Gold Note HP-10 Headphone Amplifier – The first headphone amplifier
The latest solution from Gold Note in the Gold Note Series 10 is the Gold Note HP-10 Headphone Amplifier. This is a premiere, as it is in fact the first headphone amplifier from the Italian HiFi manufacturer.
- It is indeed the first headphone amplifier from the Italian HiFi manufacturer Gold Note, which will soon be available with the new Gold Note HP-10 Headphone Amplifier.
Gold Note has a wide range of classic HiFi electronics, but is also highly committed to solutions that are much more compact than the typical HiFi standard width of 43 cm. For example, the company offers products that are only half as wide but are also of the highest quality, such as the Gold Note Series 10, which is now being expanded with a particularly exciting new feature.
For the first time, Gold Note is now presenting a headphone amplifier as a stand-alone solution, and it is part of the Gold Note Series 10 in the form of the new Gold Note HP-10 Headphone Amplifier.
Gold Note HP-10 – The ultimate headphone amplifier
As already mentioned, the Gold Note Series 10 solutions are designed to provide customers with solutions that are very compact in form, but in principle do not require any compromises in terms of functionality and quality.
The manufacturer even refers to the new Gold Note HP-10 Headphone Amplifier as the ultimate headphone amplifier, which is not only aimed at customers looking for such a compact solution, but also at particularly discerning HiFi enthusiasts in order to provide them with a particularly high-quality solution for enjoying music through headphones.
Balanced Class A dual-mono design
The basis for the first-class quality is a symmetrically designed circuitry in a dual-mono design, relying on pure Class A for a particularly clean, warm performance, as promised by the manufacturer.
According to the Italian company, only strictly selected, high-quality components are used in the signal path, whereby it is also very important to emphasise that the entire signal chain really does take place solely in the analogue domain, including volume control.
This is particularly important because the new Gold Note HP-10 Headphone Amplifier has a digital side for convenient and flexible control.
According to the manufacturer, four different adjustable crossfeed set-ups are available, which create a more natural 3D sound image, and the device also offers equalisation based on the legendary Harman Curve to perfectly linearise any headphones available on the market, as Gold Note states. The possibility of varying the amplification factor for different headphones should also be mentioned, as well as the damping factor and a 0/180 phase switch.
All relevant connections
When it comes to connections, the new Gold Note HP-10 Headphone Amplifier is well-equipped, with unbalanced and balanced connections on both the input and output side, i.e. one pair of RCA and one pair of XLR connections.
The Gold Note HP-10 Headphone Amplifier has all the relevant options for connecting headphones, i.e. a 3,5 mm stereo mini jack, a 6,3 mm stereo jack, a 4,4 mm Pentaconn and a 4-pin XLR.
Optional upgrade – Gold Note HP-10 BT and Gold Note HP-10 Deluxe
What is particularly exciting is that Gold Note is planning two upgrades for the Gold Note HP-10, one with Bluetooth, whereby it is Bluetooth 5.1 with support for SBC, AAC and aptX or aptX HD, and this solution is then called Gold Note HP-10 BT. This is equipped with a converter from ESS Technology Inc.
There is also the Gold Note HP-10 Deluxe version, which comes with an integrated D/A converter from specialist Asahi Kasai Microdevices, with a USB-C port for external digital sources that allows direct connection to a PC or Mac as well as corresponding mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. This solution is called Gold Note HP-10 Deluxe and, based on the AKM AK4493, allows signal processing in Linear PMC with up to 32 bits and 768 kHz as well as DSD up to and including DSD512.
Optional external power supply
Gold Note has always focussed on the best possible power supply for all its HiFi components, offering the option of using an external power supply to trump the already impeccable integrated solution. This is also the case with the new headphone amplifier, for which the optional Gold Note PSU-10 EVO is available.
Prices and availability
The new Gold Note HP-10 Headphone Amplifier will soon be available from specialist retailers. Customers will be able to choose between black, silver or gold finishes, as usual. The recommended retail price is listed at € 1.899,-.
Getting to the point
It really is a first, because the Italian High-end HiFi manufacturer Gold Note is now presenting a headphone amplifier for the first time with the new Gold Note HP-10 Headphone Amplifier. This proves to be an extremely flexible solution, can even be optionally expanded, and should be of a quality level that makes it a particularly exciting system far beyond the Gold Note Series 10.
| PRODUCT | Gold Note HP-10 Headphone Amplifier |
|---|---|
| Preis | € 1.890,- |
| BRAND | GOLD NOTE |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Akamai s.r.l. |
| Distribution | Besser Distribution GmbH |
| More about this manufacturer at HIFI BLOG |
