Mini review of the Gold Note PH-10 phono preamp

Interesting thing.
Listened to 1st record from Sinatra Capitol Collection, 1990 remaster (assumed digital). 1953 recordings.
Sounded unnaturally bright, but switching to Columbia surve cured it right away. ))
Wonder what was the source of a collection and could they screw up curves while doing repress.

 

No one is putting out anything on the Columbia curve.

 

Not intentional of course. But what if source from 1953 was already equalized tape or needledrop, cut without reequalization?

 

How would you cut a record without re-equalization? They'd have to be deaf to say "that sounds fine" at any point in the process.

 

Well, imagine the only source they have was equalized tape (it happens). They equalized it and equalized back using the same RIAA curve. It is the same (in theory) as using original tape equalization.
It is very well can be my imagination or specifics of recording. But on songs from 1955 and later in the same edition my ears were fine with RIAA curve and not Columbia.
Unfortunately original pre-1955 LP records are not easy to find ( shellacs 78rpm are often cheap, but I cannot play them), or they have music I do not care about (or cost a fortune for the ones I do). So for a while I would stop my experiments )). I love the sound PH-10 simply on RIAA curve with 99% of my records )). Yesterday I played Eloy "Colours" - record I know well, and I was floored how detailed and musical at the same time it sounded ...

 

The PH 10 is a great phono hands down. I have the Power supply as well and have to disconnect for awhile to see what kind of change it makes. I am thinking probably not as much as hyped.

 

I suspect all power ticks really depend on one’s power quality. I never was able to hear any difference with power cables, conditioners, etc - leaving in a house far from power polluting sources helps perhaps.
I read someone that one guy was able to measure difference in THD between using wall socket and Power Supply. However when plugged into PS audio reconstructive power conditioner difference disappeared.

 

I agree. One has to question if the PH10 has awful power supply if an outboard unit is sold. Catch22 for the marketing dept. I went all out and bought the combo. Will remove the PSU10 to see if I notice.

I have played with power many times and some things worked wonders. Like my old house with alum wiring. I put a dedicated 20 amp copper run to the stereo and it was well worth the time. The house had to many things on the old circuit and there was noise. New line was the best audio $ I've ever spent. However I had a big Monster unit (forget model) which has a switched variac in it. So you could dial in the voltage wanted and the unit would store and switch so everything connected got a clean steady 117 for instance. The integrated sounded way worse with it and the outboard gear seemed to like it. Took it away and realized it wasn't making much if any sound difference overall. Now I plug my outboard gear into a furman just for safety. The integrated though again sounds awful if I plug into the Furman so it remains direct to wall. New place is a new build townhouse so I cant run dedicated unfortunately but I assume its cleaner power than the old place to begin with.

I know a guy who swears his expensive power cords have changed his life. I cant go there. Wont go there. I feel for that guy as each time he brings it up I question sanity. Especially at our age the top end is fading away each year. I cant hear over 16khz at all.

 

Can the PH 10 be used without an EQ curve or must you select one of them?

 

There no such option, unfortunately. May be they will update firmware one day, who knows.

 

Interesting. So you *must* eq the original recording to use it, eh?

 

Correct, there are no option to turn off equalization curve. No different then 95% of all phono preamps out there.

 

Can you elaborate on this? I know you have to set gain and load on all preamps—is this what you mean? It seems that on this one there is an additional manipulation of the original recording. I may be missing something here. I am in the market for a new phono stage, so I am curious.

 

The default is RIAA equalisation as found on 99% of vinyl records, the PH 10 also offers Columbia and Decca curves which were used by those labels prior to the adoption of RIAA, additional manipulation or what Gold Note call "enhanced" which changes the shape of the EQ at the top end. Nowadays having a zero EQ option might be useful if you were then going to EQ using software, but it's probably not something most people would find useful and you wouldn't like how a non EQed record would sound. Loading and gain are for cartridge matching and nothing to do with EQ.

