Gold Note PH-1000 PHONO PREAMPLIFIER

Gold Note’s $11,999 PH-1000 is by a con-siderable margin the most sophisticated, most configurable phono preamplifier that any audio manufacturer has ever produced, at least that I know of. Remarkably, considering all that flexibility and sophistication, using and adjusting the PH-1000 is straightforward.

- MICHAEL FREMER

Despite all that the PH-1000 can do, and all that you can do with it, you’ll never get lost in nested-menu dysfunctionality, thanks to what Gold Note calls “SKC” (Single Knob Control)—but before getting into control, let’s explore the PH-1000’s features and configurability.

The basics: The PH-1000 has two standard single-ended (RCA) inputs and one standard balanced (XLR) input; it came equipped with two line inputs, but I didn’t use them. Loading can be set independently for each input, 12 options for the RCA inputs and eight options for the XLR input; see the Specifications sidebar for details.

In addition, there’s a third RCA and a second XLR connection, which can be used to fine-tune loading on RCA input 2 (using RCA input 3) and XLR input 1 (using XLR input 2): Just solder loading resistors across an RCA or XLR plug and plug it in. Both balanced and unbalanced outputs are included.

SPECIFICATIONS