Gato DIA 250S NPM

[rivendell]

Looking for a bit of advice.

So existing system

Ming Da Campana, Chord Qutest, PC windows 10 running lastest version of roon, all my albums on ssd,(flac) tidal used almost excusively thro roon, JM Labs Mini Uptohia speakers Audiouqest speaker cable. RFC/KLE plugs interconnect between amp and dac. MIT USB cable from pc to dac.

Ive been looking for a long time at class d (i was lucky enough to buy my speakers from a friend who told me the more juice you throw at them etc)

So it was a billy bargain (used obvs) and cant wait for Monday when it arrives.

Ive never had a streamer so any comments/thoughts would be appreciated, i assume you can bypass the internal dac and use the Qutest for comparision purposes?

My personal circustances are changing hence the reason im going toward a one box solution.

Any comments would be appreciated

R

 

[jobseeker]

It’s a fine beast in its own right. Roon compatibility of the NPM version is icing on the cake. Enjoy. Follow the Gato thread in the Owners Club section

 

[Jules_S]

It's going to sound fundamentally different to your Ming Da, but then I assume you knew that anyway. I'm not familiar with your speakers tonal balance to be able to suggest how the amp might pair with them but the Gato's characteristics would best be described as smooth and neutral but with plenty of control and grunt when called for. My concerns might be if  the neutrality is too much with the JM Labs.

The Gato has both balanced and unbalanced analogue inputs so yes you could run the analogue out from your Qutest into it if you want to compare the onboard DAC. 

 

[falcoron]

I went the one box route getting rid of Dac, streamer, renderer amp and pre amp. Bought the 400 NPM haven’t looked back

the dac in this is very very good and the ease of use and Roon connectivity is fantastic.

I use this with my pioneer Blu-ray and the sound running through the Gato dac is superb 

Haven’t  missed my £15k+ set up at all, ( Luxman valve amp, Tron pre, SOtM dac 200 ultra streamer)

love the Gato  

 

[CnoEvil]

love the Gato  

Me too.....but I also miss the AMS35i (bought from Kronos).

 

[rivendell]

Well i cant lie,

ive made myself out to be a right chump AGAIN

I was lucky enough to pick up the Gato amp on eBay for a fantastic price last friday morning from a dealer in cambridge, i assumed it would be with me Monday, spent the day standing at the door waiting for the Parcelforce man to knock it and say "here take this, now calm the f**k down and get it plugged in you shallow impatient dic"

But, well there is always a but, 

Ive lost all concept off time and space but mainly dates and not reading stuff properly due to excitement, (bloody lockdown and this twilight existance we live in) it showed delivery as March 15, which i got completely wrong, my heart utterly sank.

Ive been reliably informed by the dealer that other than being an utter berk, it didnt get shipped till monday am as id missed the cut off for shipping (which is fair enoughski) so its on parcelforce 48 which means it should be with me Wednesday at some point.

So in anticipation im busy doing housework, dusting,cleaning, well anything really to pass the time till i can go back to looking out the window for the parcelforce man to come.

Im nearly 60 ffs and as a man who is lucky enough to have there birthday on christmas day i know how to get excited about stuff but with hifi, well thats another level for me. 

Many years ago i drove over night from central scotland to london with my then teenage daughter as a crazy adventure (she thought, a misson for me, she still says Dad do you remember when, and shes now 35!) to pick up a pair of celestion A3 speakers from a dealer in London turned the car round and drove right back.

So setting aside the circumstances i wouldnt have thought twice about doing it again,lol

Its probably just me, but hey ho thats hi fi for you

Ive set my alarm for 5.30am there not putting a we tried to deliver card through my door

 

[JANDL100]

Hmmm.... Parcel Farce.... delivery could drift by a day or so.... ;-)

 

[mikeyb]

Hmmm.... Parcel Farce.... delivery could drift by a day or so....

If it arrives at all [emoji6]

 

[jobseeker]

When I set mine up, my son asked why I had bought a giant hip flask.

 

[rivendell]

one of my friends said exactly them same, bloody cheek!

Well its probably the simplest set up ive ever had, ethernet in, usb for my files in, using the internal dac 1st then i will try the qutest over the next week or so, no rush

Beautiful to look at in the flesh, bigger than i thought , heavy, always a good sign unless you find a half brick in it.

Left it on a low peep for 30mins, well its been  hurtling around in a cold van or 3 the poor thing.

Ive started with Zappa (well you have too) and will take it from there

It is i can confirm, a bonny, bonny looking thing.

R

 

[rivendell]

Right then ive had the hip flask comment from friends and ive also had the " Gato, GATO ! what like as in big cake" comment, both of which ive taken and treated with the contempt they deserve.

