Clearaudio Goldfinger Statement V2.1

The Goldfinger Statement V2.1 is Clearaudio’s standing-production cartridge flagship and, by consensus of most reference-tier reviewers, one of the two or three finest moving-coil cartridges the industry has produced. It ships as the standard cartridge on Clearaudio’s Statement V2 turntable and remains available separately for any reference system that has earned it.

The V2.1 iteration made two changes to the previous V2 that reshaped how the cartridge sounds. Clearaudio tripled the count of magnets in its patented Ring configuration — from four in the original Goldfinger to eight in V2 to twelve in V2.1 — and thinned the 24-karat gold coil wire by 30% at the same time. The result is a substantially more powerful and homogeneous magnetic flux field driving a lighter, more efficient coil, which The Absolute Sound characterised as a full re-voicing of the cartridge away from the analytical German-sound stereotype and toward something warmer and more naturally balanced without losing any of the resolution and transient speed the Statement line has always been known for.

The body is machined from 14-karat gold, chosen for the specific combination of mass, damping, and non-magnetic character that gold offers. A boron cantilever carries Clearaudio’s Prime Line stylus — a diamond grind created specifically for this cartridge. Every generator assembly is individually voiced. Goldfinger was also the first MC cartridge in the world to integrate electromagnetic-field shielding of the generator, and a half-karat diamond is mounted on the fascia. Total mass 16 g, tracking force 2.8 g, 50 Ω impedance, 0.5–0.6 mV output, theoretical 100 dB dynamic range.

Goldfinger V2.1 is the correct cartridge for a Statement V2, Master Innovation, Master Jubilee, or Reference Jubilee system where the argument for the very best cartridge has been made and the anniversary Diamond Jubilee is either sold out or not the desired direction. Special order at LMC Scottsdale — walk in during business hours or book ahead if the audition needs your specific turntable and phono stage in the room.