SS Amp recommendations for GAT pre

[Russell232]

I haven't bought the GAT yet but I'm seeing used series 1's for $8000 t0 $8500 (which amazingly fits in my budget). I've had good experience with previous CJ pre's: PV-5 and PFR. Can someone recommend SS amps to go along with this? I need at least 150W/channel. thanks.

[admin]

First, welcome to CJO. Great to have you with us.

The GAT is an amazing preamp. You can't go wrong there.

What kind of speakers are you using? 150W is a lot of power and I think sometimes people overestimate or just look at wattage rating and equate that with quality. I always prefer quality power over quantity. What is your price range? Are you looking at preowned or new only?

[AnotherJohnson]

The GAT’s output impedance is 100 Ohms so it should be fine to match it up with just about any solid state amp.

Budget for amp and model of speakers?

I’ve become a Burmester amp fan. But Krell, D’Agostino, Pass, DarTZeel, PS Audio, McIntosh, Luxman, Parasound and many others are out there. Check the inventory at TMRAudio.com.

[AnotherJohnson]

If you want to stick with CJ, the MF2550SE or P350 would be the only solid state worthy of the GAT. YMMV

[AnotherJohnson]

One other thing … whatever amp you do buy, it would be best if it had the option of RCA inputs since CJ are RCA only.

Many SS amp brands do include both XLR and RCA inputs.

[AnotherJohnson]

Here’s an amp with a CJ connection. We have a sub forum for these because at one time they were connected to CJ.

https://tmraudio.com/components/power-a ... er-silver/

[admin]

Here’s an amp with a CJ connection. We have a sub forum for these because at one time they were connected to CJ.

https://tmraudio.com/components/power-a ... er-silver/

That's a cool unit. Not too many of them floating around and it seems like it was upgraded to the "Platinum Version" in 2011 by McCormack himself.

[Russell232]

To all: thank you for your suggestions. My speakers are Hales T8’s (87db) and they run at 4 ohms. The general consensus is that they need lots of power to run to their potential. My thinking is that CJ’s SS amps wouldn’t be at the same level as the GAT unless we’re looking at the Premier 350 which is hard to find these days on the used market. Current ampflication is based on Ayre.

[admin]

I'm running Magnepan 20.1's with a lower sensitivity than that. Do you play your music really loud? If not, I would maybe really consider tube amps. I believe quality of the power trumps the quantity. You can get some nice tube amps that run around that 100 watt mark. May really give you better performance than some 150 SS.

What's your price range?

[AnotherJohnson]

To all: thank you for your suggestions. My speakers are Hales T8’s (87db) and they run at 4 ohms. The general consensus is that they need lots of power to run to their potential. My thinking is that CJ’s SS amps wouldn’t be at the same level as the GAT unless we’re looking at the Premier 350 which is hard to find these days on the used market. Current ampflication is based on Ayre.

The MF2550SE would also match well sonically, but of course with GAT you enter the domain of the “statement system” so audiophile culture requires something that will impress.

I am sympathetic to admin’s suggestion that you consider a quality tube amp. GAT was designed with the CJ ART series in mind. It would look funny and raise eyebrows if it were paired with something other than ART.

Can you visualize a GAT on the input side of a pair McIntosh 1200 monoblocks? It’s like looking at a 2005 Porsche 911 pulling a tiny house. It just isn’t right. YMMV

[AnotherJohnson]

FWIW, Hales went out of business at the turn of the century.

They look like Thiels, and from your comment about their power requirements, they share that with Thiels too.

Why not look at reviews from 25 years ago and see what amps were recommended at that time? Having looked at the Hales, I understand why you want a solid state amp to drive them. I think late D’Agostino Krell would be a GREAT choice. Something from the FPB series. And it would be period correct. But I’m not so clear on why you want a GAT. A GAT will work … but the single ended only option for the GAT takes away a lot of the play value.