Hello Andrew,
This is my personal take on the two.
I'll begin with the GamuT. The DI-150 is a fine integrated. I personally feel that its the prettier of the two and from a cosmetics standpoint, you feel you're getting a bit more with the GamuT than you do the rather slim and plebian looking Karan. Sonically speaking, the two are quite different from one another. The GamuT is all about delivering a clean presentation. It has a very forward and "tell it like it is" character that *just* avoids falling into being analytical. I found that it offered advantages in terms of linearity, the ability to extract detail, and sound-stage width.
On the other hand, the Karans slightly warmer presentation really allows it to weave the gap between the traditional hi-fi sound (which focuses more on resolution), and the romantic sound (which is usually overly fat and colored). It's greatest advantage over the GamuT, aside from this balance, is the recreation of natural sounding timbre. Whereas the GamuT focuses on presenting the detail and air, the Karan hones in on tone/timbre and naturalness, and it does so without imparting much into the signal.
Ultimately, either piece is great and should have zero problems driving your speakers well. If it were my money, especially on the Spendors, I'd lean heavily towards the Karan, but that's just my take on it all.
Cheers, and good luck!
This is my personal take on the two.
I'll begin with the GamuT. The DI-150 is a fine integrated. I personally feel that its the prettier of the two and from a cosmetics standpoint, you feel you're getting a bit more with the GamuT than you do the rather slim and plebian looking Karan. Sonically speaking, the two are quite different from one another. The GamuT is all about delivering a clean presentation. It has a very forward and "tell it like it is" character that *just* avoids falling into being analytical. I found that it offered advantages in terms of linearity, the ability to extract detail, and sound-stage width.
On the other hand, the Karans slightly warmer presentation really allows it to weave the gap between the traditional hi-fi sound (which focuses more on resolution), and the romantic sound (which is usually overly fat and colored). It's greatest advantage over the GamuT, aside from this balance, is the recreation of natural sounding timbre. Whereas the GamuT focuses on presenting the detail and air, the Karan hones in on tone/timbre and naturalness, and it does so without imparting much into the signal.
Ultimately, either piece is great and should have zero problems driving your speakers well. If it were my money, especially on the Spendors, I'd lean heavily towards the Karan, but that's just my take on it all.
Cheers, and good luck!