Goldring has announced its new Ethos moving coil cartridge; a top-of-the-range cartridge with outstanding sound reproduction capabilities, designed and hand-built in the United Kingdom. Measurements and listening tests show that the design of Ethos has achieved new heights of performance both on paper and in practice.
The use of a top quality Vital line-contact diamond stylus gives Ethos an exemplary ability to retrieve every last ounce of detail from the record groove; the high channel separation reproduces an exceptionally accurate and realistic stereo sound stage; at the same time the enhanced trackability and absence of colouration delivers undiluted enjoyment of the music.
Inside the Ethos
At the heart of the Ethos cartridge is Goldring’s hand-built GOL-1 moving-coil generator. Developed in the heyday of vinyl, it takes advantage of a lower coil inductance and reduced effective mass when compared to traditional moving magnet types to give a smooth, extended frequency response with enhanced trackability.
For Ethos, we have carefully improved numerous aspects of its design and assembly to further enhance its world class reputation. With modern set-up and test equipment at their disposal, our highly skilled UK based assembly team are able to precisely build and individually adjust each cartridge so that it is capable of retrieving every last detail from the record groove.
The result is that one becomes simply immersed in the musical experience… and that’s our whole Ethos.
| Line-Contact Stylus The line-contact diamond profile provides a large contact area with the groove wall, improving the retrieval of high frequency detail and reducing groove wear. Its vital-shaped shank has a low tip mass giving the design exceptionally good trackability. |
| Alloy Cantilever The stiff and lightweight alloy cantilever tube has been tuned to the ideal length for cartridge stability and ride height. Its length has been optimised to reduce inertia in the suspension system and improve trackability. |
| Cross-Shaped Armature The coils are wound around a cross-shaped armature of pure, high-permeability, Swedish iron. The reduced unsprung mass improves the ability for the stylus to track the groove wall and minimises cross-talk, improving the stereo image. |
| Optimised Suspension The new damper pad uses a bespoke butyl rubber compound to keep the system critically damped. Combined with an expertly tensioned tie-wire, the cartridge remains ultra-stable even during the loudest and most complex passages. |
| Neodymium Magnet A very light and powerful neodymium magnet is clamped between two pole shoes creating a perfectly uniform magnetic field gap, within which the cross armature is suspended. This gives Ethos its typically flat and extended frequency response. |
| Aluminium Body Shell The body is precision-milled from a low density, rigid, aircraft grade aluminium which helps to maintain a low effective mass and enables it to dissipate unwanted resonances into the tonearm where they are effectively ‘grounded’. |
Construction
| Stylus profile: | Vital line-contact |
| Stylus radius: | 8 x 35 μm (0.3 x 1.4 mil) |
| Cantilever: | Aluminium alloy |
| Coil wire: | Oxygen free copper |
| Coil windings: | 32 per channel |
| Armature type: | Low mass cross shape |
| Magnet: | Neodymium |
| Generator model: | GOL-1 |
| Body material: | Aircraft aluminium |
| Replacement stylus: | Factory replaceable |
Transducer characteristics
| Frequency range: | 10 Hz – 32 kHz |
| Frequency response: | ± 2 dB (35 Hz – 18 kHz) |
| Channel balance: | <1 dB at 1 kHz |
| Channel separation: | >30 dB at 1 kHz |
| Sensitivity: | 0.5 mV ± 1 dB at 1 kHz, 5 cm/s (rms) |
| Static compliance: | 25 mm/N |
| Dynamic compliance: | 15 mm/N |
| Vertical tracking angle: | 20° |
Electrical Characteristics
| Load resistance: | 100 Ω |
| Load capacitance: | 100 – 1000 pF |
| Internal inductance: | 7.5 μH typical |
| Internal resistance: | 4 Ω typical |
Mechanical Characteristics
| Cartridge mass: | 7.7 g |
| Total mass (incl. fixings): | 8.5 g |
| Fixing centres: | 12.7 mm (0.5 in) |
| Playing weight: | 1.5 – 2.0 g (1.75 g) |
Established in 1906
The Goldring story began in 1906 with the supply of steel needles, springs and clockwork motors to the gramophone industry. Products were marked with a golden ring to indicate high quality of design and manufacture.
In 1926 Goldring introduced the Jewel Electro, arguably the most advanced gramophone soundbox of its day. During the decades following the war, as home hi-fi became a reality, Goldring was always at the forefront of innovation. The brand quickly became the industry standard for electro-magnetic pickups, with its 500 series cartridge becoming widely used throughout the broadcasting industry.
Today, Goldring continues to defy industry norms by producing high performance, premium quality, British-designed products for the specialist cartridge and turntable market.
The Goldring Ethos is available now, priced £999/€1,095/ $1,599
To discover more about the Ethos and other Goldring products please visit www.goldring.co.uk (UK) www.goldringusa.com (US)
