What Hi-Fi? Verdict
Product of the Year, Awards 2011. An unusually specified product that turns out not only to be a jack of most trades, but a master of them, too
Pros
- +
Impressively talented
- +
Wide range of functions
- +
Excellent build and finish
Cons
- -
Phono stage lacks a little openness
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This clever little box of tricks from high-end accessory specialist Furutech is a 24Bit/96kHz DAC with headphone amplifier, moving coil and magnet phono stage.
You can also use it to digitise vinyl for recording on a computer or as a rather oddly configured preamp in a hi-fi system.
Master of all trades
It’s a real Swiss Army knife of a product – and it performs admirably. The on-board DAC is excellent.
We got great results with both a WAV file of Regina Spektor’s recently released Live in London set and a 24bit/88.2 kHz recording of Maeve O’Boyle’s All My Sins.
There’s plenty of detail, excellent definition of leading edges and a good dose of refinement.
The GT40’s presentation errs on the polite side of ideal, but there’s still enough energy to keep us happy.
If this unit were judged solely on DAC performance it does enough for a five-star verdict. But it’s way more than that…
A headphone amp too
The headphone amp is equally good. This unit had no trouble driving a wide range of cans and delivered plenty of refinement. Add it up and it makes for great long-term listening experience.
The on-board phono stage doesn’t hit the same heights. It lacks a little transparency, but considering the price, it’s more than acceptable.
Using the on-board analogue-to-digital converter we were able to make some decent recordings on our laptop from our reference Clearaudio turntable.
The ADL GT40 even makes a decent makeshift preamp, provided the partnering power amplifier has enough gain.
All in all, then, it’s highly recommended.
