GOLDMUND - Swiss Made High-End Audio Equipment

Hey, Pal ! Do you really believe I will spend $25000 to buy only a stupid converter ?
- Yes, Sir
- Which has not even a decent volume control so I could sell my preamp ?
- Yes, Sir
- Which already has to be upgraded soon for playing DVDs ?
- Yes, Sir
- And you want me to believe it is worth that price only for the sound quality and not for all the features and gimmicks I see on its front panel ?
- Yes, Sir
- And you pretend it is not even a 20 bits DAC chip, but a very traditional technology ?
- Yes, Sir
- So it would mean all the other prestigious Hi-End manufacturers are taking me for stupid with their technical arguments ?
- Yes, Sir
- So only its sound will make me die for it immediately ?
- Yes, Sir
- And you said you just sold your analog collection after listening to it for 5 minutes ?
- Yes, Sir
- And you said I may have to wait several months to have the “chance” to get one ?
- Yes, Sir
- Why do you expect me to be so sure ?
- It’s a Goldmund Mimesis 20, Sir
- Mmmh… Would you accept my Goldmund Reference in trade or do you want a deposit ?
Michel Reverchon

After several months of reading the now usual bullshit around “Single-Ended”, “Triode Output”, etc…, in all the most serious (?) Audio magazines around the world, we had the surprise to discover recently in the photo library of the company the picture taken by Michel Reverchon of its first public demonstration with a Goldmund product, the T3 tone arm, back in 1978.

Apart from a Linn-Sondek turntable (an unavoidable classic by that time) all the components in the demonstration system were prototypes of some kind used by Michel himself at home : horn speakers, a Japanese unknown cartridge, very unusual cables and a quite exotic tube preamplifier were not what impressed us the most. No, it was the amplifier, a pure Single-Ended A300B Triode-Output made for the occasion !

It appears (we had all the details and even the amp in hand since that discovery) that the amp in question was really a prototype of a product that Michel wanted to launch on the market for the 70’s audiophile’s benefit.

Based on a very classical schematics (same as most of the exotic tube stuff now found on the market), and assembled with Japanese techno-freak type of components, but original Western 300B tubes, it is still sounding pretty good.

So, was it really the first Goldmund amp using Single-Ended and 300B Triode Output ?

Michel said he thought it was not serious enough…

It was expected for more than 3 years, announced as imminent several times, and it is here, finally : The new flagship of Goldmund Digital Audio, the Mimesis 20 D/A converter.

You already know most of its specs, you have probably already seen on Internet its extraordinary measuring performances, totally unique in the industry.

What about a <0.001% THD & Noise figure ?

What about a group delay linearity within 100ps (yes, picoseconds, not nanoseconds !) at the analog filter output ?

Have you already seen that somewhere else ?

But you were probably not ready for its sound quality. It is Analog guys ! Analog is back in its glory. All digital faults seem to have mysteriously disappeared. Smooooooth ! No grunge, glitches, frozen bits anymore. Lifelike, opened, ultra-dynamic (like no analog source ever was). Stunning.

This has a price and the Mimesis 20 is not for everyone. We know.

But the development was not painless and the accumulated knowledge without value for real amateurs.

Main advantages over competition is not in the sound only.

First, the Mimesis 20 is a very practical unit. Among the 8 inputs, configuration is modular. Standard inputs provide XLR balanced AES/EBU, Coaxial SPDIF, and BNC connection too.

But on option you can replace any input module with different standards (Toslink, ATT, etc…) so even a new upcoming standard will be retrofittable.

2 tape loops with possibility to record during listening to another source, optional balanced analog output, nothing has been forgotten.

Each input channel number (selectable on front panel or by remote control) can be dedicated to a physical input of your choice, with a clear name chosen so you recognize the source you are playing. You can hook up your CD on input 4 on the back of the unit because it is using the ATT standard, but display it on front panel as Channel 1 and name it “Mimesis 36” (just an example, you can name it “XYZ” or “Garbage” if you prefer). When you select Channel 1 on front panel, “Mimesis 36” will appear on the nice 16 digits front panel display and your 4th input will be connected.

You can even adjust the output level with a precision of 0.1dB (the attenuation factor being displayed on front panel) if you need to use the unit for professional applications.

The mechanical construction is (for the first time in a D/A converter), real “Mechanical Grounding” construction. You can stack a Mimesis 36 or a Mimesis 22 preamplifier, or a Mimesis 24 Video processor (or all of them) on top of your Mimesis 20 with perfect vibration evacuation. It makes real dynamics available without constriction (more audible than you would believe).

Now good CDs sound really good, you know. Very vinyl-like.

And bad ones sound awful.

Isn’t Audio life beautiful ?

The analog sibling of the Mimesis 20 is out too. What we did to digital, we did it to analog too.

More silent silences, more dynamic dynamics, extraordinary transient accuracy are immediately noticeable.

