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New Gold Note PH 10

I had posted a question a while ago about hearing from anyone with experience comparing the Gold Note PH 10 vs. the Bryston BP2 or Clear Audio Smart V2 phono preamps.  I never heard anything back about this subject, so I decided to just simply purchase a new PH 10 and compare it against my Clear Audio preamp.  

First impressions:  As much as I love my Clear Audio Smart V2 and in particular its sound stage and imaging qualities, I have to say that the PH 10 was considerably better at detail and picking out the instruments, especially the low and mid range ones.   The Clear Audio seemed to be a little better at the upper end imaging and the sound stage.  But keep in mind this was with the PH 10 new right out of the box.

I was told the PH 10 needs at least 50 hours of run in time to open up, so I used it for two nights and left it on for several days.  After allowing it to settle in and enjoying a lot of music, I still thought the Clear Audio had a leg up on it in the sound stage/imaging department.   So I decided to listen to a well known record to me with excellent recording and a lot of dynamic range on the PH 10, then switch the wires over to the Clear Audio (which I had not heard in several days by this time), and replay the record.   YIKES!!!  it was like a blanket was draped over my speakers.  I had become so gradually accustomed to the new PH 10 that I had not noticed the slight changes going on with the break in.  When the Clear Audio was swapped back into the system (it took me about a minute to do this), it was night and day the differences.

The PH 10 was by far a much more detailed, pronounced signature with a superior sound stage and the imaging was hands down better.  I am using it with the Audio Technica AT20ss vintage MM cartridge which has an extraordinary frequency range of 5-50K hz, so I was able to take advantage of the Enhanced RIAA curve the PH 10 has.  It is pretty outstanding.   Make sure you break things in!   I love this phono preamp.
slimpikins5
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
@lewm you can buy two, compare them, return one and report which one you like the most, haha :)) 
slimpikins5's avatar
slimpikins5 OP
191 posts
 
Lew,

There is technically only one version of the Whest Three SE.  I know that they have a special "rare" version which is a souped up Three SE and they add the 40 RDT SE front end to it.  But that is even more money.

If you get the regular Whest Three SE, it comes standard with the  HVDM high voltage dual mono power supply with the two XLR interconnects.  They also include some RCA input interconnects with it.  It runs around $4K US dollars new.
lewm
13,485 posts
 
Funny you mention the outboard PS.  One of my longstanding beefs with the Whest stages is that they seemed to lack an outboard supply, which to me is a must, for the price range inhabited by the upper level Whest products.  In fact, I just took a look on Hi-Fi Shark.  There are two 30RDT SEs for sale.  One shows the rear view, which shows an IEC input for an AC cord on the back of the chassis, as well as a rocker type power switch.  This suggests there is no outboard supply, despite the fact that you say there is, even for the less expensive 3 (and I do believe you).  But I am confused by Whest product line.  What am I looking at?
lewm
13,485 posts
 
Chakster, Obviously, I won't be buying BOTH a Gold Note and a Whest.  In fact, I own an old Silvaweld top of the line phono stage (550SWH, I think) that I modified, probably too much.  That's probably what I will use as an extra MM phono stage, if it sounds decent.  As you may know, Silvaweld was designed and manufactured by Mr Park in Korea, the same person now behind Allnic products.  Philosophically, the Silvaweld phono is different from the Allnic phono stages, in that it uses an FET for MC gain, not a built in SUT.  But I want it for MM.
slimpikins5's avatar
slimpikins5 OP
191 posts
 
The 30RDT SE is a discontinued phono preamp.  It was replaced this year by the 40RDT SE.  The Whest Three SE is the model just below the 40RDT SE and its a 2/3 sized chassis vs. the full rack width of the upper end Whest units.  The upper end units have a dedicated compartment with a divider between the main boards and the toroid transformer.  The Three has its own dedicated chassis with the transformer, which I like and I like the 2/3 main unit as it's easier to fit on my shelving. 

From what I read, there is no question that the upper end Whest unite like the 40RDT SE, Titan Pro, Reference VI are very special items.  The Reference is a dual mono pair of chassis phono preamps.   I have to assume that they have done their design homework on making sure the single chassis designs work as well as independent preamps and power supplies as Whest has such a good reputation.
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