The Gato Audio AMP-150 is a 13.8 kg amplifier constructed around large and massive aluminum profiles and equipped with a huge power supply. Top-class electronic components are mounted on an expensive double-sided printed circuit board… An amplifier that embodies original style and constructive solidity speaks for itself.
Gato Audio AMP-150 is one of the best representatives of the Danish High End: the integrated amplifier has an original design, the highest technical level and excellent sound, combining beauty, simplicity and functionality. Even a child could operate the device. The AMP-150 is capable of harnessing any, even the most complex, speakers, and, moreover, the model is incredibly musical. Delicately transmitting the finest nuances of music, the amplifier creates a fantastically realistic atmosphere of a concert hall in the living room.
The output power of the Gato Audio AMP-150 – at least 2 x 150 W at 8 Ohms (IHF 20-20,000 Hz) and twice as much at 4 Ohms – is quite sufficient for the full transmission of any musical material. Highly skilled designers have spent thousands of hours voicing the amplifier, carefully selecting elements and optimizing the circuit, and as a result they have created a completely neutral and musically transparent component. Thus, the AMP-150 is a completely unusual device, with an extremely correct and transparent sound.
In the Gato Audio AMP-150 amplifier, the driver (JFET) and final (MOSFET, current over 150 A) stages are placed on separate boards and receive independent power. The microprocessor provides protection against overheating, current surges and DC components. The model features hybrid cooling – using radiators and fans with automatic adjustment of the operating mode depending on the temperature. The device reaches optimal operating conditions approximately two hours after switching on, but this time can be reduced to 15 minutes by resorting to accelerated heating of the circuit (Heat button on the front panel, green flame icon on the clock). The electronics come with an excellent aluminum remote control, which is sufficient to control two components.
Gato Audio AMP-150 is equipped with an advanced pre-heating circuit, which speeds up the optimal temperature regime and turns off automatically when it is reached. The AMP-150 amplifier demonstrates the best sound conditions within fifteen minutes after switching on.
The classic backlit analogue meter shows the gain level when operating the amplifier either via the elegant Gato Audio remote control or the knob located on the right side of the front panel. LED indication shows mute mode, preheat circuit operation and selected input. The rear panel features inputs on high-quality gold-plated RCA and XLR connectors, large speaker terminals for connecting unterminated cables, as well as banana and spade cables.
In the perception of music, two aspects can be distinguished: sensual (emotional) and mental (mental), and both of them are present during any listening, but each time in a specific proportion. The Gato Audio component system gives more food to the mind than to the heart of the listener, as if redistributing mental energy by leveling sensory and enhancing mental communication and directing attention to deep architectural features, details and nuances of music. This feature, expressed in a certain emotional coldness, slight detachment, a certain prosaic sound, in general, in my opinion, is characteristic of the Danish (and, more broadly, Scandinavian) school of Hi-Fi and High End. Noteworthy is the dependence of the sound of the Gato Audio system on the degree of heating of the electronic components – primarily the amplifier. At first it is perceived as out of focus, and then, over time, little by little it comes into place, as if someone, slowly rotating the ring of the sound “lens” (association with a camera), gradually brings the details of the image to optimal clarity with a considerable depth of field. Just then the “green flame” icon on the display goes out.
The amplifier reaches optimal operating conditions approximately two hours after switching on, but this time can be reduced to 15 minutes by resorting to accelerated heating of the circuit (Heat button on the front panel, green flame icon on the clock). The Gato Audio AMP-150 amplifier comes with an excellent remote control with a two-piece aluminum housing. The IR transmitter is placed on a plane oriented at an acute angle to the axis of the remote control, which is convenient because it allows you not to bend your hand when aiming the beam at the devices. To adjust the volume there is a convenient wheel with a rubberized edge.
The brightest representative of the Danish High End, the Gato Audio AMP-150 integrated amplifier will delight you for many years with its exquisite design and generous musicality. The manufacturer provides a two-year warranty on the device.
Characteristics of Gato Audio AMP-150
Output power (230 VAC): 2x 150 W RMS 8Ω / 2x 250 W RMS 4Ω
Input impedance: 20kΩ RCA or 40kΩ (balanced)
Frequency response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz ± 0.5 dB
2 Hz – 100 kHz ± 3 dB
Preamp Output Impedance: 100 Ω RCA and 200 Ω (balanced)
THD: < 0.05%
Signal to Noise Ratio: > 100 dB
Gain: 27 dB
Recommended Load Impedance: 4 Ω – 16 Ω
Minimum Load Impedance ( protection): < 1.5Ω
Switching
Balanced analog inputs: 1 pair gold-plated XLR (Neutrik)
Unbalanced analog inputs: 4 pairs gold-plated RCA (Stereo)
Balanced analog outputs: 1 pair gold-plated XLR (Neutrik)
Unbalanced analog outputs: 1 pair gold-plated RCA (Stereo )
Acoustic outputs: 2 pairs of gold-plated terminals (safety banana)
Dimensions and
power supply Power requirements: 115 VAC / 230 VAC, 50 Hz / 60 Hz
Fuse: 20mm Sand filled, 6 AT@115 VAC, 3.15 AT@230VAC
Power consumption: Standby <1 W, Idle < 40 W, Heat <200 W, Max. 600 W
Weight: 13.8 kg
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