User experience with Gold Note Giglio and/or Project Xtension 10 EvolutionTurntables...

The cable swap is easy. It doesn't require any soldering. It just plugs into the bottom of the tone arm. I removed my tone arm to make it easier. There are three (or was it four) screws on the bottom of the plinth that hold the tone arm base to the plinth. Loosen those and then the cable just unplugs and the new one plugs in. The hardest part was finding someone with the cable in stock.

Terry

 

I forgot to mention that one of the main reasons I went with the Pro-ject table was the dust cover. We have cats, dogs and a ferret. A dust cover wasn't an option for me.

Terry

 

Would love to hear your comments on the sound. Your earlier comment about listening in store when they match with other high end amps etc but then a cheap cartridge are indeed the pitfalls. A good shop will hopefully lend it to you for a day
Audio Eden were possibly open to this for the vpi. Be great to set it up in your own room with your own components. Pm me if you are interested in pooling our resources here
If we both end up buying from the same dealer we can maybe knock the price down for buying 2 units.

 

That's one of the reasons why I declined on the Prime

 

Just came back from an audition of the Gold Note, Giglio. Simply beautiful. A very well thought out design, solid mass at 16 kg, and beautiful sound. It was hooked up with a $350 Gold Note MM cartridge. The rest of the system was all top shelf (aside from the $800 preamp). The speakers were Opera Grand Callas (SRP $13k), which closely resemble the Sonus Faber, Serafina which are more that 2x the cost of the Grand Callas. It's a plug and play TT, no fuss, non muss. Nice solid acrylic lid thats got a pair of solid hinges holding it to the plinth. I asked the rep which TT he preferred, the Giglio, or the Acoustic Solid, Solid 111 Metal and he wouldn't answer!! He said they're both excellent, and priced well below their performance level. One is very simple, and inconspicuous, and the other is not exactly complicated but it is VERY conspicuous!! Just looking at the two units, and considering the engineering and the machining, I tend to believe that one is getting more bang for your buck out to the Acoustic Solid. I have to decide it I want to look at a gleaming crown jewel all of the time, or a TT that is still very attractive but blends in with the surroundings. Also, I'd likely get an acrylic lid made for it, though because it fits on a standard rack, it wouldn't be that big.

 

Excellent idea!! I'm going to ask the owner of Ovation Audio if he'll lend it to me. Thanks for the suggestion!!

 

I can just see a ferret watching the tone arm, and then, pounce!! Epic!!!

 

Can you pass on the contact details as I would like a similar audition
Thanks

 

Interesting.

Does the Giglio come with the TSC? I (well, Gold Note) retro-fitted that to mine and it really notched it up a level.

 

Here you go:

Greg McLean
Tri-Cell Enterprises Inc.
391 Hanlan Rd. Unit # 5
Vaughan , ON.
L4L-3T1
web:www.tricellenterprises.com
e-mail: [email protected]
ph: (905)-265-7870
toll free: 1-800-263-8151
fax: (905)-265-7868

 

TSC? What't that?

 

Turntable Speed Control, sorry - the name for its external speed box.

 

Thanks! For the Giglio, the TSB is built into the deck. The two main speeds are 33 and 45. The rep. instructed me that the speeds can be fine tuned by holding both buttons simultaneously, and then make adjustments up or down with either one of the speed selectors. 78 is also in there, though I wasn't really paying attention to that as I don't play 78's. However, he also said that the speed box was ver accurate. When I was talking to the owner of Ovation Audio about Gold Note, he has one model in the store, the Valore 400 or 425 (the 400 is discontinued). Apparently they were having trouble with the motor on that model, and it resulted in them suppling a TSB, which also, annoyingly, made the switch on the plinth not only redundant, but it simply doesn't work. Seems like a bit of a lemon to me.

The TSB that comes with most of the Acoustic Solid models (all but two of the wood models and all of the metal models) is a true thing of beauty: very accurate electronics, and easily adjustable speeds, if necessary. I'm now in a real quandary, I'm not sure which one to go for. I'm going to see if the owner of Audio Ovation would consider letting me borrow the Solid 111 with a decent cartridge, for a a day. Being that it's all metal, a completely different, open architecture design, it's got to sound different than most standard decks, and it will certainly look different atop my rack. I'd like to hear it with my gear, and not a $24K amp and preamp set up with speakers that cost $10K. It also needs a better cartridge than one that costs $180 .

 

Personally I feel from first hand experience the cartridge contributes significantly more to the sound than the table does. So having a $180 cart on a $5k table is a bit wacky. If I was trying to make a sale I'd be putting something on a lot more revealing than that.