I guess everyone has a kinda go to list of tracks for listening to different gear (or maybe not)

So ive thrown the following items at it, in no particular order

Zappa - Yo mama, the black page, sofa #2

King Creosote - several track from diamond Mine

Natcha Atlas - amulet

Tunng - fair Doreen

Frank Sinatra  - my sweet Lorraine

Willie Nelson - summerwind (that was franks fault he started it)

Beck - a fair bit of the morning Phase album

Massive Attack - Teardrop (well,ive got to as i adore Liz Fraser)

Dylan - someday baby, po boy, simple twist of fate

And Nick Drake

Now this is an entirely personal comment, but it did seem to relax after 1/2hr so, off running, it may well be my imagination having run valves for years but there you go.

Im not going to get all technical and hifi wordy, sorry it aint me

I can say i just felt it took it all in its stride and it did feel like "well is that all youve got for me"

Sadly it is tonight

So time for bed for me, working tomorrow

Then its seconds out round 2

R

 

[CnoEvil]

@rivendell If you are getting musical satisfaction from this Class D amp (to the point you can happily live with it), after using a Valve Amp, that is quite a complement.

Enjoy.

 

[hearhere]

@rivendell If you are getting musical satisfaction from this Class D amp (to the point you can happily live with it), after using a Valve Amp, that is quite a complement.

Enjoy.

I used valve stuff (PX-25 and 845 SETs) for many years with my Avantgarde horns but then made a determined effort to find a solid state amp that sounded as good or better.  It took a dozen amps to test at home (either bought used or demo loans) and this included a couple of Class As, several ABs and a couple of Ds.  What won?  One of the Class D amps.  Since then changed to a new Perifi-based Class D.  Wonderful amp at a sensible price so very happy.

 

[Rayymondo]

King Creosote - several track from diamond Mine

Fantastic album, I often use a couple of these tracks for assessing new equipment - particularly the Bats in the Attic track. Fabulous stuff and really well recorded.

They (KC and Jon Hopkins )actually toured this album when it came out - unfortunately I missed it , would have been a great gig I'm sure.

 

[Tarzan]

I used valve stuff (PX-25 and 845 SETs) for many years with my Avantgarde horns but then made a determined effort to find a solid state amp that sounded as good or better.  It took a dozen amps to test at home (either bought used or demo loans) and this included a couple of Class As, several ABs and a couple of Ds.  What won?  One of the Class D amps.  Since then changed to a new Perifi-based Class D.  Wonderful amp at a sensible price so very happy.

 Can you name and shame the Class D amplifiers Sir?

 

[Jules_S]

I would agree with you, Robert, about 20-30 minutes of use and the Gato does seem to relax. I find the lower end "fills out" a little. Now obviously that's my ears and mind playing tricks on me because a Class-D solid state can't change its sound, right? But there it is, someone else who has come up with the same conclusion as me. So we're both mad!  :nuts:

Glad you are enjoying it so far, it really is an amazing amp and one that will indeed "take it all in its stride".

 

[rivendell]

So, im using the amp as is, im running roon/tidal with my own albums (lol can you still say that) on SSD, its hooked up to a pair of Focal JM Labs Mini Utophia speakers ( you wouldnt get these from my cold dead hands)  and the sub to match.

I also have a Chord Qutest with an LPS but my plan is to let it run for a week or so to get used to it, then add the chord dac and see what happens.
 
I have to be honest and say i was expecting the amp to possibly have a tight, kinda clinical top end and a slight lack of bass, based on certain things ive read.
 
Wrong
 
Sure it doesnt have that full lush edge that valves have, but i didnt think it would and why should it, But its by no means brittle or clinical, and defo has a warmish edge to it.
 
Detail in bloody spades
Lovely midrange,slightly more forward than im used too, but hey every amp is different and i will can always push my seat back
Nice sound stage
And surpisingly i had to turn the sub down a notch to save being beaten up by my next door neighbour who whilst being as deaf as a post, might not here it,  but he can still feel the vibe. 
 
And rattling pictures off the walls is never a good thing.
 
So there it is, that about as hifi wordy as i get.
 
i put in a mammoth listening session in last night throwing in the towel at, 4.30 this morning, all i can say is it does produce a beautiful sound.
 
robert

 

[CnoEvil]

@rivendell...if ever there was a test of a Class D amp, it's being matched with Focal Speakers, which sound well with Valves.

I have it matched with Harbeth - so I'm glad it works with speakers at the other end of the sonic spectrum.

:rockin:

 

[hearhere]

 Can you name and shame the Class D amplifiers Sir?

I can name but not shame.  In the end I chose a Class D that offered best sound / performance by a good margin. 

After trying at home (for at least 1 week and often many months) amps from Sugden, Micromega, GamuT, Lyngdorf, Quad, Benchmark, Accuphase, Mark Levinson, Valvat and Bakoon, I chose the NAD M32, later changed for the slightly even better M33.  It suits my Avantgarde speakers despite being far more powerful than is necessary.  It sounds very good indeed and is sensibly priced.  The "best of the rest" for me were Accuphase, GamuT and Mark Levinson - all a lot more costly.