GOLD NOTE PA-1175 MKII

Both devices status LED lights are blue in the default state. Changing the mode - like attaching the external PSU – turns the LED into green. I likeed that because I could spot immediately that the PSU is connected and working. If I had had a similar indicator on myself, it would have been glowing with pleasure immediately after I cued up Elvis Presley’s Love Me (from 24 Karat Hits, Analogue Productions). This recording is mono, and so was the preamplifier (another green light lit up). The atmosphere threw me back several decades, I could smell cigarettes, coffee, and felt the warmth of tubes and console wirings. There was also limitation of a microphone making no justice to Elvis’ smooth baritone. The amps relied on warm and embracing mids that once again filled the room with comfortable nostalgia. The usual audiophile exclamations like “can you hear this?” did not happen  - the sound was almost ordinary in its delivery, which usually marks a good performance, with no excesses anywhere.

In later-recorded piece, like Are You Lonesome Tonight, the gain in quality was apparent. It was not the Elvis´ vocal but the backing vocals on the right that could my attention. They were – through the Gold Note combo – amazingly palpable and present in the room, as if there were real people hidden behind the curtain. The frequency response extremes were quite decent and complementary to the liquidity of the midrange. I could listen for hours to the sound like this.