Goldring Ethos Low-Output Moving Coil Cartridge

"Where it really comes into its own is the delivery of emotional content. Without ever tipping over into sounding too warm or bloomy, the manner in which it handles the hauntingly lovely To Build a Home by The Cinematic Orchestra makes this one of the most outstanding performers I have encountered under £1000… and should be on any audition shortlist at the price." -- ES, Hi-Fi Choice

The Ethos is an absolutely mind-blowingly good cartridge irrespective of price. Having compared it directly to certain favourites at $10000+, it maintains 97% of all those magical qualities at a very very low price. The sound is truly a reference sound in that no part jumps out at you. There is no word like bright or warm or dynamic needed because there is no error of character. This cartridge is simply a playback device which perfectly transmits what's on the record. To many used to other cartridges in this price point or lower price points which have overt characters, this may be disarming at first, but give it 15 minutes and you will soon realize you are not listening to a piece of gear any longer, you are listening to music.

To ensure a record cartridge reproduces an accurate transcription of the record groove, the cartridge components must be rigidly mounted to the tone arm, whilst simultaneously allowing the tiniest movements of the diamond stylus to be transmitted, via the cantilever, to the sensing coils. The Ethos boasts an ultra low resonance magnesium metal body which is both very light and extremely strong. For convenience and rigidity, it has threaded inserts allowing the cartridge to be easily mounted and accurately aligned into the headshell. The stylus is a very low mass 'Vital' fine line diamond, which is highly polished and gives extremely low distortion. To maintain rigidity, this is attached to a hard alloy cantilever which transfers the maximum level of detail from the diamond to the coils; the latter are hand wound using only the highest purity copper.