If your looking for plug and play with a lid give the Rega RP8/10 a listen with the Apheta 2 cartridge. Setup with that would just be making sure the VTF is correct. I'm using a Dyna XX-2 with mine but if you are buying new the discount on the cartridge included is significant. BTW there is a lot of wiggle room on the table (as in more than $1000) so shop around and don't be afraid not to buy from a local dealer.

I have a fair amount of experience with the Rega and VPI tables so if you have any questions feel free to ask (or send a PM if it's about VPI as my comments will be deleted otherwise - thanks guys!).

I also like the Pro-ject Xtension 10 quite a bit too. A very good value for the price.

 

I tend to agree with you about the cartridge vs the TT. On the other hand, The Giglio that I auditioned had a $350 cartridge on a $5K TT, and it was not lacking, at all. I can only assume that it would get better from there. I've checked out the Rega TT's and yes they are very well made. I just decided that I wanted something a little unorthodox, or off the well beaten path. I've also had a good look at VPI. Excellently made, but I don't want a TT that large. I'd need to buy an new rack , and the acrylic cover for them is huge, too huge. I know that I'd tire of it, quickly.

 

Unorthodox is definitely a RP8/10 haha. Like your concerns about tables with large , unwieldy covers that have to be stored someplace when not in use this is one table I think I could (but probably won't) skip the outer surround that supports the cover and leave just the inner turntable shell. Impressive is a very good word for how it looks.

 

Yes, you can fine-tune the speed. Nice feature. And indeed the plinth switch on my table is now redundant too! But it was working fine before I added the TSC. Negligible annoyance for the benefit in this case.

Not familiar at all with Acoustic Solid tables, but they look nice and have fun trying and comparing as best you can. It is hard to judge especially if with different carts, and other equipment/rooms etc. Not always easy to know where the performance is coming from.

For what it's worth, for reference, I previously had a Rp3 and Denon DL-110 cart. I then switched to the Benz Ace SL cart (using the same phono stage as before but on MC setting), and it was in a different league to the Denon (great as it is at its price). It was then I got the Gold Note. With the same Benz and everything else, it was a huge performance step up from Rp3 (...great as it is at its price...). Really significant. Then adding the TSC upped it somewhat again.

 

How coincidental that you mention Benz! I was just talking to the owner or Ovation Audio and we were talking about cartridges for the Solid 111 Metal (if I go that route) and he mentioned and he's a fan of Benz, and has a Benz Micro Ace (M) in stock. I gather the M stands for medium output, and there's a S for low, and a H for high. Not at all familiar with Benz, other than the bits and pieces that I've read.

 

Pretty sure I just made up my mind. I went back to Ovation Audio with my phono preamp and a couple of records, and was duly impressed with the sound. I can only imagine what the 111 Metal would sound like with a Ortofon MC Quintet Black or another decent MC cartridge. I'm going to go with the Acoustic Solid 111 Metal with the isolation platform and the Acoustic Solid 213 tone arm, both of which are not standard items with the base 111 Metal. The model they have on display is with the isolation platform, but it has a Rega made tonearm. Two differences are that the Acoustic Solid 213 has a carbon fibre tube and no anti-skating, aside from a couple of other differences. That was fun! And on the upside, I found out that I had the dip switches set to the wrong settings for my Ortofon 2M Black. What a difference that makes!! Doh!! To be fair to myself, I didn't set them. They were set by the staff at the store where I bought it.

 

Wow, that's an intense brush you've got there!! It looks like the one I use to scrub the grills on BBQ!!

 

Yeah I really like the Benz. Wanted a strong all-round cart for the long term, and managed a good trade-in deal from a company that can also service and re-tip them.

So many views and findings on carts... and key is obviously getting it to match arm and phono stage/setttings!...

 

wait? I can't use it on my big green egg and records? I found that stainless steel is the best way to remove that hard grit and grime off my records. After a quick bath in the sink with fluoroantimonic acid, I give it a heavy scrubbing using the brush (wearing protective gloves). I found my trusty VPI record cleaner was not up to the task of drying the records so enlisted my Stihl leaf blower and they are dry as the desert at that point (the the Stihl is actually quieter so my hearing and neighbors thank me for that). Of course, I'm using my Audio Note proprietary blue light shining on the record during the entire process (I'm not really sure what it's supposed to do but bought it on sale on the high recommendation of a semi professional audio reviewer Andre the Giant and it was a steal at $11,456 dollar , 57% off list!).

Brush is called "the Big Record Brush". I love how original the name is.

 

Haha! I've never seen it. though for nearly $12k, and being able use it on double duty, it's a bargain!

 

What happened to the rest of the story Jared?
Did you get the table?
How is it, if so?

Thanks

 

I ended up ordering the Solid 111 Metal Reference with the Acoustic Solid 213 tone arm, by Acoustic Solid. Should have it this week. Will be putting a Ortofon MC Quintet Black on it. Thanks for asking. Was a fun journey.