Goldnote Valore 'Italian Job' in the house

Rocket · « **on:** 13 Apr 2013, 10:08 am »

Hi Guys,

My new turntable arrived a couple of days ago and I have installed it in my system and I'm currently listening to some of my old vinyl. The Valore 'Italian Job' comes with an upgraded plinth with italian leather and bearing compared with the standard valore (it looks quite a bit better than my old bluenote piccolo turnable). There isn't an Australian dealer at this stage for these turntables and I dealt directly with the manufacturer in Italy. The package includes an entry level cartridge based on the audio technica AT95 but with an upgraded motor and stylus.

I have a denon dl103 and shelter 201 which I can swap for the babele but at this stage I'm quite impressed with the sound of the babele cartridge (95euro) and my foot hasn't stopped tapping. I'm not going to give a formal review because whilst I've had good quality turntables in the past I'm not that experienced describing what I hear.

Cheers Rod

ps. I have a salk sound subwoofer being delivered next week and I'm going to have some fun over the coming weeks.

MaxCast · « **Reply #1 on:** 13 Apr 2013, 11:44 am »

Good for you, Rod. Got some pics of the new toy??

Rocket · « **Reply #2 on:** 14 Apr 2013, 04:43 am »

Hi,

Here are some photographs of my system. The acrylic turntable is my bluenote (now known as gold note) piccolo turntable that is about 10 years old.

I've installed the shelter 201 on my arm. I'm not the best at cartridge alignment but I will try to improve my skills in the coming weeks. I haven't noticed much improvement compared with the goldnote babele cartridge that was packaged with the turntable.

Regards Rod

Rocket · « **Reply #3 on:** 15 Apr 2013, 11:17 am »

Hi,

Does anyone like the leather on my turntable?

Cheers Rod

ArthurDent · « **Reply #4 on:** 15 Apr 2013, 01:57 pm »

Nice looking setup, and sweet TT there Rod. So is that 'arrest me' Ferrari red ?

Yes, I like it, definitely not your run of the mill aesthetics.

orthobiz · « **Reply #5 on:** 15 Apr 2013, 11:18 pm »

Italian leather is always a welcome addition!

Paul

Rocket · « **Reply #6 on:** 16 Apr 2013, 09:02 am »

Hi,

It is a great looking red imo. I had the choice of white, green or red leather to chose from and I thought the red would look best. I have a salk sound subwoofer arriving in the next couple of days. I live in Western Australia and it has travelled a long way.

Cheers Rod

Rocket · « **Reply #7 on:** 21 Apr 2013, 04:23 am »

Hi Guys,

Final piece of the puzzle in my system now is the Salk/rhythmic subwoofer. I am enjoying vinyl once again it doesn't sound as detailed or transparent as my cd collection. I do however, have about 100lps that do sound very good and much better than the compressed cd versions that I have.

Here is a picture of my completed system:

Cheers Rod

neobop · « **Reply #8 on:** 21 Apr 2013, 10:57 am »

Quote from: Rocket on 21 Apr 2013, 04:23 am

Hi Guys,

Final piece of the puzzle in my system now is the Salk/rhythmic subwoofer. I am enjoying vinyl once again it doesn't sound as detailed or transparent as my cd collection. I do however, have about 100lps that do sound very good and much better than the compressed cd versions that I have.

Cheers Rod

Hi Rod,
Nice looking system. Impressive results from the table considering the budget cart. I kind of like the look of the Piccolo, is this one a better table?
neo

mca · « **Reply #9 on:** 21 Apr 2013, 11:01 am »

Now you just need to wrap those Salks in matching red leather

I think they would look pretty killer myself.

Rocket · « **Reply #10 on:** 21 Apr 2013, 11:22 am »

Hi,

I'm not sure how to far to go with the cartridge at this stage. The phonostage that I use is a gold note 'de medici' which is discontinued and from recollection was about $1500us. I did have a good quality hagtech cornet with boutique parts and I thought the 'de medici' was a little better and also was compatible with low output mc cartridges. I have no funding for a better cartridge at this stage. The Valore has a slightly better quality motor and spindle/bearing and I was told its a little better than the piccolo. I still have the piccolo at this stage but I will have to replace the motor if I want to use it. I'm going to keep the piccolo because I know I won't get much money for it if I try to sell it.

If I had known I was going to get a red vinyl leather finished turntable I might have considered this as an option for the salk subwoofer. I was lucky that Jim Salk was able to find some left over veneer from the same lot that he used with my HT2's that were built in 2008.

Thanks for all your input.

