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Bill Callahan and Bonnie Prince Billy—the latter is a stage name for Will Oldham—did not set out to make an album together. They were just trying fill the long pandemic months with music. In 2020, they started singing other people's songs together, broadcasting them to fans via Zoom. They recorded the tracks, choosing a different guest musician to…

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…

Big screen, complete control
As previously mentioned, a single rotary/pushbutton knob facilitates feature selection and control, aided by a generously sized, well-organized TFT LCD color screen. You can make changes without interrupting playback, although there is a momentary pause as the relays kick in.

The first button push puts a rectangle around the…

Description: Single box, balanced phono preamplifier with dual-mono linear power supply and optional line inputs (one RCA, one XLR). Other available options include two tubed output stages and two power supplies. Multifunction remote control included. Inputs: two stereo pair RCA, one stereo pair XLR. Outputs: one stereo pair RCA, one stereo pair XLR. Gain (user-selectable): 40dB MM, 65dB MC ±3dB, ±6dB, ±9dB. Resistive loading, RCA (12 options): 100k, 75k, 47k, 33k, 22k, 1k, 470, 220, 100, 47, 22, or 10 ohms + external load; XLR (8 options): 47k, 1k, 470, 220,…

Analog sources: OMA K3, SAT XD-1 turntables; SAT CF1-09, CF1Ti-09, Schröder K3, Kuzma 4Point tonearms; HiFiction Xquisite ST, Lyra Atlas and Etna Lambda SL, Ortofon MC Century, Anna Diamond, Verismo, A95, A90, Grado Epoch3, Miyajima Labs Infinity (mono), Grado Epoch (mono) cartridges.
Digital sources: dCS Vivaldi One SACD player/DAC; Lynx Hilo A/D-D/A converter; Mac mini running Roon, Pure Vinyl, and Vinyl Studio software.
Preamplification: darTZeel NHB-18S line preamplifier; Ypsilon MC-10L, MC-16L, and MC-20L and X-quisite X-20 step-up transformers…

As increasingly appears to be the case with high-end phono preamplifiers, the Gold Note PH-1000 is a complicated product. It has single-ended and balanced inputs, and one of the latter is capable of accepting a line-level signal. It has balanced, single-ended, and headphone outputs, with the option of either taking the output from the phono stage (Stage) or a preamplifier stage with a volume control (Preamp). (The latter appears to be the default for the headphone output.) Each phono input can be set to MC or MM, with gain adjustable from –9dB to +9dB in 3dB steps…

When she reviewed two iFi ZEN Signature combos for our January 2022 issue—the ZEN DAC Signature V2 with two versions of the ZEN CAN Signature headphone amplifier, which include a custom-EQ curve for particular headphones—Julie Mullins was impressed by their performance. She wrote, "the ZEN Signature sets delivered highly resolved, clean, pristine, dynamic sound. The amplifiers are powerful. Backgrounds black as a new-moon nighttime sky brought musical details to the foreground." But there was…

In his September 2021 review of the Canton Reference 7K ($6995/pair), Stereophile Technical Editor John Atkinson wrote, "The last Canton loudspeaker I reviewed was the Karat Reference 2 DC in 2003. Though I felt that the balance of that loudspeaker, which was then Canton's flagship, was somewhat forward in the treble, I concluded that it had 'powerful-sounding low frequencies, clean and grain-free highs, coloration-free midrange, high sensitivity and dynamic range, and stable, precise stereo imaging.' With the…

Julie Mullins's review of the $1999 Pro-Ject Phono Box RS2 in the August 2021 issue piqued my curiosity. The preamp, as described by Julie and measured by John Atkinson, seemed a good fit for my transfer-and-mastering studio.

In my work, I oversee and consult on vinyl releases, and I often remaster material originally released to the public on LP records; in such cases, I listen to the LPs in order to hear how the material was first presented. What's more, it has been an ongoing project to transfer my…

The Phono Box RS2 has a rather rare playback option: the mono-era Decca LP EQ curve.

Prior to the mid-1950s, different record companies used different recording EQ curves (emphasis) and expected consumers to use corresponding (de-emphasis) curves when they played back the LPs. Many mono-era "hi-fi" preamps—for instance, the McIntosh C8 "Audio Compensator"—offered a variety of EQ options. Around 1954, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) stepped in and convinced the various US labels to standardize on RCA's "New Orthophonic" curve, which became the…