Tempo di Gan in the house! First impressions, paired with my Harbeth 40.2s: I can endorse most all of the positive comments so far. What really struck me: bass and bass control. The last two amps I've had in house (both monoblocks) were technically more powerful than the AGD, but the Tempo really impresses. Other thing is definition/resolution. Time to trot out one of those very well-worn audio cliches: put on a live recording of Eva Cassidy, and yes, I did hear for the first time a few details that I'd never heard before. (I usually roll my eyes my I read a reviewer writing that.) Sonically, at least to my taste, it sounds very even-handed. middle of the road, neither markedly warm or cool. Imaging and soundstaging are good. Will follow up when it's had time to settle.
AGD Tempo in the house
It is very interesting to spend time with amps. You go to shows or even go to someone's house and listen to and amp and because it isn't on your gear and in your environment, it sounds good but it is insanely difficult to judge vs other gear.
So AGD is a brand I had been flirting with and finally a customer asked for a demo so I put in my order and a few days later the Tempo arrived. I dropped in into my system and all I can say is WOW. It has all the grunt required to drive my Vivids. Is warm and sweet with an extremely wide sound stage.
Even fresh out of the flight case, (no box here) it didn't sound digital at all. This sounds closer to Class A to me than Class D. I have not heard a different GaN at this point but I am fascinated by this and how good it sounds compared to other Class Ds and even Class ABs.
The other surprising part is this unit is about 1/3 the size of a normal component. I know I am a hair late to the game with GaN but damn, is it ever too late to celebrate a product.
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Congratulations @twoleftears, on the new amp. Great first impressions. Looking forward to read about your thoughts once the amps have settled. I know you were in two thoughts about GaN vs Purifi. Glad that you made up your mind. What about the volume position on the Backert? You had to bump it up or down? |
enjoy! alberto’s agd amps are real deal destination amps (i felt my audion monos were a good value at their price for what they deliver, now the one box tempo unit gets the cost entry down to ~5k... wow!!!) unless one wants overt tubey goodness (and all the pro/cons that path brings), it is really really hard to find anything wanting about the incredible music these lovely amps make.. |
I would not buy this amp without directly comparing to the Atmasphere GaN amp....basically, the same price and the Atmasphere's are mono blocks. Mono amps always sound better than stereo amps. I am sure you could arrange to have both at the same time and decide between the two. If manufacturers or dealers will not allow home trial's......this is not good. I always sold my finished amps with a 30 day in house trial......no one ever sent one back. |
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