Anyone bought a Gryphon Diablo 333?

@ricky64 , this may be a flawed approach but currently I’m doing all I can to keep the DAC inside the analog preamp. This is because I have all Audioquest Dragon power cords and one very pricey Dragon interconnect. At this point, I am all Dragoned out and really want to avoid more massive cost that unfortunately has been worth it, at least to me.

My Audiovectors are quite easy to drive at 91.5dB and they have three bass drivers (one 6.5” driver on the front baffle, one 6.5” downward facing driver and a second 8” downward facing driver).

So I’m really hoping that the Makua will do the trick with adequate body and heft, but we’ll see.

Unfortunately I’ll only have a stock cable with the Essence amp for about a month while my Audioquest Dragon cord is being converted to a 20A C19 connector at Audioquest.

You have a really nice system. Given you made the move to warmer speakers, I think the makua may do the trick. I suspect it will open the soundstage and increase bass and dynamics. The Essence while neutral, definitely is not analytical sounding. So I would be optimistic about your choices!

One advantage that the Diablo 333 (and my current Diablo 300 for that matter) has over the Essence is that I’ve read that the warmup time for the Essence in Class A mode is rather long.  Many hours.  However Gryphon has said that it takes only 30min to warm up after it’s already been warmed up (presumably for hours) in AB mode.  I’m okay with this.

@ricky64 , what has your experience been with respect to warmup time with your Essence in a class A mode?

This has never bothered me that much. It does sound better after warmup, but it still sounds good when switched on You also just have the option of listening (or leaving it) in Class AB if you wish. I think "Many Hours" is a bit of an exaggeration.

@ricky64 How easy (or difficult) is it to change the bias level if you don't have a Gryphon preamp? Is there a switch on the amp?...I'm always wondered that.

@nyev I am excited to hear your thoughts once the Essence and Makua arrive and get setup. I have my fingers crossed it gives you the sound you want!

This past weekend, I was able to move (with the help of a visiting friend) my 333 from its temporary spot to its place on the rack. While this was always the goal, the speaker placement is now compromised with the now-too-short speaker cables. I'm hoping to bring in new cables shortly, however.

For those interested, the 333 has been burning in very nicely. I seem to have a hard time turning it off at the end of each session....."just one more song" :D