interesting. Very cool. The instruction manual is so minimalist I would have never guessed that. I will do that. Do you also stop the platter before shutting off the power at the end of a session?
Yep! Listening to my RP10/Aria as I type this. Let us know how it goes with the Gold Note. Congrats on your new turntable and Enjoy.
Thanks, man. I appreciate you offering what could be construed as obvious answers. With a new machine and no instructions, it is very helpful. So you use those switches for every flip? I’m setting up the Gold Note tomorrow. Goons watch the Last Dance finale tonight. I’ll report back with what I find.
I’ve found that the gold note capacitance is fixed at 330 pF. Not sure how that will affect things at all. I am going to test it out tonight. Also, it can’t nail the 69.3 dB gain setting, I have to go with either 68 or 71. We shall see. I have no idea what to expect, but I’ll be quite surprised/impressed if it far outdoes the Aria, despite what I’ve read.
You have such a great opportunity to compare these so directly. Do you still have the Phenomena too? Curious how that fares in this test.
You're about 3 days ahead of me. My P10/Aphelion2 arrived Saturday, and I've gotten about 5 hours on it so far. Shipped my RP8/Apheta2 back today as part of the trade to purchase process. My initial thoughts were really similar to what you wrote above. The first LP I played was my new Norah Jones - Come Away With Me - Analog Productions. It's as if she was in the room. And on a first pressing of Workingman's Dead, I heard little details I've never noticed; variations in how a guitar pick was strummed against the strings. I know it's cliche, but it's all true. Bass is a little feeble but I chalk that up to the cartridge being brand new. I'm sure it'll come on.
Naim SuperLine, with an external (SuperCapDR) power supply. Was using Aria mostly with the RP8/Apheta2. We borrowed a Rega Aura for a couple of days but with the RP8 had preferred the SuperLine.
yeah. I got lucky being able to demo both units. I’m about to fire up the PH-10 for the first time. I do still have the Phonomena, but I’d imagine that can’t compete with these two.
Nice. One of these years I will bump up to an Aphelion/Aura/Osiris. Thay being said I am not in any rush. The Alpheta/Aria/Elicit-R combo gives me all the wow factor I need.
Sooooo...the Gold Note is absolutely f'n incredible! Upon the first note of the first record I put on there was clearly a far enhanced clarity and precision to the music. If I was in the room with the musicians with the Aura, I was in the actual music with the PH-10—any sense of separation between me and the music was obliterated. Each instrument was presented with a detail, authority and a clarity I have never heard. I was able to effortlessly follow any of the individual instruments while also listening to their interaction more easily than ever before. And it had the most *realistic* bass presentation that I have heard. My night of listening went: The John Coltrane Quartet Plays—Original Mono pressing Andrew Hill: Point of Departure—OG Mono Grachan Moncur III: Some Other Stuff—OG Mono Lee Morgan: Search for the New Land—OG Mono Miles Davis: Milestones—OG Mono I used 100 ohm / +3 dB gain setting, and used the standard RIAA curve for each of the records except Milestones for while I used the American/Columbia curve. The combination of the P10/Apheta/Gold Note presented these albums in staggering detail and fidelity, and—although this is a well-worn cliche—it truly felt like listening to them anew. It was so exciting that I didn't want to stop and go to bed—stayed up an hour later than intended. In doing research on here before making any decisions, @talkingh mentioned that going from the Aria to the Gold Note was liking taking a blanket off the speakers. At the time that sounded pretty dramatic to me and I didn't see how there could be such a pronounced difference, but I can say that his assessment is pretty spot on. I was tempted to try the 0dB setting since on the PH-10 you can make changes on the fly while music is playing, and even then it sounded great, but I preferred the liveliness with the +3dB. I am going to try some other genres tonight as well as some more vintage jazz to continue experimenting, but wanted to report back my initial impressions. PS: I *love* the using the speed buttons to stop the platter to flip sides, but how do I get the mat to stop sticking to the record?!
Nice! Thanks for this assessment. That phono is at the top of my list when I upgrade next year. If the mat is sticking to the records, sounds like a static problem. Get a Milty Zero stat. They look like audiophile snake oil, but they really do work. I put my arm up to the record before I play it, if you feel the static pulling your arm hair, use the milty. I also zap the mat every now and again in the winter when it’s super dry and static prone. The other thing to do is check your relative humidity. If the room is small enough to use a humidifier, that’s a good option.
So glad you could demo both...and as you can see and hear the aria is good but the gold note is something else
Cool. Thanks. What’s odd is that it didn’t happen once this morning after happening almost every flip last night. I’ll see how it progresses.
That’s most definitely my first impression! It’s amazing. I can’t wait to get home later and listen more. What settings are you using out of curiosity?
Very cool to read about the Goldnote! But as to the above question -- it's static electricity! I was getting that a ton with my RP8's felt mat, until I bought an ultrasonic record cleaner. Then -- never again. The carbon fibre brush didn't do it, nor did the Zerostat (although Zerostat did reduce it). The wet record cleaning machine did. And so far, using the Mofi inner sleeves, the static hasn't returned. It will be worse in really dry air, and we're now well into the spring . . . so we'll see how it goes next winter when the hot air heat is drying out the air again.
Interesting that you went minus on the gain. Was this following the apheta 2 recommendation or personal taste? Even with +3, (68 dB) I am still below rega’s suggested 69.3 dB for the apheta 3. And when you say 100 ohms was wild, what do you mean in terms of sound? In my mind, going up in resistance would open things up more and make it a bit more “wild.” Just curious since I am just starting to experiment with the PH-10.
Interestingly enough, I have an Audio Desk ultrasonic cleaner and use MoFi inner sleeves as well. Maybe I should give the records I’ve had a while another spin through the machine.
How long has it been? I'd try that. I've only had my Audio Desk a few months; maybe after a time they need another bath. And I'm still trying to get used to just hitting the 33 button to stop the platter to flip over the record. With the RP8 I was just letting it spin and I'd grab the felt.
