Goldring Ethos SE MC Phono Cartridge

The Goldring Ethos SE Moving Coil Cartridge sports a capital G on its body's front like the "S" on Superman's chest—or the G on the University of Georgia football helmet of Herschel Walker—to which I see a passing similarity.

Going into his first game in 1980, he was a fourth-string running back—unexceptional, merely fitting in as a team player. However, that all changed fast. On that day, he ran for two touchdowns against powerhouse Tennessee, and later, as a freshman, he went on to lead Georgia to a 12-0 record and the national championship with his nimble footwork and explosive running. The rest of his college career was stellar, as he set 16 Southeast Conference and 11 NCAA records before turning pro (www.footballfoundation.org).

Image courtesy of sicovers.com

Months back, I had to replace a damaged and somewhat costly, high-profile MC phono cartridge (my wife was so upset!), and I couldn't locate my misplaced reference, the Ortofon MC Quintet Black S cartridge. So I decided to go in a different direction.

At the suggestion of an industry friend, I gave the Goldring Ethos SE a tryout. It arrived with little fanfare and had to fill some big shoes in tackling some pending deadlines, and since then has held its own as a team player in a lineup that features heavy hitters like the Pass Labs XP-17 phono preamplifier HERE, the Quadratic Audio MC-1 Moving Coil Transformer HERE, a Micro Seiki BL-91 turntable, and Audio Creative's GrooveMaster 3 tonearm HERE. Overshadowed by its better-known counterparts, it bid its time as it settled in and played its role with growing consistency and finesse. However, its impact became undeniable in the gridiron of my listening room, saving the day most notably with its contributions to my reviews of the Quadratic Audio MC-1 Moving Coil Transformer and the Gem Dandy PolyTable Signature turntable (read more HERE). Superhero duties aside, its contributions were very well received at a recent domestic vinyl listening party held at my home.

"Juan, thank you so much for yesterday," my friend, Mark, texted. "It was a true pleasure listening to records with your friends. Also, I have to say, your setup on that Micro Seiki, arm, and cartridge was phenomenal. Incredible detail, huge air, and a complete lack of sibilance harshness. Congratulations."

That just about sums it up. But, wait! Who is Goldring anyway?

Photo courtesy of Goldring USA

A Little Background on Goldring

I'm glad you asked. Goldring was conceived in Berlin in 1906 when two Czech-born brothers, Heinrich and Julius Scharf, began manufacturing parts for the emerging gramophone industry under the banner, Gebrüder Scharf. According to their website, the Scharf brothers initially "concentrated on gramophone needles, clockwork motors, and governor springs but soon branched out into more sophisticated "sound boxes" which were the all-acoustic ancestors of the modern magnetic pickup." (https://goldringusa.myshopify.com) They continued product development through the 1920s with their Juwel Electro sound box that used a mica diaphragm, and in 1933, they moved to England where they were managed by Heinrich's son Erwin (and, later, joined by his brother Freddie). They re-formed the company as Scharf Brothers, based out of a factory in Woodford, Essex, where they continued manufacturing newer electrical pickups and traditional acoustic sound boxes.

A V-1 Flying Bomb (photo courtesy of Wikepedia.com)

During World War II, part of their used part of their factory was used to help the war effort, while continuing research and development. The Scharf Brothers perfected their model 100 magnetic pick-up cartridge and Headmaster tonearm at a new factory in Dalston, East London after the original factory was destroyed by a V-1 flying bomb!

Image courtesy of Goldring USA

During the 1950s Goldring joined forces with Swiss turntable manufacturer Lenco in a partnership that lasted some 20 years, resulting in several different products, including the renowned GL75 turntable in 1967, a model their website claims is still sought and coveted for its superb build quality and excellent idler wheel drive design.

Then in 1953, Scharf Brothers was renamed "Goldring Manufacturing (GB) Ltd" and relocated to Leytonstone in East London with upwards of 100 employees working on every step of manufacture. They developed very successful magnetic pick-ups such as the No. 500, which "...had a 'turnover' 33/45 rpm double sapphire stylus and was smaller and lighter than the older designs, being described as the first-ever HiFi cartridge with low dynamic mass," their website says. "The Goldring 500 was widely used by the BBC and was acclaimed throughout the world, giving Goldring a place at the top table of globally-renowned HiFi manufacturers."

