Gold Note IS-1000 MkII Deluxe an amp with style and substance

Gold Note IS-1000 MkII Deluxe streaming amplifier

Italian brand Gold Note have certainly been making waves over the last decade. From its beginnings back in 2011, this once-boutique brand now produces a full range of equipment that covers all bases, from vinyl and digital replay to loudspeakers. I also spotted some rather natty-looking racks in their portfolio, along with cables that feature active grounding technology.

Italians are known for their sense of style, and, if the design of Gold Note’s products is anything to go by, their hi-fi is no exception. Browsing their range, I am struck by the consistency of design, from products such as the gorgeous Mediterraneo X turntable and XS-85 speakers to their electronics, including the IS-1000 Deluxe MkII. There’s a beauty to their products which, in an era of overly high-tech designs, is a welcome breath of fresh air.

The IS-1000 Deluxe integrated amplifier we are looking at here has been around for a few years, although it has evolved considerably since launch. This unit has the Mk2 moniker, but, as is often the case with hi-fi equipment, this does not tell the whole story. This model has recently received updates that add Tidal Connect and Qobuz Connect to its impressive array of features.

Gold Note describes this amplifier as an all-in-one in their portfolio. The IS-1000 MkII Deluxe can serve as the basis for an extremely compact system. It is a fully featured design with streaming facilities and includes an MM/MC phono stage based on Gold Note’s well-respected PH-10 phono stage. A preamplifier that has a reputation for serious performance. Gold Note’s UK distributor, Airt Audio, also represents multi-award-winning speaker and cable brand Oephi, and sent along a pair of Oephi Ascendence 2.5 speakers to try with the Gold Note, the review of which will follow shortly. Oephi speakers have a reputation for ruthlessly revealing any shortcomings in a system and, although this is a dedicated review of the IS-1000 Deluxe MKII, it will be fascinating to see whether it can make the most of these speakers, despite its comparatively modest price tag.

Intelligently featured

The IS1000 MkII Deluxe is the most fully featured integrated amplifier that I have tried, let alone reviewed. The Cyrus I9-XR/PSU -XR, which I tested aeons ago, contained both a phono stage and DAC, but no streamer. The majestic Vitus RI101 MKII has a streamer and DAC inputs, but alas, no phono stage. This Gold Note amplifier trumps them both on the feature count.

We have already established the IS-1000 MkII’s typically Italian aesthetic credentials, but thankfully, the build quality is more Germanic. The unit itself is extremely satisfying to view and operate. The pre-listening experience was pretty thorough on Gold Note’s part, not only was I given a direct contact at their head office, who was more than happy to answer any technical queries, but he did so immediately and comprehensively. Even the packaging made an impression. The top foam cushioning inverts 90 degrees, so you can access the amplifier without removing the packaging from the box – very clever. That the amplifier was wrapped in a cotton bag which does not make it unique, but it is a nice touch.

Let’s look at some of the amplifier’s main features. On the analogue side, there’s an MM/MC phono stage, which draws heavily upon the brand’s well-regarded PH-10 phono stage. Sadly, as this particular source of pleasure still eludes me, I couldn’t test it. Line-level inputs include a ‘balanced’ pair of XLR sockets. There are actually two pairs of RCA sockets, one marked ‘Phono/Line’, the other labelled ‘Line/AV’. As it turns out, the phono stage is omitted on the IS1000 Lineversion of this amplifier.

The IS-1000 MkII Deluxe can also serve as a streaming preamp, perhaps partnering with Gold Note’s excellent PA-1175 MkII power amplifier via the variable RCA outputs. You can even output from the DAC and phono stage directly to another integrated or preamp through a pair of RCA sockets. The Gold Note team appears to have thought of everything.

The £5,400 IS-1000 MkII Deluxe’s DAC stage is based on a Burr Brown PCM1792A chipset. Incidentally, the £4,500 non-deluxe version comes with a PCM1796 from the same chip manufacturer. It is perhaps a shame that buyers who already own a decent streamer and DAC cannot buy this amplifier without the digital stage, rather than having to buy a cheaper version with an inferior DAC.

The streaming stage is capable of replaying PCM files up to 24/192 and DSD64. This should cover most bases, especially considering the paucity of musically enlightening higher-resolution files available. Since the IS-1000 MkII Deluxe lacks a USB-B input, I was unable to connect my Melco N1-S38 server via its best-sounding output. But most people with a high-end server will likely use a dedicated DAC. You can, however, add your own external HDD/SSD/USB stick filled with your favourite tunes. Additionally, there are three optical and a coax digital input.

Along with the newly liberated Tidal/Qobuz Connect, the streaming stage is compatible with Spotify Connect and Deezer. Airplay 2 is another talent, and this unit is certified as Roon Ready. Gold Note have their own GN Control app, which is available to both IOS and Android owners. Users will need it to run over-the-air updates, although I mostly used my preferred app, JPlay, for critical listening, as put simply, it sounds better than anything else.

There’s only one control on the front panel, but once you’ve got your head around it, it works a treat. This knob spends most of the time as a rotary volume control. However, depressing it turns it into a control selector, allowing you to scroll through the various tags, including inputs and balance, on the IS-1000 MkII Deluxe’s display. A further press, once hovering over the desired control, selects that option, from which you can scroll through the various sub-options. Of particular note are the high and low ‘damping factor’ options, and ‘bass boost’ features.

