Turntables — Gold Note Mediterraneo X

The Mediterraneo X is a belt-driven turntable from Gold Note, the Florence company that began by making record players and tonearms. It develops the original Mediterraneo, keeping the curved walnut plinth while adding a heavier composite platter, a variable-torque motor with touchscreen control and the B-7 Ceramic X tonearm, which comes fitted.

Key specs that matter

Speeds of 33 1/3 and 45 rpm are held within a 0.1% tolerance, with electronic fine pitch control. Wow and flutter is below 0.1%, and rumble is -82 dB, compared with -80 dB for the standard Mediterraneo. The 45 mm thick platter, made of machined aluminium and high-density POM, weighs 7 kg and turns on a 4.3 mm ceramic ball bearing with a Split-Spindle. A 70 shore rectified EPDM belt links it to a 12 V synchronous motor. Power comes from an external 18 V DC supply, and maximum consumption is 27 W. The turntable measures 470 x 210 x 360 mm and weighs 25 kg.

Engineering and use context

The plinth follows a catenary curve, a shape Gold Note borrows from Renaissance architecture for its rigidity, and it is built up in layers to damp resonance. A Quadral-Core microcontroller regenerates the motor drive waveform, and torque can be varied in real time from the touchscreen. At high torque the drive behaves more like direct drive, while low torque reduces coupling between motor and platter. Elastomers decouple the motor from the plinth, and it sits in an aluminium bracket isolated by resin spacers. The B-7 Ceramic X is a 9 in straight arm with ceramic bearings, a headshell in 6000-series aluminium and hardwired Litz AWG36 OFC wiring. Azimuth is set with two micro-bolts and VTA at the pillar. A timer counts stylus hours, and three adjustable anodised aluminium feet level the deck. A hinged dust cover in smoked acrylic and a phono cable are included. Finishes are Gold Leaf, which pairs a matt black varnished aluminium upper plinth with a black anodised platter, and Italian walnut hardwood.

Pairing

The turntable comes without a cartridge, and the arm is suited to medium-compliance MM and MC types. Gold Note designs its own cartridges, including the Donatello and Tuscany models, with this arm in mind. A phono stage with MM and MC loading, such as the Gold Note PH-10, completes the front end.

Alternatives

Gold Note's standard Mediterraneo pairs a POM platter and the B-7 Ceramic arm with the same curved walnut plinth.