Andrew S. Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 (edited) Item: Gato DiA 400 Location: Leichhardt NSW 2040Price: $WithdrawnItem Condition: As newReason for selling: UpgradingPayment Method: Pickup - Cash, Paypal, COD OnlyExtra Info: Bought brand new off Audio Connection to replace the faulty Gato DiA 250 I had. Terrific amp with superb inbuilt dac. "This new integrated amplifier incorporates a preamp, stereo power amp, and D/A converter. The balanced-drive Burr-Brown PCM 1794 DAC incorporates dual digital to analog converters supported by an independent power supply and the matching SRC 43921 upsampler provides 24bit/192kHz upsampling for the coaxial, optical, and asynchronous USB digital inputs. Analog inputs include two pairs of unbalanced and one pair of balanced stereo connectors. In addition there is a Direct function that enables integration of the Gato DIA-400 into a home theater system and a 12 volt trigger output. The amplifier’s output stages are state of the art Class D amplifiers with optimized switch mode power supplies that incorporate a precision high frequency oscillator and pulse-width modulator (PWM). High frequency switching is performed by a pair of precision MOS-FET transistors and the output filters are made from high quality polypropylene capacitors and low direct current resistance (DCR) coils, converting the high power PWM signals back into detailed and smooth analog music. This modern Class D design, built on modified Pascal M-PRO modules, deliver extremely high efficiency, enormous power, huge voltage swing, and good damping factor. This fine engineering comes together to provide effortless dynamic headroom with smooth wide frequency response without clipping. The Gato Audio DIA-400 outputs 2 x 400W@8ohm / 2 x 800W@4ohm. Thanks to the Class D output stage this integrated amplifier operates cool with no need for a noisy fan or large protruding cooling fins. The beautifully shaped non-magnetic enclosure efficiently transfers heat and provides all necessary cooling." Review: http://www.audioaficionado.org/general-audio-discussion/23669-gato-audio-dia-400-class-d-integrated-amplifier-review.html Spec's: 2x 400W@8ohm / 2x 800W@4ohm Class D output stage Built in 24bit/192kHz D/A converter with upsampling Coax and asynchronous USB digital input up to 24bit/192kHz, optical up to 24bit/96kHz Accepts digital streaming directly from Apple iPhone or iPad Two unbalanced and one balanced inputs Nonmagnetic enclosure Direct function; enables use in home theatre systems Designed, developed and build in Copenhagen, Denmark Pictures: Edited November 15, 2015 by Tom.Stopforth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill125812 Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Noooooooo. Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Noooooooo. Andrew Ya tempted? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill125812 Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Ya tempted? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk No. But Looking at something else from Andrew at the moment though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew S. Posted November 14, 2015 Author Share Posted November 14, 2015 (edited) Noooooooo. Andrew The PassLabs ruined me.... now I know what 15 k buys you, I want to know what a little more Class A/B power will do .... One in one out - them's the rules these days. I have been banned from turning the lounge room into a hi fi shop. Ya tempted? Ha ha - are you? Edited November 14, 2015 by Tom.Stopforth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Andrew must have a shed full of gear. BTW, I initially thought he was selling some Goto horns lol. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill125812 Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 The Passlabs ruined me.... now I know what 18 k buys you, I want to know what a little more may... One in one out - them's the rules these days. I have been banned from turning teh lounge room into a hi fi shop. Ha ha - are you? No. The Lux will do for a while Paul might be though. He's still looking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Nah not tempted Andrew got no specific need for it. Anyway even if I was my bank balance would be fully emptied out if I bought it. A man's gotta eat lol Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill125812 Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Andrew must have a shed full of gear. BTW, I initially thought he was selling some Goto horns lol. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk You and your horns Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew S. Posted November 14, 2015 Author Share Posted November 14, 2015 No. But Looking at something else from Andrew at the moment though Yes and a bloody bargain that is if I may so ... just listening to it now. Gorgeous. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 You and your horns What can i say. I'm such a horny little shiet Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew S. Posted November 14, 2015 Author Share Posted November 14, 2015 Ha ha - not sure your horns need 800 wpc into 4 ohms mate but hey.... No Bill, Paul has moved on to greener pastures. He is looking at other all in one alternatives to my Gato, and in a lower price bracket I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill125812 Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 What can i say. I'm such a horny little shiet Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk So the rumours go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill125812 Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Ha ha - not sure your horns need 800 wpc into 4 ohms mate but hey.... No Bill, Paul has moved on to greener pastures. He is looking at other all in one alternatives to my Gato, and in a lower price bracket I think. Ahhhh. Ok. Fair enough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew S. Posted November 14, 2015 Author Share Posted November 14, 2015 Andrew must have a shed full of gear. Not anymore - I used to have my own hi fi emporium at one time: but have been put on a strict one in one out policy to try and keep the box count down and the $$ in the kit from being too excessive - trying to keep the investment under 20-25k - with varying degrees of success. Quitting vinyl helped immeasurably in that, by the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill125812 Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Not anymore - I used to have my own hi fi emporium at one time: but have been put on a strict one in one out policy to try and keep the box count down and the $$ in the kit from being too excessive - trying to keep the investment under 20-25k - with varying degrees of success. Quitting vinyl helped immeasurably in that, by the way. Lucky you. Yeh I'm on that sort of deal to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Quitting vinyl helped immeasurably in that, by the way. Blasphemy. Scandalous. