The Goldfinger Statement v2.1 is the new edition of Clearaudio’s flagship phono cartridge, elevating Peter Suchy’s original cartridge patent to new heights of performance, and featuring a ‘world first’ in design. The Absolute Sound’s Jonathan Valin now has a new favourite.

True to its name, the Goldfinger Statement v2.1’s distinctive ‘twelve-fingered’, 15g chassis is machined from 14-karat gold to provide high mass and excellent damping against resonance. It is also the first moving coil cartridge in the world to integrate electromagnetic field (EMF) shielding of the generator assembly, isolating unwanted noise contamination. Eight magnets are meticulously matched to create a homogenous flux field to accurately translate the groove modulation into an electrical signal. The dual generator coils are precisely wound using pure 24-karat gold wire around an air core, eliminating ferrous materials that add unwanted mass and magnetic inconsistencies. The moving coil’s significantly reduced moving mass within the focused and efficient magnetic field results in increased dynamic range and ultra-high resolution of the finest musical details.

Also contributing to enhanced dynamics and coherence is a new ‘Prime-Line’ line-contact stylus, sourced from Ogura in Japan and built to Clearaudio’s specifications. The stylus is mounted differently too, by inserting it into, and then bonding it to, its boron cantilever for a sturdier and more precise fit. As a finishing touch, the Goldfinger features a ½-karat diamond mounted in the front of the body.

“Yes, it is different, and yes, it is improved,” writes reviewer Jonathan Valin in US audio magazine The Absolute Sound. “The V2.1’s sterling way with dynamic peaks and valleys was the first thing I noted when auditioning it.” The new stylus “tracks like a dream” and “just as obvious as its phenomenal dynamic range, grip, tracking and resolution is the V2.1’s neutrality.”

Jack DeJohnette’s landmark free jazz album Special Edition is “widely and distinctly imaged on Clearaudio’s famously vast, three-dimensional soundstage. The quartet, their instruments, their touch and tone are reproduced so faithfully and completely that you can almost see them playing in front of you.”

“In moving coils [the Goldfinger Statement v2.1] is my current favourite.”

Read Jonathan Valin’s review in full, along with a short interview with Clearaudio CEO Peter Suchy, in the September 2023 issue of The Absolute Sound.

Find out more at https://clearaudio.de/en and locate your nearest specialist retailer via UK distributor Sound Fowndations.