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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
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.
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
Very interesting how this thread has developed.
I have had my ph10 for a couple years now, love the convenience but I know there is better out there.
Couple people have suggested Whest and now I read similar here.

Only have a couple older mm carts, at15ss and Shure ml140he and newer mc carts but I have always thought the one area lacking a little was bass and bass definition,
rsf507
2,393 posts
 
You should try the external power supply for the PH10. It gives you more refinement, control and detail. Bass definition is much better but not saying it will give you more slam. IMHO I'm happy with the bass.
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
And that is the problem I have been having for over a year.... Do I blow another grand on a PS or put that grand and the proceeds of sale of ph10 towards a Whest?

Still not convinced 1k on a PS is going to make THAT much difference.....
lewm
13,485 posts
 
 Slim, thank you for your detailed explanation of the whest  phono product line. When you first used the numeric designation 40, I thought you had simply mistyped “30”, because I was unaware of the latest update. I can understand that if you have dual mono chassis’ as in the upper end of the whest product line, you would not necessarily need to have a power supply on a separate chassis, which would give you at least three or up to four chassis’ to contend with. If you recall, the Einstein phono stages work that way, and I don’t know how people find the shelf space for the balanced version.

Uber, I would say that you may well be happy, that is happier, with the outboard power supply on your gold note. I can conceive that would make a big difference. In fact I wondered whether slim was using the outboard power supply with his Gold Note.On the other hand, if there is something fundamentally about the sound quality that bugs you, that may not be cured by the outboard supply, and in that case you would be better off moving on.

Now that I know that the gold note has 220 pF of capacitance at its input, different peoples impression of the SQ could well be related to how that person’s cartridge reacts to the capacitance.
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