Authorized dealers for Goldring Goldring Ethos

Absoulute Audio plus Video — in-store — Aiken, South Carolina, United States (website)
Holt Hill — online and in-store — Andover, Massachusetts, United States (website)
Acoustic Technologies — online and in-store — Montréal, Québec, Canada (website)
Acton Gate Audio — online and in-store — Cymru, United Kingdom (website)
ALAIN CHOUKROUN — online and in-store — Paris, Île-de-France, France (website)
All That Audio — in-store — Anaheim, California, United States (website)
Alpha High End — online and in-store — Brasschaat, Vlaams Gewest, Belgium (website)
Alta Fedelta — online and in-store — Lombardia, Italy (website)
Altitudo Audio — online and in-store — Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (website)
American Audio & Video — in-store — Southaven, Mississippi, United States (website)

and 109 more verified dealers

Goldring Goldring Ethos

Name: Goldring Goldring Ethos
Brand: Goldring
SKU: goldring-ethos
Rating: 92 (9 reviews)

View at Goldring

Specifications 8 reviews & sources

92/100

Deliciously Crispy

Sound Quality

94/100

Build Quality

91/100

Features Usability

86/100

Value for Money

91/100

The Goldring Ethos brings lifelike tonal realism, airy three-dimensional imaging and clean, weighty bass to serious vinyl systems. The Ear found its detail, tracking and frequency-extreme composure exceptional, while Hi-Fi Choice praised its rich vocals, believable staging and long-session ease. This refined moving-coil cartridge favours musical depth over showy fireworks.

Pros

Natural, spacious presentation with convincing three-dimensional imaging and abundant low-level detail.

Deep, agile bass and extended treble stay clean, composed and free from harshness.

Strong tracking on complex material, with a poised, non-fatiguing sound suited to extended listening.

Cons

Its refined, measured character is less forceful than rivals for listeners seeking maximum rhythmic attack.

Poor recordings are revealed rather than flattered, and careful setup remains important for best results.

WATT RECOMMENDS

Save your favorites. Compare them anytime.

Create a free HiFi Hub account to save products to your Wishlist and compare your favorites side by side.

What Reviewers Are Saying

"The Ethos? It's the gentleman's gentleman of cartridges."

— The Audiophile Man

"The ethos it's the gentleman's gentleman of cartridges"

— The Audiophile Man

"At its very reasonable price, the Goldring Ethos sounds like the here and now, clear and balanced and full of beauty."

— Part Time Audiophile

"Its ability to generate an unforced and completely believable soundstage of the performers involved is impressive."

— HiFi Choice

"The Ethos is a serious performer."

— The Ear

SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 94/100

Reviewers consistently describe a refined, natural and emotionally involving presentation, combining tonal realism, clarity and substantial but controlled bass. Its character is more poised and deeply resolved than overtly spectacular, with particularly convincing space, low noise and treble that remains sweet even when recordings become aggressive.

Overall Sound

94/100

The Ethos is repeatedly praised for sounding clear, balanced and refined, with The Ear calling its reproduction "uncannily lifelike" and Part Time Audiophile finding it full of beauty. Reviewers highlight relaxed yet detailed mids, rich vocals, agile and weighty bass, and extended treble that stays controlled rather than becoming bright or shouty. Hi-Fi Choice notes that it is not the most forceful or ballistic-sounding option for listeners who prioritise maximum rhythmic attack.

Tracking Retrieval

93/100

The Vital line-contact stylus is backed up by strong listening evidence: The Ear found the Ethos unfazed by complex material and unwilling to mistrack. Both The Ear and The Audiophile Man report excellent access to small details, stable clarity and well-controlled inherent groove noise, while the latter specifically found soft, rounded beats effectively tracked.

Soundstage Imaging

95/100

Spatial performance is a major strength. The Audiophile Man heard greater soundstage height and depth with well-preserved space around instruments, while Hi-Fi Choice found the performers' stage unforced and completely believable. The Ear goes further, describing deeper acoustic insight, more air and a highly holographic, three-dimensional presentation.

FEATURES USABILITY PERFORMANCE 86/100

Tonearm compatibility / system fit.

Tonearm Compatibility

86/100

At 7.7g with moderate dynamic compliance and standard half-inch mounting, the Ethos should suit a broad selection of appropriately matched tonearms. As a 0.5mV moving-coil design it still needs a capable MC phono stage, and The Audiophile Man recommends taking time to optimise loading by ear; reassuringly, The Ear found it notably tolerant of alternative loading choices.

Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.

Build Quality

91/100

The Ethos uses a precision-milled aviation-grade aluminium body, neodymium magnet, hand-wound soft-iron armature and a refined Vital line-contact stylus on an aluminium-alloy cantilever. Reviewers and Goldring's design description point to careful engineering intended to keep moving mass low and manage resonances; long-term durability commentary is limited.

Value for Money

91/100

At around £895 in the reviewed UK market, The Ear positioned the Ethos comfortably in the middle ground of moving-coil cartridges, while Part Time Audiophile called its price very reasonable. The reviews present its refined, spacious and highly resolved sound as strongly competitive for the money rather than treating it as a budget proposition.

Reviews & Sources

Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.

Online Reviews & Mentions

Goldring E-Serie im Test: 3 MM-Tonabnehmer von 70 - 130 Euro

Goldring Ethos

10/9/2019

The Best Tonearms and Phono Cartridges | Buyers Guide 2021

12/4/2020

Goldring Ethos Phono Cartridge | REVIEW

9/18/2020

Goldring Ethos

5/28/2019

GOLDRING ETHOS VIDEO REVIEW ON YOUTUBE

1/29/2021

Ethos Moving Coil Cartridge From Goldring

1/27/2021

YouTube Reviews

Thumbnail of the video review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egaoi4aZVR8

The Audiophile Man

Goldring Ethos Moving Coil Cartridge Review: top-of-the-range for £895

1/29/2021

Forum Mentions

No forum mentions found yet

Specifications

Stylus profile: Vital line-contact
Cantilever: Aluminium alloy
Replacement stylus: Factory replaceable
Frequency range: 10 Hz - 32 kHz
Frequency response: ± 2 dB (35 Hz - 20 kHz)
Channel balance: <1 dB at 1 kHz
Channel separation: >30 dB at 1 kHz
Sensitivity: 0.5 mV ± 1 dB @ 1 kHz, 5 cm/s (rms)
Static compliance: 25 mm/N
Dynamic compliance: 15 mm/N
Vertical tracking angle: 20°
Load resistance: 100 Ω
Load capacitance: 100 - 1000 pF
Internal inductance: 7.5 μH
Internal resistance: 4 Ω
Cartridge mass: 7.7 g
Total mass (incl. fixings): 8.5 g
Fixing centres: 12.7 mm (0.5 in)
Playing weight: 1.5 - 2.0 g (1.75 g)

Manufacturer's Description — Goldring

Goldring Ethos

Ethos is a truly high-end cartridge featuring a vital-shank, nude-diamond stylus. This polyhedral, line-contact profile was chosen because it has a very low tip-mass and a large contact area whilst being very narrow from front to back; even enabling the undistorted retrieval of ultrasonic frequencies in a recording. In order to properly process this information, at the heart of the Ethos cartridge is Goldring's hand-built GOL-1 moving-coil generator. Featuring a hand-wound cross-shaped, soft-iron armature and married to a low resonance aircraft aluminium chassis, each one is precision tuned by our expert craftsmen to achieve our best ever level of performance. The result is that one becomes simply immersed in the musical experience ...and that's our whole Ethos.

Verified Dealers

Online Dealers

All Dealers

Zoom out the map to see more dealers

Authorized dealers for Goldring Goldring Ethos

Absoulute Audio plus Video — in-store — Aiken, South Carolina, United States (website)
Holt Hill — online and in-store — Andover, Massachusetts, United States (website)
Acoustic Technologies — online and in-store — Montréal, Québec, Canada (website)
Acton Gate Audio — online and in-store — Cymru, United Kingdom (website)
ALAIN CHOUKROUN — online and in-store — Paris, Île-de-France, France (website)
All That Audio — in-store — Anaheim, California, United States (website)
Alpha High End — online and in-store — Brasschaat, Vlaams Gewest, Belgium (website)
Alta Fedelta — online and in-store — Lombardia, Italy (website)
Altitudo Audio — online and in-store — Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (website)
American Audio & Video — in-store — Southaven, Mississippi, United States (website)

and 109 more verified dealers

Featured Partners

STAGING

STAGING

Authorized dealers for Goldring Goldring Ethos

Goldring Goldring Ethos

Reviews & Sources

Online Reviews & Mentions

YouTube Reviews

Forum Mentions

Specifications

Manufacturer's Description — Goldring

Goldring Ethos

Authorized dealers for Goldring Goldring Ethos

Featured Partners