Background Info
Some tales begin unexpectedly: More than twenty years ago, Maurizio Aterini — out of dissatisfaction with the turntables available on the market at the time — designed one of his own. Being an engineering student, he possessed the neccessary knowledge. This got the ball rolling, and some time later he founded Gold Note. Aterini still runs the company today.
The PH-10 Phono Pre-Amp
Available in black, gold and silver, the small PH-10 preamplifier comes along and presents itself at first sight as particularly pretty due to its particularly solid workmanship. Milled ribs provide appropriate ventilation under the aluminium housing. It is above all the simple operation via a single turntable and pushable knob and the excellent sound which are characteristic for this model. The special feature of the PH-10, however, is probably the fact that it has two separately programmable inputs through which the most important settings can be made, i.e. impedance, gain and various equalization curves. These are shown on the TFT colour display on the front.
Also outstanding is the fact that there are two independent phono inputs. This means that two turntables or tonearms can be connected with independent adjustments. This is particularly convenient, as the gain on the PH-10 can be adjusted in 3 dB steps to operate both MM and MC pickups at best possible setting. Likewise, the outputs are available in double versions as Cinch and XLR.
What Powers The PSU-10
As one would expect, the PSU-10 power supply has been ideally designed for the PH-10 phono preamplifier, with a choice of colours: black, gold or silver. This model is a quadruple power supply with a total of four particularly low-noise voltage regulators and four transformers. Of these transformers, one is responsible for inductive filtering and the other three for the mains. The preliminary stage thus receives a potent supply. In concrete terms, this means that this unit has plenty of power to conjure up a model with outstanding sound from the phono preamplifier.
Our Final Thoughts
These two Italians masterpieces are ideally attuned to each other. The adaptable models prove to be the analogue dream couple, and this goes to show by way of the PH-10’s rear connector for the PSU-10. They shine together side by side — brilliantly.