 

gotcha. thanks for the explanation. guess I’ll consider this model for the P8/Apheta 3 combo I’m looking to upgrade to. Was planning on the Aria...

 

So most non-adjustable phono stages (eg Rega Aria) have inherent RIAA equalization?

 

Pretty much every non adjustable phono stage from the last sixty years should have RIAA equalisation, how accurately it's implemented is a different question, but those discussed on here should all be accurate, RIAA is the default for all phono stages, those that offer other curves in addition are a rarity.

 

Gotcha. Thank you.

 

@Dubmart do you have one of these units? If so, do you love it?

also, was there ever any conclusion whether the curves are created digitally?

 

Yes, I have a PH 10, though not the external power supply, do I love it? Well love may be too strong a word, but I still really enjoy it, like it's sound a great deal and have never regretted buying it, perhaps if I get the power supply I'll love it. I'm not sure of the exact technology used, but would add that it's a very well made stage and although not cheap feels like something even more expensive, it definitely has some Italian style and is a joy to use.

Before I bought the Gold Note I looked at several other stages which in the UK cost between £900 and £1700, I think there were at least six that I could have lived with as they did their job well, the differences were in features, upgrade potential, looks and build quality, I really liked how the Gold Note sounded and how it looked, but the deciding factor was the ability to connect two decks and switchable EQ curves, two inputs effectively made it a bargain as I have two decks set up in my main system.

 

Copy. Would you say it’s a no brainier over the Rega Aria? I’m looking at the P8/Apheta 3 combo to pair with it. The extra curves and two decks don’t make much difference to me. Just looking at overall sonic performance.

 

I haven't heard the current Aria or P8 come to that, I did hear the previous RP10 with a Rega MC and what I believe was the previous version of the Aria a mark 1, it sounded absolutely fantastic and I suspect you get a fair bit of synergy with an all Rega front end, I suspect the Aria is designed to be at it's best with Rega MCs, not to say that either won't work well with other brands just that an all Rega front end may be greater than the sum of it's parts. For reference I've always liked Rega arms, but haven't always been impressed by their lower end decks, carts or the original Rega Fono come to that, but their current high end offerings that I've heard have seriously impressed me, I'd assume that if you hadn't already bought the deck then you might get a better deal buying all Rega from one dealer. Will the Aria sound better than the Gold Note, I don't know, I suspect that it would be close whichever way it went and most people would happily live with either so I'd be thinking about price, whether I'd ever need two input and if I'd use the other EQs also if I might use a non Rega cart in the future, if I didn't need the latter two and wasn't likely to use a non Rega cart I'd lean towards the Aria otherwise personally I'd choose the Gold Note.

 

Hmm. I suppose two inputs could be helpful if I ever get a set up a dedicated mono table which would be with a non Rega cart. And I do have a good amount of 1950s jazz, not all on Columbia, though. Is it really only applicable to Columbia pressings?

I guess it could be useful, but not sure if and when. I really appreciate your input and advice. Thank you.

(meant to quote you on that @Dubmart )

 

I have the PH-10 and power supply. It astounds me everyday

 

Funnily enough that's pretty much my current set up, a stereo deck and a dedicated mono deck which I mainly, but not exclusively use for 1950s and 1960s Jazz LPs both fed into the Gold Note, the Columbia is only totally applicable to records on that label, but having said that other mono LPs were also cut with different EQ patterns and may sound better with one of the non RIAA options at least the Gold Note gives you some options to try. I wish I could be more definitive and I do plan on conducting experiments with different labels to try and get an idea which EQ pattern sounds best with a particular label, I just haven't done so yet, having said that playing a Columbia LP with the Columbia curve is something of a revelation.

I'm not sure what's available where you are, but my advice, as always when making a major purchase, is to demo both phono stages, ideally and if at all possible at the same time with a P8 and buy whichever of the two you prefer I genuinely think either will make you very happy and wouldn't worry too much about the twin deck option unless that really is a long term goal.