On newer production, the back panel now sports a ground lift switch on the XLR outputs in case connection to a single-ended amplifier results in excessive noise as a few early customers experienced. I can happily report that using the Genesis XLR-to-RCA cable produced no noise despite my single-ended integrated amp. The phono preamp doesn't include a power switch as it is expected to stay on at all times. Operational status is confirmed with a downfiring blue LED beneath the chassis. A simpler design is hard to imagine yet as explained by Mr. Koh, getting there was anything but simple. All my listening was done with the Ocellia speakers and Triode Lab 2A3i integrated valve amp remaining constants whilst cartridges alternated between Zu-DL103 and Ortofon Quintet Black, phono stages between Nagra VPS, Genesis Gold and Lounge Audio LCR & Copla, phono cables between Zu Event MkII (on my other phono stages) and Genesis on the Genesis. Since the Gold arrived with its own power cord, that's what I used. I did not experiment with other aftermarket cords which would have made comparisons even more complex.

Over the past three months, a lot of vinyl was on rotation, pretty much so at the expense of digital playback. Reviewing the Nagra VPS and Genesis Gold was so much fun, I felt no need for digital. Instead I trawled through my complete LP collection, some of it stellar, some less so, some superbly recorded, some not so much, some scratched, some pristine. When I assess components, one of the key elements is whether I enjoy music more with it in my system; whether I am drawn to listen to all sorts of styles just to discover new records; or whether I turn that component on simply for the purpose of writing a review and spinning a handful of references. Without giving the ending away, the Genesis Gold was one of those components that got me to listen to music simply because it felt good and right, not because a deadline was looming. That's rarer than you'd think.

Just to flag some of LPs, Adele 25, Leonard Cohen's final You want it darker, U2's The Joshua Tree, Sade's Diamond Life and Beethoven's Cello and Piano Sonatas between Rostropovich and Richter stand out but as mentioned, I went through my whole collection just for fun, from ZZ Top to Mozart, from Monk to The Police. It all felt so right. In my conclusion to the Nagra VPS review, I described the Genesis Gold as bing like a high performance car. Two extra months of intimate listening only solidified this impression. I initially meant to describe its agility, speed and nimbleness, its realistic portrayal from most subtle to most brutal dynamic changes and its superb ability to connect me viscerally to the music, all in contrast to the Nagra's softer, plusher, more supple ride.

What it meant was that the Phono Gold is highly sensitive to associated gear and setup just like a sports car signals far clearer changes in tires, quality of fuel or how well tuned its suspension is. No difference here. I never had a phono preamp before that made it so easy to hear differences in cartridge alignment, VTA or tracking weight. It spells doom for any audiophile with OCD but I must say, I had not appreciated until then how very small changes can bring significant gains in tonal balance and soundstaging. I knew it mattered but until you have a phono preamp that fully passes on those nuances, you don't really appreciate what's left behind. It also meant that choosing the right cartridge for your taste truly matters as you will hear the character of the pickup unedited, unfiltered and unadulterated. This doesn't mean that the Genesis was only compatible with a short list of cartridges. I found it to work very well with pickups as different as the Zu-DL103, Ortofon Quintet Black and a Dynavector XX-2 that stopped over for a day. What it did mean was that those three cartridges never sounded so different before. The Ortofon provided the most balanced set of attributes between transparency, dynamics and a hint of warmth. The Zu was more expressive but less refined at the frequency extremes. The Dynavector was slightly more laid back and lean. In short, they all sounded like more intense versions of themselves – less homogenized and pasteurized towards a common middle ground. I put this squarely down to the Phono Gold's ability to get out of the way more completely.