General Asylum General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories.

---

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] Thread: [ Display  All  Email ] [ General Asylum ]

---

[ Alert Moderator ]

---

REVIEW: ADL GT40a Other

Model:	GT40a
Category:	Other
Suggested Retail Price:	$579
Description:	Combination DAC-ADC-Headphone amplifier-phono preamplifier
Manufacturer URL:	ADL
Model Picture:	View

Review by Mark_Cherrington on February 24, 2018 at 18:06:39 IP Address: 71.234.179.16

Add Your Review for the GT40a

---

The ADL GT40a doesn't really fit into any category that I know of. Nothing else (except ADL's other products--ADL is a subbrand of Furutech) combines a DAC, an ADC, a photo preamplifier, and a headphone amplifier. Looking at that list, it's tempting to say it's a Swiss Army knife component. But while those knives also do many things, they do most of them rather poorly. Each aspect of the ADL, on the other hand, is, from my point of view, ideal in and of itself.

The price of the whole unit would be more than justified for any one component of it. For example, I had a Burson 160d DAC/Headphone amplifier at one point, for which I paid $995. The DAC/amp in the ADL is vastly more sophisticated and appealing to me.

The ADC in the GT40a converts analogue signals at rates up to 192 Khz and 24 bits and has a three-position attenuation switch to prevent overload. The photo preamplifier has no controls at all--it's geared for the most common load ranges (this lack of control is one of the ways ADL can sell such fine-sounding components at a real-world price). The functionality is simple and effective, and the build quality is very solid (the volume control is a joy to operate).

You can visit the manufacturer's website for technical details; I'm here to tell you how it sounds. And that is, for my taste, spectacular. I'm not sure how to describe the sound, though, without misleading you. As I listen to it, the word that keeps coming to mind is "rounded," but that suggests dullness and muddiness, and it is just the opposite of those things. There is a clarity that I have never experienced in 40 years of audiophile obsession and more than $100,000 spent on gear over the years. But here again, "clarity" might suggest an etched sound or sharp treble, which just isn't the case at all. Somehow this unit manages to convey every nuance of every voice and instrument while retaining a solidity, a planted, organic feel (better terms than "rounded"). Now, when I listen to any of my other components, all I can hear is harshness and distortion--and these are highly regarded components that I had previously been raving about as being clean and musical. That's how good the ADL is.

It manages the neat trick of letting you hear every musician and singer, every musical element with startling clarity, while also keeping the whole thing cohesive and integrated, just as a real musical performance does. It also makes every style of music sound great--I usually find that with any given component I'll gradually drift more toward one musical genre because that's the one that sounds good with that component. In this case, I'm not finding that at all. Whether it's Arvo Part or Captain Beefheart, everything sounds good, and my taste is wider than anyone you ever met.

Pace and rhythm are utterly infectious, the emotional content of every performance is palpable, and the flow is utterly natural. In other words, it is intensely musical, more like analogue than digital, which I suppose is appropriate, given it's functions.

I bought it for the ADC and phono preamp functions, but I love it for playback of any source. Extremely, highly recommended.

---

Product Weakness:	The headphone amplifier sounds amazing, but it is not as powerful as some. The phono stage has no adaptability controls. Both of these are minor, in my mind.
Product Strengths:	Musicality, versatility, bang for buck

---

Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier:	N/A
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	N/A
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Maplenoll Athena air-bearing turntable, MacBook Pro running Audirvana 3.2
Speakers:	Etymotic ER4SR earphones
Cables/Interconnects:	N/A
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	jazz, rock, classical, country, blues, international, experimental
Room Size (LxWxH):	25 x 12 x 25
Time Period/Length of Audition:	Two months, so far
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

---

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Schiit Audio

---

[ Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]

---

[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]

---