The Gold Note IS-10 Integrated Amplifier is a new compact all in one system, which comprises of an integrated amplifier, DAC with built in network streamer plus a headphone output.

The integrated amplifier in the IS-10 delivers 90 watts per channel (into 8 ohms and 140 into 4 ohms). There is more than enough power and current on tap to drive a serious pair of loudspeakers like the Epos ES14N, the Fyne F1-5 or the Fyne Vintage 5.

If 90 watts per channel isn’t enough you can add a PA-10 EVO Power Amplifier (the original PA-10 is not compatible) and set them both in mono mode, with IS-10 driving the left channel and the PA-10 EVO driving the right channel – this increases power output to 180 watts per channel and turns the IS-10 into an even better amplifier and more capable over what it can drive.

There are 2 pairs of analogue inputs for a phono stage or CD player and a single RCA pre-out for the right channel on the PA-10 EVO and a single pair of loudspeaker outputs.

The sensitivity of the headphone output can be set to low or high depending on the headphones being used.

The DAC section is incredibly capable with 2 optical inputs, a coaxial RCA input and a USB A socket (for USB sticks/drives),

The streaming aspect of the DAC is particularly strong – the IS-10 is Roon Ready and also supports Bluetooth, Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect, Qobuz, Airplay, vTuner and Deezer.

It also supports UPnP so music stored on a computer, NAS drive, Melco can all be played back.

Gold Note’s own Navigator control app is excellent, Tidal and Spotify users can simply use the Connect functionality directly.

In terms of sample rate the IS-10 supports PCM up to and including 32bit/384kHz, plus DSD 256.

File formats are extensive with supports for AIFF, FLAC, WAV, DSD (DSF & DFF), MP3, MPEG4, WmA, WAX, ASX

Network connectivity can be via wired ethernet or wi-fi.

Sonically the IS-10 is incredibly strong given the size of the box and how much is actually packed inside it, running in mono with a PA-10 EVO genuinely transforms to another level again.