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill125812 Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Blasphemy. Scandalous. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk He will return. They all do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 He will return. They all do. *still shivering* Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew S. Posted November 14, 2015 Author Share Posted November 14, 2015 (edited) Nah, no return for me. Not unless Lotto comes in. In which case I can see myself dropping 100k on a vinyl system in a heartbeat. In a blink. I even know what kit I would buy, and what record shops I would shop at - and what records I would want in my collection....but all that is unlikely given I (very) rarely buy Lotto tickets. Frankly, the odds aren't with you with Lotto ha ha. @ Bill - tote up the replacement cost of your gear and I'd be surprised if it was under 20 - 25k: you just have it spread over more bits and bobs than I. I'm trying to limit the box count to 2 + speakers at most. With varying degrees of success. Wow - listening to : Live Ad Alcatrez by guitarist Fausto Mesolella was recorded live on August 25, 2013 at the Free University of Alcatraz in Santa Cristina di Gubbio, Italy. In DSD 64 transcoded to 24/176. From here: https://fonerecords.nativedsd.com/albums/live-ad-alcatraz This is superb. Edited November 14, 2015 by Tom.Stopforth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Spyne~ Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 is the 250 back up for sale too or still in for repairs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew S. Posted November 14, 2015 Author Share Posted November 14, 2015 (edited) No - it had to go back to Denmark - it was repaired, but unfortunately had developed an unacceptable noise floor. Audio Connection weren't sure what it was, and sent back to Denmark. It was the last one in the country - as is this one. I don't see anymore coming in with the $ the way it is. RRP on the 400 would be $10k now, and I don't see people buying these new for that. After living with the 400 for a month or so, I had no problem paying the extra for it. While I think the 250 was more agile, this amplifier is no slouch, and more than makes up for any loss of agility by its sense of authority and a much broader denser sound stage. I guess after you have lived with something for a while you begin to value its qualities, rather than missing the other components strengths. That said, The PassLabs Int 60 I bought and returned was a better amp - but and it is a large but, it was H-U-G-E, weighed 42kg, only made 60 wpc and with the volume on maximum I only managed to hit 82 db peaks with Mahler, and it sounded unhappy doing so. PassLabs recommend that amp for speakers 92 db and above, which tells me they don't want it out of the first 30 wpc which are Class A. Oh and the minor matter of cost - it is $18,000. Passlabs recommend the Int 250 for speakers less than 92 db but that is $22,000 here, and getting far more than I want to spend. Oh, and is bigger again. And I'm not big one for having a shrine in my lounge. I have never got past 70 on the dial with the Gato 400 playing Mahler (or anything else), and the peaks really are peaks - the tympani booms and bangs are like canon shots: which is a great strength of Class D - driver control. The Gato stops and starts my speakers like an F1 car stops and starts. I'm really only half hearted about selling this, and am not concerned if it stays. As I wrote to another member in an email: It would mean I stop the audiophile nervosa for a while, which would be no bad thing. On the other hand its fun trying new combinations, and I have Benchmark AHB2 I want to integrate with a dac/pre that is arriving shortly, and which my UK dealer swears is the holy grail with my speakers, which he sells. Edited November 14, 2015 by Tom.Stopforth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 What speakers you driving Andrew? No Chopin? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew S. Posted November 14, 2015 Author Share Posted November 14, 2015 (edited) Eclipse TD 712 II's - 83 db, single driver, stiff suspension and fibreglass cone. Same as Viognier's. The Gato has shown to me they can play loud, and low, contrary to the Stereophile review, but they need some serious current to do so. Viognier uses a Pathos Lagos - a 110wpc hybrid with a mosfet output stage, and when it gets loud the drivers tend to break up a little. That is also what i experienced with the PassLabs, albiet to a lessor extent. Not with the Gato. The loud passages sound loud, and impactful, and the quiet passages soft and delicate; both as they should. I don't play loud all the time, or even often, but I do feel when listening to symphonic works, to experience them as I like to, you do need the dynamic shifts to be instant, and stunning. Your horns would achieve that without effort. I do listen to Chopin, some Debussey, Liszt, Alkan, Ravel, Satie & Pierne; but I must admit to not being much of a Romantic: I tend to be drawn to the Baroque and Classical and skip from there to Mahler & the Russians. When I do listen to Chopin or less likely Liszt it is because Moravec recorded them, and I adore his playing. I suggest after Beethoven, Mahler may have been the greatest writer of symphonies. His understanding of the form is masterful and his expression of emotion and ability to communicate that, very absorbing, at least to me. Edited November 14, 2015 by Tom.Stopforth 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pops9745 Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Ha ha - not sure your horns need 800 wpc into 4 ohms mate but hey.... No Bill, Paul has moved on to greener pastures. He is looking at other all in one alternatives to my Gato, and in a lower price bracket I think. Yes Andrew has been very patiently helping me out on my journey - not that I would call them greener pastures. On aesthetics alone the Gato is hard to beat. I am still tempted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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