Gato Audio DIA-250 S Integrated

What they say ...

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"Those who run from Class D amps can hang up their Nikes"

 

ANDREW EVERARD - Hi-Fi News

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   "a little history"

 

A lot can happen in three years, and while the amplifier we have here
is very much the smaller sibling of the DIA-400S , it’s also boosted by the inclusion of the company’s NPM module, a complete network audio solution giving access to a wide range of streaming options.
 

There’s something else new here, too : until recently the price of the DIA-250S NPM was in the region of £4900, which is what you’d pay through UK distributor Elite Audio. However, in June this year, the Danish manufacturer instituted a direct selling policy -- that is nonetheless supported by a select network of dealers -- with a substantial 40% not so much shaved as lopped off the price across its range. Look online and you’ll see that the DIA-250S NPM is now just €2995.

 

Having spent some time with the DIA-250S NPM, I’d say that if its facilities and performance made it a great buy at the previous price, then the new ticket makes it nothing less than a stone bonker of an absolute bargain.
 

Permit me to explain why. Like other Gato Audio products, this one has its roots in Scandanavian company GamuT, where Gato co-founder Frederik Johansen ran R&D and production before linking up in 2007 with industrial designer Kresten Dinesen, responsible for the not inconsiderable style of the new company’s products. PM explains the technology behind the amp
design but in short, the Gato amplifiers are built around a desire to take a cool-running Class D topology and make it sound more like a conventional Class AB amplifier.

 

So anyone who runs screaming in horror at the very

thought of a Class D amplifier can hang up their Nikes now

– there’s nothing to see here, people, and much to enjoy.

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 "a whole new world"

So, housed within the sleek ‘figure-of-eight’ casework that’s become a Gato hallmark, complete with its clever use of slatted side panels for heatsinking, we have an amp able to accept both analogue (on two sets of RCAs and one pair of balanced XLRs) and digital sources (coaxial, optical and asynchronous USB-B, plus Bluetooth). The latter are all upsampled to 192kHz/24-bit before being passed through balanced Burr-Brown PCM1794A DACs.

 

There’s also the facility to designate one of the RCA inputs as ‘direct’, bypassing the volume control, for use with a home cinema processor – just select input 1 and hold the button down for four seconds, and the display to the left of the volume control changes over to ‘HT’.

 

The basic specification of 250W/8ohm and 500W/4ohm, and RCA/XLR line pre-outs to feed external power amps, active speakers and subwoofers, has not changed from the original DIA-250S amplifier. Similarly, the controls are minimal, with nothing more than that large central volume control, input selector, plus a standby button, on the front panel. The display shows volume and input as standard, but when playing digital sources the right-hand panel can be set to show input sampling rate, either for a few seconds via remote control, or by default using the display dimmer button on the rear panel.

 

Crucially, Gato has now added its NPM (network player module) to the DIA-250S, opening up a whole new world of digital streaming to the user. Inserted into the upper part of the rear panel, where once was just a screw terminal to connect a Bluetooth stub antenna, this adds an Ethernet port and a USB-A socket into which can be inserted a supplied Wi-Fi dongle, and upgrades the Bluetooth provision to aptX HD. Now you have a single-box solution for your conventional hi-fi components and streaming, both from local music storage (for example a NAS unit) and from online services. These include Apple Music and Google Play, Qobuz, Spotify, Tidal and many more, including TuneIn Internet radio, all controllable using Gato’s preferred mConnect app on Android and iOS devices. The DIA-250S NPM is also Roon-ready, and thus able to be ‘driven’ using any Roon remote device via a computer running Roon Core software.

 

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"grip 'n' grunt"

Starting with the basics – its performance when fed via its analogue inputs – this is a very fine amplifier, requiring no allowances to be made for its compact size. It’s easy to use, either via the front-panel controls or the remote – the latter showing the wisdom of the large, clear, white-on-black display readouts – and proves fuss-free when driving speakers, as you might expect from that healthy output rating.

 

What’s more, the manufacturer’s claim of a more ‘organic’ sound is borne out in use. There’s nothing mechanical or clinical here, despite the highly detailed presentation, there being plenty of ambience on offer and a fresh, clean overall balance. Playing music in through the balanced inputs from the Mola-Mola Tambaqui DAC, the DIA-250S NPM really got to grips with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra/ Manfred Honeck recording of Bruckner’s Symphony No 9, with both speed and sheer grunt in the bass deployed to fine effect, plus a lovely sense of dynamic freedom allowing the music to breathe. And with the bouncy guitar-led jazz of Tettero’s Plays Eddie Harris & Les McCann set, the crispness with which this Gato amplifier rocks along, while keeping a close eye on all the elements of the mix and revealing their timbral textures, is entirely gratifying. The amp is equally adept when playing music in through the digital inputs, especially the USB-B from my Mac mini running Audirvana. Excellent though the 192kHz/24-bit capability here sounds, showing a clean pair of heels to CD quality when delivered by the clear, precise and gutsy Gato Audio amplification, it may yet be something of drawback for those having a collection including higher bitrates or DSD files. Oh well, there’s always Roon, with its built-in downsampling for that.
 

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"at your service"
On which subject, good though the amplifier is when used entirely conventionally with ‘physical’ inputs, it really comes into its own when you use it to the full extent of its NPM-equipped capabilities under the control of that familiar mConnect app or, even better, Roon. Do this, and the wide-ranging service compatibility (subject to the appropriate subscriptions, for course) is a major feather in the cap of the DIA-250S NPM, as is the slickness with which it operates.

 

This may be an existing model with a network module bolted in, but that’s not how it feels in use, for it’s much more integrated than that.

 

The sound is crisp and precise, and particularly clear with well recorded rock and pop such as The Divine Comedy’s Office Politics. In this case, the assurance of the musicianship is as obvious as the cleverness of the lyrics, while the whole is underpinned with a bass that’s taut, yet has richness and convincing textures. Yes, it may be a little dry for some tastes, but what it lacks in absolute warmth it more than makes up for in the way rhythms are played, and the amp keeps even weighty-sounding speakers under firm discipline, propelling the music relentlessly. That rhythmic drive is obvious with anything backed by drums and bass, but also in the rigorous timing of a set such as Isata Kanneh Mason’s beautiful overview of Clara Schumann’s piano music, Romance. Not only does the DIA-250S NPM’s measured presentation make an excellent job of resolving the balance between pianist and orchestra, it also has the slickness and micro-dynamics to make every note clearly apparent, even given the speed of the Rondo of Schumann’s Piano Sonata in G minor. Whether playing bass-heavy music from the darker recesses of the Tidal catalogue, or exploring the huge range of pop, jazz and classical recordings available on the end of a Qobuz Studio subscription, this amp gives just as good an account of itself as it does when used with traditional ‘physical’ sources. 

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"vERdICT"

This is a remarkably "well-sorted" and extremely flexible amplifier, with a sound treading a confident path between power and poise, drama and delicacy. It’s easy to set up and use, has the ability to drive a range of loudspeakers with confidence, and is a real looker, too. That would make it a
fine buy at the previous UK price, but at the new, lower one, it’s a no brainer

 

There’s simply no excuse for not trying it !

 

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