Recent content by Cootie

Lovely sounding and looking bit of kit, having had a listen this weekend. A veritable bargain for someone.

Excellent amp, having owned one previously. Really came into its own when, out of interest I tried it with a £10k dac on the front-end. Very transparent and plenty of oomph to power trickier speakers. I was so impressed I switched to some of the Gato Monoblocs. GLWS

Attenuation on the interconnects also worth a look - some amps need cranked up a bit to come alive, but that can offend the volume police, so feeding them a lower voltage can neatly offset that, whilst still allowing amps to be working in their sweet spot.

Nice. Remember auditioning one 20 years ago and very nearly buying one, as a step up from an A400X. I recall it having a really nice smooth sound. My inexperience at the time led me to end up getting something with a more upfront presentation, when I suspect the Meridian would have been the...

First step would be any DAC into the Gato integrated and wouldn’t rule out that quelling ‘the itch’ as the amp is really very good indeed and I reckon easily good enough to take a pretty serious dac (and in due course speaker) upgrade.

Appreciate the input Phil. Both the Auralic and Mytek have proper analogue pre-amps, hence my thinking but would probably weigh them up, in due course, to standalone pre-amps.

Hi there, Current system is Auralic Aries / Vega, Gato Audio Amp 150AE and Focal 1028Be. Very happy with my system but now have the itch and budget that is causing me to think about a potential upgrade in the next month or two, if for nothing other than I can. I’m erring towards a Dac...

I’m with JTC on this one. Was really surprised by the extent of the improvement. Was expecting iterative but it turned out to be akin to a material component change.

Well I’ve had some Gaia 2s installed on my Focal 1028bes for about an hour, having gone with the Audio T offer. Not sure yet how to describe it, but the effect is not subtle and very definitely for the better. Some more listening required before I can accurately describe the effect, but I’d...

I haven’t but, have to admit to being curious about just how good they are. I suspect very. If bonuses weren’t significantly down this year at work I suspect it would be an itch I’d be inclined to scratch. Perhaps not a bad thing though as I continue to be very impressed by the integrated.

Worth considering the Gato Audio Amp 150AE. 250w Into 4 ohm from a MOSFET design. I’m obviously biased as I bought one, but a useful step up from Bel Canto monoblocs I had previously - there is an inherent smoothness and musicality to the sound whilst still retaining plenty of punch. Best amp...

Another thumbs up for the Auralic interface and having heard several of their products I always like the balance of the sound which is detailed without being clinical as many other digital stuff can be.

In case of interest I thought I’d recommend a bit of a bargain TV I’ve just bought. Got a 65’ LG OLED for the man cave earlier in the year, so had thought that was my TV spend for the year done. Unfortunately the 60’ TV in the family room then went pop ten days ago - couldn’t stomach OLED...

I’ve got some 1028bes and have heard the 1008be. I really like them (but I guess I would). Quite a bit smoother than the previous 7be range that went before and generate really good bass for a standmount. Don’t think you’d find them too forward unless you partnered them with electronics that are...

Interestingly most places have the 55inch version of the 9505 at the same price as the 49inch version. Good choice at the price and based on the reviews - full array local dimming and good motion handling. Also worth having a look at the Samsung 55Q80T - I’ve just bought the 49’ version for my...