The technology behind its unique sound is a refinement of everything we learned before. Using 6 Goldmund A2 modules in a vastly improved configuration has allowed us to pass the unbreakable bar of 10MHz bandwidth for the amplification stages. Speed, pure speed again. And everything coming with, like transparency, openness, freedom of grain and noise.

Usability is on a par with the Mimesis 20. Same front panel, same gorgeous display, and the very spectacular attraction of the automatically rotating volume knobs maintaining a very precise balance. You know how it works : the unit is a real dual-mono construction which means you have two volume knobs on the front panel, but the volume controls are electronically linked. When you turn one knob manually, the other one follows automatically, keeping the two channels at exactly the same level ! Whoooh !

If you chose a balance adjustment, the dB difference is recalculated by the very powerful internal processor and the second channel follows the one you move, keeping the balance difference exactly what it was before. Very comfortable, isn’t it ?

Of course, everything is remote-controllable too.

Mechanical construction is the same as in the Mimesis 20 (the unit weights more than most power amplifiers !), and the audible benefit for analog small signal is even more spectacular.

Among the available option is a built-in A/D converter module so you can link the unit with the Mimesis 20 and record an analogue source to a digital tape machine without using the (usually pretty bad) A/D of your tape machine.

The Mimesis 22 can be linked by its computer with the Mimesis 20 and the Mimesis 24. So the selection of one analog digital, or video source automatically provides the proper links between the two or three machines, making the daily operation pretty simple.

As for the Mimesis 20, the production (and alignment) process is a long one. Do not expect short delays on these units. If we started delivering few of them already, the waiting list is quite long and audiophiles will have time to dream about it before touching their long-awaited baby.

We bet they will love that too…

Isn’t wait even better than love ?

Progressively all the Goldmund electronics will become available only in silver color. We decided the change because the demand for the black units went lower and lower, and because most of its fans associated Goldmund with the unique silver metal finish quality of its products.

Don’t jump on concluding your black unit is obsolete. It may take us more than one year before refusing any black finish order for some units. But we strongly encourage you to start the change on your side right now.

It is still an advanced project only, but a future line of big amps based on the perfect mechanical construction developed for the Mimesis 20 and 22 is not impossible. Knowing the success received by the Mimesis SRA for its sonic performance, it would not be very surprising to see a big heavy box with a very tiny circuit inside. If we navigate in the 300-500 W range, it would be even more puzzling to open its cover to “show the motor” !

In your living room (or showroom), the Epilogue system will probably (and for some time) only appear as a pair of satellites … which will eventually stand on a very ugly pair of feet because you won’t have any money left for the hyper-sophisticated Epilogue frame (more about that later in this chapter).

The Epilogue satellites will probably be the best satellites money can buy, anyhow, so everybody will be happy.

But hold your breath…

The Epilogue is (or rather will be, as it stands now) the first and unique totally modular speaker system. The satellites may first be upgraded with a pair of woofer units, using the Epilogue frame system you may have bought in the meantime to make your satellites look even more gorgeous (more about that frame later, sorry).

Then, if you really want to climb up to the full system, adding a second pair of satellites and a pair of sub-woofers will do it. No investment loss, no costly trade-in to afford (good for dealers too, hey guys !).

What is that famous Epilog frame, now (finally !).

To keep the Epilog system on perfect Mechanical Grounding grounds (!), Goldmund designed a new frame construction of a modular kind which is made to grow with your system when it evolves (as explained before).

This new very exotic frame is designed with extremely sophisticated vibrational damping and evacuation technology. Teflon plates, aluminum damped arms, fast evacuation steel cones with carbure points, (even gorgeous gold plated serial number plates), etc… Its technical sophistication is extreme. So is its price.

But assembling a system of the dynamic capability of an Epilog is quite a mechanical achievement and we wanted it perfect.

The Epilogue frame will be fully upgradable by elements. You will have to buy a first set if you want to make your satellites look and sound at their best, but the parts will be kept and you will have (only ?!) to buy additional parts when you decide to assemble the whole system.

Plans for availability are not available (!) yet. See our next newsletters.

BIG NEWS, BIG NEWS, BIG NEWS…
YES, YES, YES IT IS COMPATIBLE…

(applauds)

Since the very early days of the DVD pre-announcement, we had to very rapidly revise our strategic plan in order to make our product line compatible as soon as possible with the upcoming (even if not yet fully announced) new digital standards.

As we already told you, we really strongly believed in the new DVD format for three main reasons :

• its compatibility within the three main markets Audio, Video and especially computers, now by far the leading market for establishing a new standard.
• its compatibility between the different manufacturers. No more of the stupid VHS-Beta or MiniDisc-DCC mortal combats !
• its compatibility with the previous CD format, preserving the software investment of the user.

Seeing a great future for the format, we immediately started the research to make our products compatible.

