Pre/power amplifier £29,000/£15,000
Goldmund lives in rarefied territory when it comes to the world of high-end hi-fi. This Mimesis 37S NextGen/Telos 300 combination is ferociously expensive, yet represents only the second rung on the Swiss company’s pre/power ladder. What do you get for all that money? The answer is carefully developed, beautifully built yet understated products that shoot for the stars and get way closer than most.
The Mimesis 37S NextGen preamplifier is the brains of this pairing. It comes in two chunky boxes; one houses the sensitive audio circuits while the other is home to the hefty power supply. This divide-to-conquer approach is sensible given that power supplies have high current-flow and can generate unwanted magnetic fields and plenty of vibration. Such things will tend to spoil all aspects of the unit’s sonic performance if left unchecked.
This Goldmund preamp is a focused design aiming for the ultimate in performance, so it comes as no surprise that the feature count is limited. If you want to play records or connect a pair of headphones you’re out of luck. The Mimesis 37S NG has neither a phono stage nor a headphone output, so you will have to buy outboard boxes that do the job. Such features, even when implemented with care, can easily adversely affect absolute sound quality, so their exclusion is justified.
IMPRESSIVE ATTENTION TO DETAIL
The preamp’s casework fits together with precision and the general attention to detail is impressive. Goldmund is big on the structural properties of the casework it uses, paying a great deal of attention to mechanically grounding any unwanted vibrational energy. This approach allows the electronic boards a better chance to perform at their optimal level.
Take the preamp’s lid off and you will find an immaculately constructed unit. The audio circuits are laid out in a neat dual-mono arrangement where any interaction between the channels is minimised. On paper, this type of design should help all aspects of the performance, from stereo imaging to detail resolution. Goldmund’s amplifier design ethos has long centred around high bandwidth circuits with special attention paid to minimising group delays and time distortion. These priorities remain intact here.
There is a good choice of inputs – five single-ended and two balanced XLR – so this amp shouldn’t be caught short in even the most complex stereo system. The Mimesis 37S NG is a simple device to use, with just the input selector and volume dial on the front panel flanking a clear but basic display. You can also
