Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

Life Begins At 40
Moreover, unlike some other MCs, the Ethos SE seems refreshingly agnostic to the loading offered by the phono preamp. Yes, the coil change has lowered the internal resistance of Goldring’s cartridge to 3.8ohm and using the ‘rule of 10 times’ this suggests an optimum loading of 40ohm. Yet the manufacturer recommends 100ohm, which is the typical ‘standard’, along with 47kohm for MM, on most non-adjustable MM/MC stages. Moreover, as editor PM’s investigation into loading the Ethos SE shows, changes to this load value appear to make surprisingly little difference to the cartridge’s frequency response.

The Ethos SE comes double-boxed in typically high-quality Goldring packaging. As a nice touch, the webpage for this model even lists every packing item plus recommendations for its correct recycling. Two different lengths of allen bolts are provided for mounting the cartridge, along with the matching allen key. The Ethos SE’s body has threaded holes for easy fitment, and these are tapped all the way through the mounting flanges. A manual, inspection certificate and a miniature Goldring history brochure are also included.

Going With The Flow
I installed the Ethos SE into an SME 309 tonearm on my Michell Gyro SE turntable and had an original non-SE Ethos model to hand by way of comparison. Connected to a MoFi Masterphono with the load set to 100ohm, I soon found that a slight decrease to 1.6g from the nominal recommended 1.75g tracking force paid dividends by removing an ever-so-slight leadenness from the bass registers.

Otherwise, changes to both loading and VTA made very little subjective difference to the cartridge’s performance. Certainly, if you fancy trying an MC but are wary of getting too deep into the precision alignment and finicky loading that many require, the Ethos SE could be your salvation.

Still taking care with setup, the Ethos SE rewarded with a highly enjoyable sound. It has a very impressive sense of uniformity across the board and doesn’t seem inclined to wow you in any particular area. It’s not one of those spiky cartridges that almost scream ‘look at me!’, instead taking a measured approach to vinyl replay that makes it a thoroughly gratifying yet undemanding listening companion.

Compared to the standard Ethos, the SE brings about some quite surprising changes. Goldring’s new pick-up might initially seem a little reticent and subdued, but in time you appreciate this is a reflection of a more natural, flowing presentation.