Anyone bought a Gryphon Diablo 333?

@ricky64 I’ve ALMOST followed your path, just recently. I too have a Tambaqui. And with my new Audiovector R6 Arrete speakers, I actually now feel that the Diablo 300 has a touch too much bass and that touch of darkness - the same qualities that I felt really complemented my last speakers (B&W 803 D2). Compared to the B&W’s my Audiovectors are more warm and relaxed sounding, but detailed with a lot of bass. The upper mids and treble are not accentuated like they were with the B&W’s which had far less bass.

So with this change, I am looking for a touch more neutrality than I have now, and not the Diablo sound anymore (it’s not as extreme as I’m making it sound and in fact it pairs with many modern speakers extremely well). A contact told me the Gryphon distributor told him that the 333 still has that Diablo 300 darkness but is now a bit closer to neutral like the Apex and Essence.

With that info and with my new warmer sounding speakers, I have an Essence stereo amp on the way. And since I like my Tambaqui but wanted the advantage of an analog preamp without adding another box, I have a Makua on the way with a Tambaqui inside it.

It’s a gamble as I now will have three very neutral components across the Essence amp, Makua, and embedded Tambaqui. But I’m hoping this will be a good match for my slightly warm and full-bodied Audiovector speakers (at least in comparison to the B&W’s). I know for sure this combo will not be bright sounding as the Makua and Tambaqui have that hint of liquid smoothness while being neutral and detailed, but I also know this combo would not have worked AT ALL with the B&W’s!

Despite the high cost, I am okay if it doesn’t work out - I would likely sell and “fall back” to a Diablo 333. But I’m hopeful everything will work out!

Interesting comment about Gryphon Pre’s. Any reference on this comments or is this more a word of mouth thing? I hadn’t heard this before.

Also @ricky64 , which speakers and preamp do you have?

@ricky64 another thing, in case you’ve heard the Makua/Tambaqui combo with the Essence and found it to be too lean for your speakers or worse, no need to hold back and be polite - I’m not the sort to think just because I bought something that it’s going to be great!  I’d rather be informed by someone with experience:)

@Nyev; Wow, yes, we were on parallel paths. My speakers are Rockport Atria ii's. I was always puzzled, as they should have plenty of bass. I even added a sub to my system, which now that I have my pre, is sitting turned off. 

I listened to several pre's in the system. I had listened to the Makua in the system a couple of years ago, and it didn't add the image density I was looking for. That being said, I was have issues with a Roon nuc streamer at that time, which I replaced with a Grimm Mu1, so the system is  different since I listened to the Makua. I wound up getting an Accuphase C3900. With the Essence I get a big soundstage, very punchy bass, rich textural detail, and still have some airiness (I had an Accuphase integrated years ago that was a bit too warm and rolled off. The C3900 adds a touch of warmth without a lot of consequences, to my ear).  I think the Makua might work. I did note that on some other forums, people had success adding a tube pre to the Essence. I listened to a top tube pre, and preferred the Accuphase. Please keep me posted on your results, I would be very interested. One thing I can say for sure...the Essence is a winner. It is a bit of a chameleon, and can be warm, dynamic, and punchy, or transparent and airy dependent on what it is fed. Depending on speakers and room, I think it can be end game.

@ricky64 , thank you, and congrats on finding the right components to make your system click!  I’ve heard others also say how the Essence amp can be that chameleon that takes on the character of other components.  You saying that just now makes me realize that if the Makua doesn’t work out, another path aside from the Diablo 333 is a different preamp.  I’d say my speakers with current speakers in the current system have a bit too much image density actually, with them being a touch too full bodied. Not sure if this is what you meant by image density but  thanks again!

By the way I’ve tried the MU1, but currently have the Innuos Zenith Mk3 and PhoenixUSB reclocker.