The former is designed to match the amplifier’s output impedance to the speaker load – low for high sensitivity speakers, high for medium to low sensitivity speakers. As per the distributor’s advice, I left it set to high whilst using the Oephi Ascendance speakers. The ‘bass boost’ feature works like an old school ‘loudness’ control, with two levels of boost being available. As a purist, I chose to leave well alone, especially as I felt more than satisfied with the standard frequency balance. It is good to know the option is available for customers whose tastes and/or systems could benefit from such a boost, however.

Musical passion and drama

I used the Gold Note IS-1000 MkII Deluxe as both a stand-alone streaming amplifier and as a traditional integrated amplifier, fed by my Moon 780D DAC. The Oephi Ascendence 2.5 speakers were used throughout the review period, along with Oephi’s Ascendence mains cable and speaker cables, which proved to be an ideal match for the rest of the system. To get the best out of the IS1000 MkII Deluxe’s streaming section, I connected its ethernet input to a Dela S5 network switch, using a Network Acoustics Eno2 cable and filter. I also used an Apple TV box via a Toslink cable, which helped with the running in, as my sample was almost brand new.

I found the IS-1000 MkII Deluxe needed a good week’s use before it began to show what it could do. It was a similar case with the streaming section, which proved surprisingly good. Once it settled down, this amplifier proved to be a sprightly performer, yet easy to live with. Compared to more expensive amplifiers, it is perhaps somewhat rounded at the extremes of the frequency range, but it proved capable of producing particularly lively and entertaining music. The music flowing from it is satisfyingly vibrant and dynamic, with timing being a particular highlight. It can also throw a soundstage of far greater accuracy and scale than I anticipated at this price point.

There is a certain softness to the reproduction of leading edges, and it is slightly richer than is strictly neutral, but the speed and expression make up for this. If you play a lot of perfectly recorded music on acoustic instruments, you may wish for a little more air and a more accurate rendering of the venue’s acoustic, but this is why far more expensive amplifiers exist. Instrumental separation is another highlight; no matter how busy the music gets, it remained composed and free of congestion.

Swapping from my Moon 780D DAC to the Gold Note’s internal stage unsurprisingly produced a drop in performance. Still, the music retained a good dose of life and vibrancy, with seemingly little detrimental effect on timing and speed. I have to say, it proved a great foil to the amplifier itself, yielding a strong sense of musical coherence. I was surprisingly happy listening to music through the IS-1000 Deluxe’s streaming stage, despite the far more expensive Moon DAC sitting on the shelf below. For sure, the Moon had more weight and proved more transparent, with greater articulation and instrumental separation, but this DAC’s superiority was quickly forgotten whilst enjoying musical performances.

For sure, you will get more weight, especially in the low frequencies, from a more expensive amplifier, such as Gold Note’s own higher-end DS-1000 Evo/PA1175 MkII preamp/streamer/power amplifier combination. Spending considerably more can bring more transparency, articulation and instrumental body and refinement, but the IS-1000 MkII Deluxe gets the fundamentals right, and some. However, upon swapping back to my Moon amp, I have to say, I am missing the speed and drive of the Gold Note, despite the Moon 600i’s superiority with some of the ‘hi-fi’ niceties.

The distributor left me a pair of Stillpoint Ultra 1 isolation feet, these proved shockingly effective with this Goldnote, despite it already sitting on quality support. I listened to Frank Zappa’s 50/50 before and after inserting them under the amplifier. With the Stillpoints supporting the amp, the soundstage opened up to a remarkable degree, giving space to each instrument and seemingly giving each band member more energy.

I got particularly enjoyable results with fast-paced, well-recorded rock music, such as that by Polyphia and Tool. Equally, Funkadelic sounded suitably funky, and LCD Soundsystem’s Sounds Of Silver was particularly infectious. For me, Mick Karn’s bass playing is at least half the reason I enjoy listening the Japan’s last two albums, Gentleman Take Polaroids and Tin Drum as much as I do, and this amplifier reproduced the speed, dexterity and expression of his playing satisfyingly well.

Letta Mbulu’s classic 80s funk track Nomalizo could have been made for the Gold Note/Oephi combo. Here, the system executed the drive, rhythm and dynamics of the track to perfection, in a glorious three-dimensional soundstage. Upon returning to my Moon amplifier and repeating the track, I got the dynamics, with more space and detail, more instrumental body, but less dexterity and immediacy. The presentation was more refined and better from a hi-fi perspective, but less propulsive, and therefore ultimately less involving.

Conclusions

The Gold Note IS-1000 MkII Deluxe is an extremely competent and well-rounded streaming amplifier. Your £5,400 buys you a highly capable, one-box solution that has the current and power to drive most real-world loudspeakers on the market, and can produce captivatingly entertaining music.

It is extremely well-made and well-specified, wrapped in a design that includes a fair dose of Italian flair. It is one of those pieces of kit that just works. The display is legible across the room, the streaming section and app are stable, and it never fails to entertain musically.

I love that the IS-1000 MkII Deluxe can serve as the foundation for a compact system, capable of delivering a true, high-end musical performance. Whilst £5,400 is not beer money, you could spend a lot more on a separate amplifier and streamer and end up with a system that produces less satisfying musical performances. The money saved here can free up funds to put towards the purchase of a truly special pair of speakers, which, as I experienced with the Oephi speakers during my review, proved capable of delivering music with temporal accuracy, despite this Gold Note’s comparatively modest cost.

Whilst there are other devices on the market with similar features, I feel the Gold Note IS-1000 MkII Deluxe’s combination of style, power, build quality and, above all, musicality makes it hard to beat. Bravo Gold Note.