Regards Rod

Ericus Rex · « **Reply #11 on:** 25 Apr 2013, 05:13 pm »

If anyone's Jonesin Rocket's new table Needle Doctor has a red leather demo for sale at $999. No mention if cart is included.

Rocket · « **Reply #12 on:** 26 Apr 2013, 11:03 am »

Hi,

If its the goldnote valore 'italian job' version of the turntable its normally packaged with a babele cartridge (modified audio technica at95). $995us would be bargain price for this turntable.

Regards Rod

rollo · « **Reply #13 on:** 26 Apr 2013, 02:51 pm »

I Use a Goldenote Boboli cart with the Kuzma Stogi S 12" VTA arm on a Kuzma StobiS TT. The Boboli is a wonderfull cart. A HOMC affair loaded at 47K. Needs about 200 hours to sound best. The cart also likes to be be either dead level to LP or a tad lower in the back.
My advice put the Boboli in as the TT and arm are voiced to it. ENJOY !

charles

Rocket · « **Reply #14 on:** 26 Apr 2013, 11:24 pm »

Hi Rollo,

Along with the gold note valore turntable I also have 'de medici' phono stage which has been discontinued and is no longer in their range. While I'm enjoying the sound I do notice that the high's are recessed and are not extended and my vinyl is not as transparent as my cd setup. I initially used the babele cartridge and then installed the shelter 201 (apparently it is a knock from from sumiko) and I also have a denon dl103 in reserve. I have tried my best to align the cartridge properly but I don't know if its that good. I haven't used my vinyl system for a very long time but from my memory I'm sure it sounded more extended in the top end. It could be that my system is a lot more revealing than what I previously had.

I would consider a boboli cartridge but I had a discontinued cartridge from goldnote that did not work well in my system. I found that the distance between the cartridge and record was very minimal and it was difficult to install. It is the previous version of the babele cartridge that was a lot more expensive.

I'd give the boboli a try on your recommendation but I don't have the cash at the moment for another purchase. I might try the denon to see if I get any improvement. I'm still satisfied with the system but I want to improve it just a bit more.

Cheers Rod

Rocket · « **Reply #15 on:** 30 Apr 2013, 09:18 am »

Hi Guys,

I swapped in the denon dl103 cartridge and the system sounds as good as what I expected. Obviously, the goldnote babele and shelter 201 are only entry level cartridges. The top end sounds more extended and the bass is no longer overwhelming. I had to even turn off my subwoofer.

I'll try and sell the shelter 201 on ebay. So much for reviews.

Regards

Rod

neobop · « **Reply #16 on:** 3 May 2013, 12:09 am »

Rod,
Did you read on the 62L thread, what I said about the Babele?

I think it might have more potential than what you give it credit for. Check out the last page of that thread. Sorry, I should have posted that here.
neo

Rocket · « **Reply #17 on:** 3 May 2013, 12:28 pm »

Hi Neobop,

Are you suggesting that I put some extra hours on the babele cartridge in the hope it improves the sound? You also mentioned that I should consider fitting an ATN155LC stylus. Is it just a clean swap without having to modify the cartridge body? Can the babele be sent to Soundsmith for modification?

I don't have many hours on the babele cartridge but it sounded very similiar to the shelter 201 ie. lacking top end and the bass seemed a bit overwhelming. Perhaps, I need to try it again and make sure I check the alignment.

I need to remove the denon dl103 because the tonearm counterweight isn't heavy enough for it now. I installed a isoteknic cartridge stabliser which adds 3gram to the weight and the counterweight isn't heavy enough.

Regards Rod

neobop · « **Reply #18 on:** 3 May 2013, 01:33 pm »

Hi Rod,
Yes, I'm suggesting you give the Babele another chance. I suspect it might have a lot more potential than realized thus far, and no, forget the 155LC stylus. That's for a different cart.

Like a Clearaudio MM, this is a custom made cart. The specs indicate that it's made with PCC wire and it might eventually be very, very good. It normally takes between 30 and 70 hrs to break in an AT w/PCC wire, so patience is required. You will probably have to adjust the arm height for the sound, not necessarily level, and I suggest VTF of around 2g or even a hair less if there's no mistracking. It's not the greatest stylus in the world, but if you hear a good potential after break-in, we can figure that out.
neo

Rocket · « **Reply #19 on:** 3 May 2013, 02:05 pm »

Hi Neo,

Thanks for your advice. I'll swap the denon out tomorrow and give the babele another try. I don't have many choices because the counterweight isn't heavy enough for the denon so the babele will work much better.

Regards

Rod