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REVIEW: Goldmund Goldmund Mimesis 29M-Millennium Edition Power Amplifier Amplifier (SS)

Model: Goldmund Mimesis 29M-Millennium Edition Power Amplifier
Category: Amplifier (SS)
Suggested Retail Price: $18,500
Description: Goldmund Ultimate Line Stereo Power Amplifier
Manufacturer URL: Goldmund
Model Picture: View

Review by calloway ( A ) on May 18, 2003 at 14:49:28
IP Address: 208.30.87.58
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for the Goldmund Mimesis 29M-Millennium Edition Power Amplifier


it's 3:30 pm on a rainy sunday and i am enjoying an sacd of Rimsky-korsakov's 'Sheherazade..Valery Gergiev..not my favorite rendition but nice none the less.i have been threatening to write this review, of what i believe to be one of the finest solid state amplifiers available today, for quite some time.i fully realize that this piece of equiptment is financially out of reach for many audiophiles....right now...but not necessarily in the future.it certainly was for me 5 years ago but things change and many of you,a few years down the line,may be able to afford an amplifier as exquisite as this.sometimes dreams DO come true.
GOLDMUND....if you haven't heard of the company,don't feel too bad.until about 9 months ago i hadn't either.i was in the 3rd upgrade of amplifiers previously owning an ARC VT100...then an Aloia 13.01..and then a Tenor 75WI.(notice i have gone from tube to ss to tube...and now back to ss).Goldmund is a swiss company who has been making superb audio equipment for over 25 yrs.their factory is in geneva.the workmanship that goes into their products,as their brochure states,"draws upon a pool of talent and expertise that has been at the forefront of the world's watchmaking industry for centuries: rolex,patek philippe...." all units are hand made with quality control at every step.every unit is tested and has a burn-in of several days before being sent to the customer.
TECHNOLOGY...mechanical grounding..a process developed by Goldmund allows for proper evacuation of any vibration-generated spurious signals inside.mechanical resonances are surpressed by ridgidly connecting their structure to the mechanical perfect ground:the earth.
WIDE BANDWIDTH & ULTRAL-FAST CIRCUITS DESIGN...using JOB amplification topology the amplifier circuit is one of the fastest in the world today,with nearly 3-MHz bandwidth to reproduce the transients and dynamics with a life-like quality.Goldmund states that 'because live music and speech are both essentially made of transients,they,the transients,only sound accurate when they are rebuilt into the ear with exactly the time coherence they had initially.only an extra large amplifier bandwidth can rebuild time coherence accurately.
Goldmund Mimesis 29M...the amplifier is a 300W mono power amplifier.W on 8Ohms before clipping high-power JOB4 circuitry derived from the millenium circuit.it has a 2.5 MHz bandwidth circuit.mechanical grounding construction fully implemented.thermal grounding for 8 separate power transformers.there is a proprietary built-in "goldmund damper" AC-line conditioner.the front panel is computer controlled with a soft start,signal-sensing and industry-standard DC trigger circuit.there are balanced and unbalanced inputs.there is an input level adjustment by 10 x 1db steps with front panel level display.there is a front panel internal temperature measurement.there are 3 Goldmund HF coaxial and 3 binding post speaker output connectors for bi-wiring and tri-wiring.size: 44cm W x 49.5cm D x 25.4cm H. weight: 72kg.
.....TECHNICAL DATA....
Power
-Nominal power:2 x 250 W RMS (2-8 Ohms)
2 x 150 W RMS (1-16 Ohms)
-Maximum instantaneous power: 2 x 500 W RMS ( 8 Ohms )
-Maximum voltage swing: 80 V peak
-Maximun current swing: 28 A peak
these figures for both channels driven

