GAT 2? Anyone?

[jahatl513]

Are there any users of the current GAT2 here? Anyone who has had a listen and came away with an opinion?

[givin2u]

Yes l have had my since Oct 2017. Rather than babbling on and on. One word AWESOME! It may cost a great deal but this unit will last 15 years easy.
I think it is worth it in the long run. Now I trying to decide on the art150 or 300s. Anyone with any feedback?

Thanks

[Big Dog RJ]

G'day mate,
if you can afford it, that is the tube maintenance in the long run, plus all the other critical elements of running monoblocks, dedicated AC mains wiring etc, which is specifically beneficial for monoblocks, plus will provide a very good grounding config, I would suggest the ART300's.

On the other hand, if you want to simplify things a bit, the ART150 will suffice most applications, based on experiences so far. Would also depend heavily on your room and type of music and levels you listen at. Plus whether your speakers require all that power. Then again as you are well aware of CJ's amplifiers, they can sound so musical regardless of listen levels, hence the choice is yours.

If I could afford it and deal with all the hassles of maintaining monoblocks (believe me, there will be maintenance down the line...) my personal choice would be the 300's.
Cheers and all the best, RJ

[givin2u]

Are you speaking of maintenance outside of tubes?

[Big Dog RJ]

Yes, definitely!
The experience I've had owning several versions of various monoblocks, including CJ, these were the general service issues:

1. All components, regardless of quality, will deteriorate over time. Before this happens for the worst, since tube amplifiers are actually extremely reliable compared to SS, these adverse affects can be avoided by replacing whatever is required in due time.

2. Once components / parts are replaced with either original parts or alternatives, you generally have to multiply this by two, simply because there are two amplifiers and not one.

3. I was told the key to longevity with monoblocks is to have dedicated wiring and separate mains circuit breakers fitted, that way if there was any unforeseen incident, only those particular CB's would go off protecting the precious monoblocks. If everything was loaded on just one CB, then you can imagine how much strain is on the circuit when monoblocks are powered up and require protection from outside parameters beyond our control.

4. Although, many highend dealers will sell you some very fancy stuff to control AC mains fluctuations, there is nothing man made that will protect you from a single lighting Bolt, or thunder storm or general neighborhood surge in the main power grid.

A single Bolt of lighting has 1 million volts with over 10,000 amperes, I definitely like to see which highend dealer has a superb solution to this!

5. Perhaps I've experienced this more often previously been living on a tropical island. However, as far as it goes, I've replaced caps, resistors, internal wiring, power supply circuitry, and even the dam output transformers on both amps. This was a huge cost with my last pair, especially when parts had to be shipped all the way from the US of A...

6. Whatever maybe replaced or requires replacing you have to multiply by 2 because in the past I noticed a slight imbalance in sound, when only one amplifier is cured... The other one sounds pretty average ... This is definitely not a good balance for highend.
None of these issues are apparent with stereo versions, simply because it's just one amplifier!

On a final note and perhaps a more positive one:
CJ is the only brand I've used so far with a greater percentage of success. Having only minor issues along the way, mainly because their designs are simple!
Their circuitry is kept to a bear minimum, plus tubes can be ordered directly from them. Their schematics are pretty easy to ready by even the average techie, and hence if it is a vintage model, the avg techie can actually service your amps to perform as closely as the original!

Obviously with the much newer models such as the ART series or classic series, if there were any issues, you'd prefer if it was serviced by CJ themselves. But what if you're not located in the US and somewhere far far away... Hence, a good reliable techie is required and a simple circuit diagram is useful.

I have had some pretty nasty nightmares with other brands of monoblocks but I don't want to mention names because that would be unfair and unethical. Just keep in mind that no matter what parts are used, and how heavy and solid these units may be, nothing is bullet proof.
Cheers, RJ

[givin2u]

Thanks l really appreciate your feedback. I currently have pass labs x260.8 monos in my SS setup l have had them only 8 months so far so good. If l am correct did you mention you had CJ monos? If so your experience?

[Big Dog RJ]

Yes mate, correct;
I'm using the LP125M's at the moment. I have not done any mods on them so far, only replaced the output tubes with KT120's and loving it! I'm used to the KT120 since using several amps with the same output tube (mv60se, classic60se, ARTsa, and the classic 62se).

Also, I really enjoyed the EL34's mid-range, that's my current all time favorite, having previously had the premier 11A, premier 12's Prem 8's, and the last one I had using EL34 magic was the CAV45, marvelous!

The KT120's provide a fuller sound, more dense and dynamic, plus greater bass control. That doesn't mean that the EL34 is inferior or anything, it's just a personal preference on a particular kind of system.

The LP125m's are fine amplifiers, I very much appreciate what CJ has done with these for a monaural design. Keeping things simple with adequate power for most applications. Replace the 6550's with KT120's and these tubes are cruising, without any strain whatsoever, delivers an open soundstage with effortless dynamics! Musicality has always been their hallmark and inner detail with that fine powerful drive are probably two of the greatest attributes of these monoblocks.

I don't think CJ would be releasing another 120-140w monoblock in due time, seems the focus is more towards the 200w and upwards mark... Hence, I'm hoping I can retain these amps for as long as possible, without having to deal with too many service issues down the line. Output tube maintenance is just four per monoblock, with two small signal tubes per chassis. Other internal components, such as caps & so on, I'm hoping won't be too costly since things are fairly more simple here compared to say, LP275 or ART monoblocks... So time will tell.

I really admire those Pass Labs X amps you have, with the GAT preamp that must be a superb all round tube front end with a SS state slam for the back end. That should just about drive anything and everything quite effortlessly!

The LP125m's

IMG20180724010522.jpg (3.36 MiB) Viewed 449 times

Here are the monoblocks going well so far, giving much love to recorded music! Cheers mate, RJ

[givin2u]

Forgot to mention l have a mod adcom 555ii and the pass xp-22 paired with the x260s for a SS setup that's why l want the CJ art to pair with the gat.