Thanks to our very modular construction, it was not a big effort for us to imagine the easy upgrade we would have to design for our CD Transports. And because the Goldmund technology in this field is very mechanics-dependent, and we made our transports extremely modular, we could easily provide new electronics and transport mechanism for a dead-reasonable price.

So we immediately declared those would be upgradable. Booom !

We even stopped the development of our Mimesis 38 small transport in the (not-confirmed-yet) hope it could be made compatible too without exaggerated cost.

We now have to wait till the OEM kings (Philips, most probably) design parts of sufficient quality that we could use for the upgrade (which may be long, but it should come anyhow).

On the converter side, the problem was less obvious. Delays in announcing the formats (Super-CD, etc…) and ubiquitous technical information from the large manufacturers left us quite prudent. We first announced we did not know if the current line of our converters had a chance to be upgradable or not.

But guys, how many phone calls, E-Mail messages, faxes did we receive !

We had the question asked so often during the last 6 months that we could not keep silent longer without an announcement…

If the Mimesis 10 owners were more or less ready to buy the Mimesis 20 (they will now do it after listening to the first available Mimesis 20, so we hope !), the main question was about the Mimesis 12 and the Mimesis 14.

And the answer is finally :

The process will take place in 2 Steps.

First we will have soon an upgraded D/A module that is compatible with the new formats, sounds better (even when playing the current standards) and should not be toooooo expensive…

Then the Digital Input Module will have to be upgraded too for accepting the new formats above 16 bits. Formats for which no chip exists yet, by the way (so you see, don’t believe commercials from the others…).

The modified units will then show more than 100kHz bandwidth. Sound very Goldmund, isn’t it ?

And they will be ready for high-bit and fast standards, all of these standards at least if we believe the chip manufacturers and their pompuous pre-announcements.

Isn’t Audio life wonderful ?

We broke our NAT (Net After Tax) record again, and for two successive quarters.

Was it a better market around the world ? Seeing the results (and faces) of our dear fellow colleagues, we doubt it !

Was it our better line of products ? Maybe, but the success of something like the SRA and SRP, even with huge sales quantities (by Goldmund standard) is not so significant in the final results, because their unit price is too low. Our main money makers remain our big beasts like the Mimesis 36 (still Nr 1), the Mimesis 9.4, Mimesis 2+ or such.

Perhaps the most interesting result is our progression in the NATO index (Net After Tax cash remaining to the Owner), a financial ratio which tells you which companies are really piling cash ! What it shows is more or less the net income left to the majority owner of a privately hold company, after both the company and him have paid all their due taxes.

This is where it seems we are real top performers, above most (if not more!) of our main competitors. Some experts even think we should now be on the podium. However, they still disagree (otherwise they wouldn’t be experts, you know) about our position on the podium, so we should not scream victory too loud.

Not bad for a small discreet Swiss privately owned company, anyhow !

Some may have tried to reach us during August and got an answering machine… Badmouthing customers immediately concluded we were on Holidays !

Wrong, guys, wrong !

We were moving some furniture in our office again !

To double its surface and install a new laboratory and some production facility, we took the adjoining building first floor, remodeled it and moved some of our inventory and technical department there.

So you see, it was not really Holidays !

Now we are reinstalled and ready to serve you better.

• Meta Lasers and converts
• Mimesis 9.5
• Interconnects
• Mimesis 12+ (now that you know it can be upgraded to DVD !)

Call for low, low prices (this is only for our distributors and dealers, guys. Sorry but we do not sell direct).

As you read this newsletter, we should have the following test reviews coming to publication soon in US Hi-End magazines. Please read them and use them to speak highly of Goldmund to your customers or friends !

To read :

• The SRA in Fi
• The SRA/SRP in Audio Adventure
• The Mimesis 39DA in Fi
• The Mimesis 39DA in TAS

Don’t call anymore ! It’s finished… Sold Out…

And seen from the effort it was to rebuild those, we won’t make it anymore !

So, if you have a Reference, keep it !

Or sell it to buy your unavoidable Mimesis 36 and Mimesis 20 !

Small refurbishing in the Goldmund Internet Official Site has occurred this summer. We have new better looking pages, more information and more practical help. And a large number of visitors too, who seem to consider it is the best site of High End Audio on Internet so far. During last 3 months we had more than 100’000 calls. A promotion that no magazine advertisement could provide us.

So please let your friends and customers browse our site.

Just tell them our address once more :

they may have forgotten it, even if it is obvious and now broadly advertised all over the Net.

We receive more and more of our correspondence from customers by E-Mail. No more letters, less and less faxes, except for business transactions, but an increasing number of E-Mail messages asking us for help, advice, promotional information, dealer addresses, etc…

In order to better service them, and to be able to answer them more efficiently, we installed this summer our own E-Mail Server. But our address remain the same :

Mail us guys, you are Welcome. We have now 2 gigabytes of memory waiting for your nice messages, insults or whatever you’d like to send us !