An update after one year with the GAT
 

Hello folks,

Last year I bought the Conrad Jonhson GAT from my friend Joe, aka joeinid, a former member of AA.
This is an update after one year with this preamplifier.

I am still completely amazed and moved and full of joy and blessed and and and.. ...by the sound of the GAT in my system.
The GAT shines with various and very different power amplifiers. I used it with the Nagra MSA, the McIntosh MC225 and MC2100, the Shindo Corton Charlemagne Q, and the Diafan 300B monoblocks ( SET monoblocks hand made by a french craftsman ).

The transparency and the dynamics are just out of this world, including very high end preamps. The sound has a unique natural and lifelike nature. Like the Shindo Giscours, ALL my recordings are a total bliss to listen to. Including the poor recordings. So one could think that the GAT colors the sound with beautiful tones and textures and it is not neutral. Imho it does not.
This unit is able to extract from the recording the essence of the artistic performance and connects you deeply to it. The level of quality of the recording is absolutely spottable. You can hear the "defects" of the poor recordings. But it does not interfere with the emotions of the music. Magical.
I think that very few units can achieve this.
Talking about neutrality of the bandwidth, the GAT sounds like a straight line from deep bass to high treble. Not only in SPL but in texture, presence, emphasis.
Compared to the Shindo Giscours, the GAT is more dynamic and lifelike. And it has a slighty smaller stereo image. It also looses a few degrees of ultimate refinement and richness of the timbres. The Giscours is more "classy", but also clearly more colored.
This is noticeable only in a direct comparison. And I am talking here of very very light nuances. Overall, the GAT is a better preamplifier to my ears than the Shindo Giscours. Even when used with the Shindo CCQs monoblocks and Shindo cables.
As a result and since I do not need 2 high end preamps in my system, I sold the Shindo Giscours after 5 years of delightful sound in my system.
I have absolutely no interest in upgrading my GAT to the GAT II level. "If it is not broken, do not fix it". I am so deeply in love with its sound that I do not want to move from it, even by a tiny millimeter.

I would like to express publicly my deepest gratitude to my friend Joe, aka joeinid, who sold me his GAT. Not only he made me a very friendly price, but he accepted to ship it to France, which was not an easy task for such a big unit. And the GAT arrived like new. Really.
Joe, you are fabulous and I am so happy that you could be so "nuts" about this hobby. A GAT would never ever be on the used market without crazy folks like you ! [emoji6]
You made a big mistake my dear friend. I love you and at the very same time, I feel sorry for what you did. Well, I guess you still can buy a GAT II. [emoji6]


https://www.audioaficionado.org/atta...3&d=1511623049



https://www.audioaficionado.org/atta...4&d=1511623067



https://www.audioaficionado.org/atta...5&d=1511623082




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Jerome.......Such a wonderful and emotional review of the Conrad-Johnson GAT preamplifier. It is clear you have assembled a most pleasurable sound system that brings you much joy. I am happy for you. Curious to see the CJ GAT is not in your signature.

;)
Dan....
thank you !
I stopped updating my AA signature long time ago. Too much work ! :)
I have to erase it completely.

Jerome, it is great to hear from you again. Your musical experiences have always been very interesting to me. Keep them coming! :)

Hello Randy,

Thanks a lot !

Great to hear from you again and great to review your wonderful review of the GAT, Jerôme!

I know something of what you mean when you speak of how the GAT connects you to the music....at least a bit! I am still really enjoying my CT-5.

The GAT is my dream preamplifier, of course! And an ART SA amplifier.

And to think it all started with a C-J Premier 17LS! ;)

A passionate review from a passionate man.
When are you coming to Belgium Jérôme?!

Good to hear from you Jerome! Glad you are enjoying your new “reference” preamplifier. I’ve always liked the CJ house sound. :yes: For quite some time the pairing of Magnepan speakers and CJ gear was very popular.

CJ and Harbeths are pretty sweet, too! :thumbsup: :D

Don’t recall ever hearing that particular combo Stephen but I don’t doubt it. The CJ gear is easy on the ear in general and Magnepan for example used to sound rather lean and analytical with the older, more grainy solid state amps in the past. The CJ pairing was rather good at that time

I have some very good friends that ran a C-J Premier 3 pre and Premier 5 monoblocks with Quads ESL-63s for years and they were quite amazing. Their second set of Quads 2805s (?) gave up the ghost recently (Quad's QC of late has gone into the dumper) so they replaced them with Martin-Logan 13as that also sound fantastic. The big monoblocks put out plenty of current for the M-Ls.