Goldring continued to grow and enjoyed great success in the late 1960s and early 1970s, enjoying a time on the stock exchange as it moved to larger facilities in Bury St Edmunds in 1974 where they employed nearly 300 people and where the 900 series was designed and manufactured. "Advances in magnetic materials allowed tiny, powerful magnets to be fitted directly onto the upper end of the cantilever to form some of the first moving magnet cartridges," their website says. The company became Goldring Products Ltd. in the later seventies and was passed on to Gerry Sharp, grandson of founder Heinrich Scharf, as they returned to private ownership.

The company ventured again into turntable design, launching the GR1 turntable in 2003 followed by their award-winning GR2 in 2005. "Cartridge development continued with the introduction of the 2000 series which implemented a moving iron design with low moving mass and a range of advanced stylus profiles," their website reads. "Goldring moved to Bishops Stortford and in 2009 the flagship Legacy MC cartridge was launched, combining an innovative design from our 'back catalog' with modern materials and manufacturing techniques to produce a class-leading result."

With the resurgence of vinyl in the early 2010s, Goldring responded by developing the E series, a set of high-quality entry-level MM cartridges to target newer enthusiasts. They were well received. On the higher end, Goldring also pressed forward with MC cartridge development, deploying emerging technologies to create the Ethos, their highest-performing moving coil cartridge that was launched in 2018. (You can read more HERE.)

Photo courtesy of Goldring USA

Features and Benefits

The GoldRing Ethos SE phono cartridge boasts an impressive and robust set of features and specs as outlined below.

New pure silver coils

Reducing the effective tip mass of any phonograph pick-up will enhance its performance, Goldring asserts. The Ethos SE relies on Ag 99.99 percent pure silver coil windings which have very low internal resistance and lower mass because fewer windings are used, resulting in significantly lower mass than their standard copper windings. As a result, the Ethos SE is better able to negotiate or 'track' the record groove without losing contact. The upshot is a greater transient response, a reduction in resonance throughout the audio band, and a flatter overall frequency response, Goldring claims.

Low-mass cross-armature

By using high permeability Swedish iron in a low-mass cross-shape, rather than the conventional (and heavier) square alternative, Goldring improves channel separation and delivers an armature assembly that can produce an extraordinarily realistic stereo soundstage. High-frequency detail levels are improved, distortion is reduced, and mis-tracking is all but eliminated.

Vital line-contact diamond stylus

To retrieve the highest frequencies in a recording, Ethos SE uses a narrow, low tip-mass, large contact-area diamond stylus. This vital-shank, nude design has a polyhedral, line-contact diamond profile, and is connected to the armature by a stiff yet lightweight alloy cantilever tube. So, as well as having a remarkably good high-frequency response, distortion, resonance, and coloration are minimized.

GOL-1 generator

Originally developed during vinyl's initial rise to ubiquity, the GOL-1 generator ensures a smooth and extended frequency response. It's still handmade by Goldring, and here it is presented as an example of the company's ongoing dedication to refinement of every aspect of its design and assembly. Exclusively for the SE version, the pole shoes have been subjected to a new process, which enhances the permeability of the metal, creating a lower reluctance magnetic circuit. This serves to flatten and extend the frequency response, especially in the upper registers where musical detail resides.

Aircraft aluminum body

The GOL-1 generator is fitted into a precision-milled 6082-T6 aircraft-grade aluminum body shell. This material was carefully selected for its low density and superior rigidity - and thanks to its anodized black finish it's as good-looking as it is durable.

Specifications

Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz ± 2 dB
Frequency Range: 12Hz – 32kHz
Channel Balance: within 1 dB @ 1kHz
Channel Separation: better than 30 dB @ 1kHz
Sensitivity: 0.35 mV ± 1 dB, 1kHz @ 5 cm/sec
Static Compliance: 28 mm/N
Trackability: 90 um (@ 315Hz)
Equivalent tip mass: 0.34 mg
Vertical Tracking Angle: 20 °
Stylus Profile: Vital line-contact
Stylus Radius: 35 x 8 μm (0.3 mil)
Stylus Type: Non-Replaceable (re-tip service available see website)
Load Resistance: 100 Ω
Load Capacitance: 100 – 500 pF
Internal Inductance: 3.5 uH
Internal Resistance: 3.8 Ω
Cartridge Mass: 7.7 g
Cartridge Mass: (inc. fixings) 8.5 g (without stylus cover)
Fixing Centres: 0.5 " (12.7 mm)
Playing Weight: 1.5 - 2.0 g (1.75 g recommended)

So, where does this lead me? Review benefits aside, the Ethos SE has provided me with hours of luxuriant listening as I re-explored older vinyl treasures in my collection and tried out a few new ones that I stumbled upon online or at a record shop. It's been a very pleasant distraction.

