—greater bass extension, separation of instruments, clarity and presence, and so on—all different from the originals which still sound wonderful in terms of a collective whole (the older releases sound more like a band playing together in the studio—of which I doubt happened—whereas the new releases sound more like individual players/instruments in a studio, which is no doubt what did happen)… the PH-10 allowed all of this to come audibly and obviously through to us as we played one after another title. Love the new releases, but still love the originals—differences that are clearly heard, differences that offer one a different perspective of the music. Neither better or worse, just clearly different. The PH-10 got that across to us quite easily and engagingly so. Is this how Eno or the guys at Abbey Road, when remastering the LPs, imagined it or heard it? No idea, but we loved what we heard all the same. BTW, if you can find these... buy them. Impeccable packaging, remastering, and vinyl quality is way good. Stellar sound.
Which brings to mind when people come over and play something here that they own... "That is not how it should sound," I hear on occasion. I look at them incredulously and ask, "How do you know what it should like like?" "I get that you are used to it sounding a certain way at home, but this is here, with my system voiced the way I like." "With my music sounding the way I want it to sound... I mean, what side of stupid did you get up from this morning?" "You think your system is the truth?" "Uh... screw that." "Guess what, you have no idea how it should sound... just how you want it to sound." "How you are used to it sound." All which is fine, but don't come in here with that... that does not sound right!
Now, if you have followed my writings, you know that I tend to ramble and focus more on the whole and less on the pieces. For me it is more about the experience and less than the bits and whatnots—the typical audiophile stuff. Either I like what I hear in terms of the bigger picture, the completeness of the presentation, then, well… how something does x, y, or z is less really meaningful. For sure all the bits and pieces make the whole, yeah, I get that, and for sure I want bass and slam, extension and presence (palpable at that) … clean and detailed... all the bits we all want, and of course we all place various levels of importance or value on that, but in the end, either it makes music for us or it does not. And for sure Carol and I are all about our music being full range. With the PH-10 we get that. And at $1390! And with all those usable features via the front panel. And in a beautiful case... no off the shelf black box with a knob for Gold Note.
We have had the PH-10 here for a decent enough time for me to say that, at $1390, it is a no-brainer. At twice or three times that the PH-10 is competing on fair ground. The unit is elegant throughout, works as advertised, and serves the music as any phono stage should. Not sure how they are doing this for so little compared to the stages above it price-wise, but damn. Highly recommended.
Gold Note
