The Italian audio company Gold Note designs and builds its products in Florence, the capital of the Tuscany region. The company claims to be influenced by the culture and (art) history of this region on the one hand, but at the same time incorporates modern and digital insights and technology into its products. In our test room are the DS – 12, a DA converter also streamer also headphone amplifier and PA – 10, a two-channel power amplifier. The devices have the same shape and dimensions and are relatively compact. How do these Tuscan products sound? We’re going the DS – 12 and PA – 10 View and Investigate. Â

Gold Note: Italian audio equipment manufacturer

The Italian audio company Gold Note was founded by Maurizio Aterini and is based in Florence. In their own words, the onset is already about 32 years ago due to the fact that founder Aterini, as a technical student, was dissatisfied with the performance level of the then turntables. After gaining the necessary design experience and work experience in the audio industry, Aterini established 2012 together with his wife Elena and his partner Alessio Gold Note op.

According to the company’s website, audio equipment often has a dual focus. On the one hand, this is a longing for the past, which can sometimes be found in the design. On the other hand, new developments and technology are often eagerly embraced. In the case of Gold Note, the appearance of the products is, according to them, inspired by the (art) history of the Italian region of Tuscany. In particular, the Gold Note turntables and speakers show smooth lines and a traditional construction method that looks artistic. We see that more often with Italian loudspeaker manufacturers. At the same time, Gold Note looks emphatically at modern technology and the company has a number of digital products. All products are designed and built in Italy.

Ease of use also plays a role. After all, Gold Note also has (pre) amplifiers with analog and digital inputs and streaming functions on board. In our test room is the DS – 12, a DA converter also streamer and headphone amplifier. This is a good example of many and easy to operate (modern) functions housed in a small housing. We’re going the DS – 12 in a moment, together with the PA – 10 a compact power amplifier.

Gold Note: portfolio of sources, amplifiers and speakers Gold Note’s portfolio covers everything today’s music lover needs. Well come on, Gold Note doesn’t build reel recorders, cassette decks and tuners, but it does build speakers, amplifiers (front, end and integrated), turntables, tonearms, cartridges, DA converters and streamers. The portfolio is not very large and does not change very frequently. Gold Note is not the kind of manufacturer that is constantly releasing new models. That is positive because a manufacturer that has models followed in quick succession gives the impression that it is not doing its homework properly. After all, barring one exception, a well-built device cannot be greatly improved a short time later.

Gold Note currently offers four speakers. A vinyl enthusiast can choose from five turntables, five pickups, two tone arms and two phono amps. Gold Note also offers one CD player, three DA converters as well as streamers, one integrated amplifier and a streamer that also has a phono stage on board, one preamplifier and two power amplifiers. . Gold Note also provides the ability to power the DS – 12, DS – 10 Plus, PH – 10, PH-1, CD – 1000, DS – 1000 upgradeable by external power supply. Recently the PSU 12 EVO announced, the external power supply for the DS – 10 and DS – 12 Plus, whose delivery should start soon. A customer can choose to immediately purchase an external power supply with his Gold Note device, but a customer can also do so later.

One of these power amplifiers is the compact model PA – 10 which is in our test room. The dad-10 is eight inches wide. Also in our test room is the DS – 10, a DA converter, streamer and headphone amplifier with volume control. Both devices have the same dimensions and can be supplied in the same color. Gold Note claims to have made two flexible and easy to operate devices. We look at the technology of both devices and then listen to music.

Gold Note PA – 12: power amplifier

The 2-channel PA – 10 works in class AB and can be used twice 125 Deliver watts into eight ohms. At four ohms, the power doubles to 150 Watt. If the impedance is halved again, ie to two ohms, the PA – 10 as stated by Gold Note 300 Deliver watts per channel. There is a small fan on the inside, which starts if the temperature exceeds a certain threshold value by playing at a high volume for a longer period of time. During the test period, we did not hear the fan.

The dad-10 also has the option to bridge the output stages (this is called by Gold Note Bridge-Tied-Load (BTL mode)), causing the PA – 10 becomes a mono amplifier by combining the output stages. The small box can then 384 Deliver watts to eight ohms and 850 Watts at four ohms. BTL mode also allows the user to connect with one PA – 10 and a second PA later – 10 next to it.

The user has the choice of a cinch input and an XLR input, both with an input sensitivity of 1.4 Volt and an impedance of 13 kOhm.

Furthermore, the user can choose a high or low damping factor with a button on the back. The default is a high damping factor, but according to Gold Note, a sensitive or small speaker can benefit from a low damping factor. The explanation of this in the manual is rather brief and we have not investigated this aspect further. We have the PA – 12 used with a high damping factor.

With the supplied trigger cable (called GN Link by Gold Note) the PA – 10 on / off with other devices, such as the DS – 10.

The heavy-duty speaker terminals accept banana plugs, forks and bare wire.

Gold Note DS – 10: DA converter, streamer and headphone amplifier

The DS – 10 has the same shape and aluminum housing as the PA – 12. Gold Note has the DS – 10 packed with modern contemporary features but at the same time trying to keep operation simple. Only one button can be found on the front. By pressing the button functions can be selected by then turning the button. If the button is not pressed, the button works as a volume control. Gold Note delivers a nice IR system remote control with the DS – 10. Let’s walk through the functions of the DS – 10.

The DS – 10, which is therefore equipped with a volume control (which can be bypassed and locked in the highest position), has only digital inputs, for connecting a CD- running gear or a streamer. Connecting a streamer is not very obvious because the DS – 10 is already a very complete streamer, but it is possible. Gold Note allows the user to adjust the sound by setting three parameters as desired. These are 1. the Low Pass filter, 2. High-frequency De-emphasis, and 3. Power line to the DAC chip. Gold Note therefore speaks of a Chameleon Dac. The user can save three profiles in addition to the default setting of the DA converter.

The DS – 10 is quite a complete streamer. The user can connect music to the DS with a computer via UPnP via wired or wireless LAN – 10 or via bluetooth 5.0, or via Apple’s AirPlay. Also, the user can connect a USB HDD or SSD formatted in FAT 32 or NTFS. The DS – 12 easily recognized a Western Digital 1TB USB HDD. The USB-HDD switches on / off with the DS – 10. The usual streaming services such as Spotify, Qobuz, Deezer and Tidal are supported, as well as internet radio via vTuner. The streamer is operated with the MConnect app. More about operation with the MConnect app later.

The DS – 10 supports MQA and is Roon-ready. Music signal may be supplied via the USB-B input in a resolution up to 32-bit/384 kHz. DSD can also be used via this entrance / 128 are delivered and processed. The other inputs (S / PDIF coax, optical and AES / EBU) allow PCM signal up to a maximum of 24-bit/192 kHz are played.

Note: who would need an analog input for the DS – 10 Plus can choose. This device has exactly the same shape and functions as the DS – 10 with addition of an analog line input designed as a 3.5 millimeter jack plug.

As befits a serious streamer, the DS – 10 an RJ 45 LAN terminal. In addition, the DS – 10 also Wi-Fi on board, but we strongly prefer a wired connection because of its inherently better stutter resistance.

The connection to an amplifier is made via the cinch output or the XLR output. On the front panel is a 6, 45 millimeter jack plug headphone connection.

Finally, a few more numbers: Gold Note specifies a signal to noise ratio of 125 dB. The total harmonic distortion is maximum 0, 06 per cent. These are excellent figures, but not exceptional because most modern DA converters have comparable figures. Basically noise and distortion are below the perceptible limit.

Enough talk about technique. Time to connect Gold Note devices and start listening to music.