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Italians have often been thought of as the masters of design, and the term 'made in Italy' is synonymous with elegance, craftsmanship and style. These have always been very desirable factors in hi-fi, and Florence-based Gold Note is hoping that its sumptuous designs – where every product is built by hand from scratch with high-quality materials – are going to attract the eyes and ears of audio aficionados here.

Distributed by Audio Pinnacle Ltd, the new-to-the-UK brand has existed in its native Italy in one form or another for more than 20 years, and has plenty of experience with OEM collaborations worldwide in engineering and designing a complete line of domestic analogue audio equipment from amplifiers to loudspeakers, cables and turntables.

Visitors to the High End Show held in Munich will be familiar with the Gold Note brand and this year's May event sees it displaying the newly introduced XT-7 floorstanding loudspeaker. The three-way design is the company's first to use a ribbon tweeter and stands 1,110mm tall and weighs in at 50kg per speaker. The distinctive curved cabinet is built around a reinforced chassis with wooden multi-layer panels that help to control resonances. Separate internal cabinets for bass and mid/high frequencies enhance the XT-7's tuning and the bass cabinet fitted with 2x 180mm drivers is vented with an anti-turbulence bass reflex port, while the cabinet containing the 160mm midrange and AMT ultra-linear ribbon tweeter is sealed to help reduce any internal reflections. 

The floorstander employs custom drivers made from ultra-stiff woven polypropylene developed with SEAS and what Gold Note calls a deluxe crossover that's built with Mundorf components. It claims a sensitivity of 90dB with power handling capabilities ranging from 30-300W. 

The XT-7 loudspeaker is supported by wooden swallow tail-shaped stands that feature adjustable spikes to assist with stability. The front baffle is finished in black lacquer with cabinet side cheeks available in a choice of gloss back or white as well as Italian walnut or grey maple finishes. The XT-7 is available to buy now for £14,208, click here to find out more.