Hey, Stranger!

Then several months later, I relocated my old Ortofon MC Quintet Black S cartridge that, ironically, was lodged, out of sight, under the rear shell of a full-sized decorative football helmet (Notre Dame, not Georgia) mounted on a clear acrylic base that I kept in storage next to some of my audio accessories. After re-mounting it and giving it a spin on the turntable, my early impressions were that it sounded surprisingly similar to the Ethos SE but rendered a little more record surface noise than I'd grown accustomed to hearing in recent months. Perhaps this was a sign of things to come.

However, there was a problem: the Ethos was mounted on a Korf HS-A02 ceramic headshell (in for review, it's quite lightweight), while the Quintet was mounted on the much, much heavier GrooveMaster 3 tonearm's headshell, making comparisons nightmarish as I'd have to completely readjust VTA and tracking force. Thankfully when I reached out to Korf, they gladly shipped out a second HS-A02 for comparison. With both cartridges pre-mounted on Korf HS-A02 headshells, it was just a matter of unscrewing one, screwing in the other, and making minor tracking force adjustments; this made transition times between cartridge swap-outs much quicker and left much less to chance with auditory memory. Problem solved!

Listening Session

In the opening minutes of "Billy Strayhorn's Take the 'A' Train," the keyboard, Yasuo Arakawa's double bass, and Takeshi Inomata's brushed snare captivate with their uncanny presence and realism (The Third, Take the "A" Train. Direct Cutting. Toshiba Records– LF-95011. Japan, 1977). When the trumpet, trombones, and saxophones by Kenji Yoshida, Takeru Siroiso, et al. join in, it's an invigorating reminder of how moving an excellent, tight-playing big band performance in a direct cutting record can be! (A truly remarkable recording engineered by Youichi Namekata, you can see more HERE.)

With the Ethos, it's very organic, lifelike, and slightly more saturated through the midrange. Trombones and trumpets to the left, glowing and velvety keys on the right, and the visceral plucked double bass at the center, it has a more tube-like sound.

The Ortofon Quintet's presentation is similar but with a little more punch in the mid-bass, bite, and detail in the midrange and highs. For example, there's a little more grain in the walking bass; it has more of an HD quality to it.

With the Quintet, Eva Cassidy's reverb-gilded vocals are lush and transcendent, the ride cymbal shimmering, the piano's delivery sparkling, and the bass line taut and deep in her live rendition of "Blue Skies" (Eva Cassidy. Nightbird. 33 1/3 LP. Blix Street Records - G8-10210, November 13, 2015). On the other hand, while the Ethos delivers most of the detail, the piano attack sounds slightly more rounded and warm—sans some of the harder edges. It's not quite as forward and treble-balanced but renders a slightly gentler, more analog, less laser-focused, presentation.

As I noted in a previous review featuring the Ethos SE, with the MOFI One Step version of Michael Jackson's Thriller album in play, one is immediately struck with the pristine presentation of the top shelf, virgin vinyl in "Thriller" (Michael Jackson. Thriller. MOFI Distribution UD1S 180 gram 33 1/3 SuperVinyl LP, Epic EPC 85930, 1982). Jackson's buttery vocals—vulnerable one moment, deceptively powerful with a grit-edged growl the next—are present and natural sounding. Details and textures abound; the pads, keyboard, guitar, horns, background vocals, percussion, and thumping synthesized electronic dance music are all delivered brimming with balance and fullness. Ditto for the rapid, rich, and round bass line's arpeggio. That eerie and familiar, high-pitched tone of the theremin used in vintage horror flicks, Vincent Price's creepy narrative, diabolical laughter, and the slamming of the crypt's door are stunning.

With the Quintet, instrumentation, such as synthesizer, the guitar comps, and vocals by Jackson and Price are more forward and ultra-vividly defined, while with the Ethos SE, there's a warmer and softer, more natural-sounding presentation; instruments are detailed but not as hard-edged or forward-sounding from the midrange on up through the highs. It's lacking the HD quality of the Ortofon, but instead serves up a slightly more traditional and realistic, laid-back analog sound.

Conclusion

Clearly, Goldring has been doing this a long time, and in the Ethos SE MC cartridge, they've done a wonderful job of bringing their wealth of Old World experience to bear with 21st Century technology and materials, not only providing meritorious service in reviewing other components in the audio chain, but knocking it through the goal posts in terms of delivering an outstanding and natural sounding analog experience. As such, I highly recommend the Goldring Ethos SE Moving Coil Cartridge.