Goldmund's separates are priced for the few. Alan Taffel opened his September 2026 review in The Absolute Sound with a BMW 3-Series: the "de-contented lower model that's more affordable than the rest of the marque yet preserves the essence of the brand." He wanted to know whether the Telos 670 integrated amplifier ($26,000) could do the same. The price, he wrote, is "astonishingly low for a Goldmund."
Two knobs and a remote
There are two controls, source and volume, and an aluminum remote that adds balance adjustment. Inside are 215 watts per channel into 8 ohms and a built-in DAC fed by TosLink, SPDIF and USB inputs. Taffel's summary: "the 670 has everything you really need and nothing more."
"Virtually identical"
His reference was a CH Precision I1 driving Goldmund's Telos 800 power amplifier, separates "priced at about six times the Goldmund's cost," into Wilson Sasha V speakers. On Rickie Lee Jones's "Jolie Jolie," that system left the sound "hovering like a ghost between my Wilson Sasha V reference speakers." He expected the 670 to fall short. "I felt the Telos 670 would have a hard time even coming close."
Then he switched over. "Time after time, track after track, I scribbled the same two words: 'virtually identical.'" The 670 "proved just as fast, detailed, rhythmic, spacious, timbrally rich, and musically enthralling as my reference separates." After several more tries, he found a slightly looser hold on the woofers and a touch less refinement in the treble. Still, "I don't think you'd notice either difference without a concerted A/B comparison."
The two amps share a lineage. The 670 and 800 "are built on the very same amplifier circuit, just scaled up or down." As Taffel puts it, "Goldmund has put a healthy helping of its DNA into the Telos 670, and it shows up in the sound."
Grand bargain fulfilled
Against his own I1 on easier speakers, he would "give the nod to the Goldmund" for its "superior imaging, transients, and midrange detail." On the brand's sound at this price: "the 670 delivers beyond my wildest expectations." And then: "this amp is a godsend for those looking to get into the world of Goldmund at a much more accessible price."
Download Alan Taffel's full review from The Absolute Sound (PDF), explore Goldmund at Rhythm, or find a Goldmund dealer to hear the Telos 670 for yourself.