Yes ML too. I used to own a pair of ML SL-3 and liked them with tubes. Rogue Audio and VTL but never tried CJ. In fact I’ve never owned any CJ gear, shame. :sigh:

Its like Schiit gear but with even more transparency, resolution, nuance and refinement. But, predominantly, incredibly musical and natural-sounding.

Golden sound just like the golden color chassis. :D

Indeed.

Hello Stephen,

Yes you are right. It is because of your Premier 17LS that I wanted the GAT.
Thanks a lot buddy !

Thank you Bart !
I will, promise !

Hello Serge,

You know the "golden sound" of historic CJs has changed to a sound much more transparent and neutral. What is still here though is the supreme musicality.
BTW, I have no more Harbeths in my home. I still love a lot the 40.1 though. And I could buy them again. But all the others finally have been outperformed to my ears by other brands.

Excellent review on what, I am sure, is truly an excellent preamp. If I had the space I would be keeping my CJ Classic Sixty SE amp and finding a CJ Premier LS16 preamp to go with it. However, the new E-270 integrated with phono-card will take the place of three full-sized chassis in my system. Life is sometimes cruel. :tears:

Yes, I remember the CJ house sound well from years and years ago. Not familiar with the new voice. I was surprised to read that the ET3 is quite the opposite of what I recall the CJ gear being before.

"I can’t say that the ET3 is a neutral component. Its unique sound signature is audible on every recording. So if you’re one for whom fidelity to the original recording is paramount, you’ll not likely find this preamp to your taste.
I’m a bit surprised at the ET3. The special edition version of this preamp is on most everyone’s recommended-component list. But given the treble emphasis and midrange dynamic exaggerations that the base ET3 model exhibits, I wouldn’t necessarily consider this model a high-end contender. Since I haven’t heard the SE version, it may be significantly more neutral than the base model.
This is not to say that the preamp doesn’t have its charm – only that it isn’t sufficiently neutral to have a long-term place in my system."


https://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/...lifier-review/

I've heard the ET3 and I don't agree with the reviewer's assessments at all. It's quite comparable in sound quality to the Premier 17, which was/is a very musical and lovely-sounding preamp.

Good to know Stephen. :thumbsup: I was very surprised.

To be honest with you, I never put much stock into reviews from Home Theatre Hifi.com

Jerôme's assessment of the current/modern C-J sound is very, very accurate. The current C-J sound is a lot like Dynaudio speakers: very clean, fast, transparent and neutral, yet very musical and engaging. Neither will drive one out of the room, rather one can listen to music for hours and never become fatigued. The "supreme musicality" that Jerôme describes is spot-on. Not the warm, "syrupy" sound of the days of the PV-5.

That was my understanding as well. I'll have to give the newer CJ a listen. I was even thinking of a CAV-45 perhaps for a simple system in a smallish room.

Yes, that might be very nice indeed, especially with the KEF LS50s.

An update after one year with the GAT
 

I could not agree more Stephen. That is exactly my feelings.
I remember precisely when years ago you told me that you do not "need" any Shindo because you have CJ.
Since I got the 17LS and after it the GAT, I fully understood your point.
Although as I said to Serge in an other post, I still "need" both Shindo and CJ. ;)

Indeed. I used an ET3SE with my Classic Sixty SE and thought it was a great combination. I did roll the 6922 to an NOS RCA which was a noticeable improvement over the stock EH it came with. Would not hesitate to recommend the ET3SE (have not heard an ET3).

I"ve had a CJ ET3 SE for just under 2 years. Once it broke in it has a open smooth sound w/excellent bass. Got improvement when I changed my 6922 to an Amperex Orange Globe. The rest of the setup is a Bryston 2.5 SST2 amp and a pair of Aerial 5T's.

Hello folks,

Yesterday an “internet” friend came to visit me from Belgium and brought to me a NOS unused pair of Telefunken E188CC tubes to try in my GAT. His name is Stefan and he is originally from Romania.
From what I read these tubes are a great improvement over the Tele E88CC.
They would need at least 100 hours of break in. The sound is actually very good from now. My GAT came from Joe with a pair of Cryo treated 6922 ( unknown brand but Stefan told me they are russians ) from Upscale Audio and an other stock pair and I have been thinking about these Telefunken tubes since a long time, actually since Shane told me about them, but they became very rare and pricey.
The E188CC Telefunken tubes in the GAT made the sound gaining clearly a few other degrees of dynamic and clarity. The timbres seem also more “classy”, following the road of the Shindo Giscours preamp. I am very glad I got the chance to finally get a pair.