Frequency Response
-these figures are valid for the circuit alone,ay any level between 0 and nominal power.
-+/- 0.1 db,0-300kHz, +/- 1db,0-800 kHz.
-+/- 3db,0-2.5MHz.
Input Sensitivity
-Nominal level: 1.45 V RMS
-Voltage gain: 29
-Input impedence: 52 kOhms
Distortion
Figures valid for all levels from 0 to 40 V/8 Ohms
-Dynamic: TID <0.01% (-80db)
-Static: THD < 0.01% (-80db)
Speed
-slew rate: > 200 V/us
-rise time: <300 ns
Crosstalk
-Separation: > 100 db between channels.isolated ground
Noise
-Signal-to-noise ratio: > 115db ( 0.01 Hz-1Mhz)
-Weighted ASA A: 130 db
Power Supply
-Nominal line voltage: 117,234 V ( switchable)
-Input voltage range: +/- 10%
-Maximum power consumption:2000W
-Power used in standby: 120W
-8 toroidal transformers,8 separate power supply
Grounding
-separate ground for each channel
-floating chassis connected to mains earth
-switch for optimally connecting both

...........now that the technical babble is over,most of which i don't understand,by the way,i will proceed with the aural aspect of the 29M.afterall,my background is medicine,not physics or electronics and i don't,for a minute,pretend to understand most of the technical numbers.
my reason for buying the 29M arose out of frustration with the bass response of the tenor 75 wi amps i previously owned.my speakers,piega p-10s,present a 4 ohm load which the tenors were not able to adequately drive.they were,and still are,superb amps and were i to have had different speakers,would probably still have them today.i listened to two ss amps along my journey halcros and krells but was,for one reason or another,not impressed with either.( for those of you who own either don't get upset..to each his/her own). in oct.'02 i ventured up to hifi farm which is only about an hours'drive from my home to listen to what steve davis said would end my search.i trusted steve's advice and drove up to wirtz,va.steve had a pair of p-10s hooked to a goldmund 29M amplifier.i brought a few of my favorite cds to play.it took me all of about 5 minutes to realize that this was a very special amplifier.not only was the bass exactly what i was looking for but the mids and high frequencies were equally as good as the tenors and possibly better.the 29M effortlessly drove the p-10s with a speed and articulation to the dynamics i had not heard before.inner details of the cds never heard before now presented themselves.vocals were amazingly lifelike,even better then with the tenors.the correctness of the tonality of the instruments was scarey.all this and i realized that the sound i was hearing did not include my cabling,which i thought i knew,would improve this incredible sound even more.
I took the 29M home and hooked it up to my system.( try putting a 160 lb amp inside the bottum shelf of an entertainment center).using the audio tekne 'simona' preamp steve used in the demo at the store i hooked my cabling ( see below) up all around.the sound i had i had with my tenor/piega combination,a sound i thought could probably not get much better,was now probably 30%-40% better.i am not going to get into a tube vs ss discussion,it's obvious i have had it both ways in my audio history but this amp gives you the best of the best in both worlds....imo! you won't find this amp reviewed in any of the audio periodicals,i don't think.goldmund's philosophy,for some reason, lends itself to product reviews.for those lucky few that have had the good fortune to hear this ezquisite amp in their search for audio nirvana while upgrading they were indeed fortunate for this amp will hold its own with any ss amp regardless of cost.i have not heard the new tenor hybrids, mikel are you reading this,but nobody could get me to trade this beauty in for anything.................right now.


Product Weakness: none...except............160 lbs
Product Strengths: superb company behind it,construction superb,sonically the best i have heard at all frequency levels with a quickness and bass response that will stun you....micro dynamic retrieval unbelievable with pinpoint imaging.crystaline highs with mids to die for


Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: goldmund Mimesis 29M
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): audio tekne 'simona'
Sources (CDP/Turntable): scd-1
Speakers: piega p-10s --89db..4 ohm,granite slabs with sorbothane discs under speakers
Cables/Interconnects: HMS 'gran finale i/cs and speaker cables...elrod eps #3s and #2s powercords and 1-virtual dynamics 'Nite' powercord
Music Used (Genre/Selections): classical/jazz/pop-rock
Room Size (LxWxH): 25 x 18 x 25
Room Comments/Treatments: couch-2 lrg chairs with ottomans,thick carpet
Time Period/Length of Audition: have owned for 8 months
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): shunyata hyrda,copulare amp stand,goldmund cones under scd-1
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner





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Topic - REVIEW: Goldmund Goldmund Mimesis 29M-Millennium Edition Power Amplifier Amplifier (SS) - calloway 14:49:28 05/18/03 (3)


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