GOLDMUND - Swiss Made High-End Audio Equipment

Stability in temperature is the guarantee of a minimum thermal dissipation (loss) of energy in an electronic circuit. Keeping the temperature unavoidable changes linear and slow is the essence of the Goldmund Thermal Grounding principle.

This principle is extremely analogue with the principle of Electrical Grounding (stabilization of voltage potential in referencing it to something that cannot move fast : ground, earth), and with the Mechanical Grounding, which is exactly doing the same for vibrational perturbation.

Audio Signal is a fast moving amplitude and frequency signal.

All energy changes during signal amplification must be transformed in acoustical energy. Thermal dissipation is not only a loss but is also usually not linearly affecting all signal levels and frequencies in the same way, inducing coloration and dynamics distortion.

Thermal loss linearity is the only way to help the output signal look like the original input.

Intensive study of several kind of Electronic components by the Goldmund engineers have proved that the Audio sonic coloration’s of these components are not only due to mechanical or electrical perturbations, but seem to be also directly correlated to the change in thermal energy dissipation within the components (resistance and capacitors, but also transistors). This could be related to some imperfectly-explained advantages of the Class A circuits where temperature stability is far better.

Each resistor has a non linearity in its resistive module Vs input signal and temperature. Some very high quality resistors may achieve a very negligible coefficient of one kind but usually not both simultaneously. A less often explained phenomenon is the combined effect of signal level on the resistance dissipation and by consequence its temperature, inducing a non-linearity by the combination of level and temperature non-linearity.

Goldmund has developed a new kind of ultra-high stability resistor for its most critical products where both non-linearities are compensating each other.

The effect of thermal dissipation in capacitors non-linearities is less often explained. Goldmund has proved during its research on thermal non-linearities in components that capacitors dissipation factor was strongly linked with the temperature coefficient effects affecting other components.

Even if most of the technology developed by Goldmund to mechanically ground its products are now under patenting, the general principles to achieve a good thermal stability are much better known, and used in some other industry like precision measurement instruments (another important industry in Switzerland, issued form watch-making industry needs).

Again, the main rules may be very easily deducted from the electrical and mechanical analogies.

Of course, before anything else, electronic components used in Audio products must have a very minimal thermal coefficient, i.e. the minimal change in their main parameters with the temperature. This is especially true with resistors, even if all components are more or less sensitive to the same type of problems.

The two significant effect of a good Thermal Grounding on sound are, as it is for the Mechanical Grounding :

• Better dynamics.
• Lower coloration.

We have explained above that the Mechanical Grounding of any component is stabilizing its energy dissipation by Joule effect, in order to avoid a variable energy dissipation related to the signal they transmit.

Since the thermal dissipation is extracting energy from the signal itself, dynamics will be much improved. If the effect is quite simple to understand for a simple resistor, Same effect can be expected from a good Thermal Grounding design of a power amplifier, especially its output stage. Less internal thermal “resonance” with temperature will produce a cleaner signal with a much more dynamic impact of the transients.

The lower coloration is less easy to detect for an inexperienced listener, but it can be the most important benefit of a good Thermal Grounding design. Lower coloration is what makes an Audio component transparent and detailed. It also allows a better distinction of subtle nuances and is also the key to a good spatial phase accuracy.

Considering the level of improvement Goldmund has been able to achieve by implementing proper Thermal Grounding in most of its recent components, it should be no further doubt that components not built taking it into account cannot be sonically accurate.