Analog Gear News

British hi-fi stalwarts Goldring have just introduced a special edition of their vaunted Ethos moving coil (MC) cartridge, which is appropriately named the Goldring Ethos SE. Upgrades for the Ethos SE cart include pure silver coils, low-reluctance pole shoes, and a black anodized, aircraft-grade aluminium body.

Additionally, the Ethos SE’s vital line-contact diamond stylus features a narrow, low tip-mass, large-contact area that is said to “enhance” high-frequency response and “minimize” distortion and coloration. The stylus’ vital-shank, nude design has a polyhedral, line-contact diamond profile, and is connected to the armature by a stiff, yet lightweight alloy cantilever tube.

The Goldring Ethos SE’s new Ag 9999 pure silver coils feature fewer windings with higher conductivity, reducing the effective tip mass and internal impedance of the pickup for (their words) “improved tracking and greater transient response, a reduction in resonance throughout the audio band, and flatter overall frequency response.” In other words, the Ethos SE is also better at negotiating/tracking a record’s groove without losing contact.

The Ethos SE’s armature core is made from high permeability Swedish iron in a low-mass cross-shape rather than in the conventional, heavier square alternative, and is said to “improve channel separation and produce a more realistic soundstage. High-frequency detail levels are improved, distortion is reduced, and mistracking is all but eliminated.”

A longtime Goldring cart fixture, the GOL-1 generator is fitted into a precision-milled 6082-T6 aircraft-grade aluminium body shell, which was “carefully selected” for its low density and superior rigidity, and it sports an anodized black finish. The GOL-1 continues to be handmade by Goldring.

Exclusively for the SE version of the Ethos MC cart, the pole shoes have been subjected to a new process that is said to enhance the permeability of the metal, creating a lower-reluctance magnetic circuit. This is further said to serve to flatten and extend the frequency response, especially in the upper registers.

Finally, the Goldring Ethos SE MC cartridge has an SRP of $1,999. (In comparison, the SE’s predecessor, the Ethos, has an SRP of $1,599.)

For more about Goldring and how to order Goldring gear, go here.

GOLDRING ETHOS SE MC CARTRIDGE
($1,999)

Specs & Features
Frequency response: 20Hz to 20kHz ±2dB
Frequency range: 12Hz to 32kHz
Channel balance: within 1dB @1kHz
Channel separation: >30dB @1kHz
Sensitivity: 0.35 mV ±1dB, 1kHz @5cm/sec
Static compliance: 28mm/N
Trackability: 90um (@315Hz)
Equivalent tip mass: 0.34mg
Vertical tracking angle: 20°
Stylus profile: vital line-contact
Stylus radius: 35 x 8μm (0.3mil)
Load resistance: 100Ω
Load capacitance: 100 to 500pF
Internal inductance: 3.5mH
Internal resistance: 4.2Ω
Cartridge mass: 7.7g; 8.5g (incl. fixings, w/out stylus cover)
Fixing centers: 0.5in (12.7mm)
Playing weight: 1.5 to 2.0g (1.75g nom)