Gryphon Antileon vs Antileon Signature


Hello,
I would like to know if the new Signature version of the Antileon is really better (sound quality) thant the previous one. How are there comparing ?
It's easy to find an used Antileon for a fair price, but Signature ones are a lot more expensive (because they are newer).
And do those amplifiers have a good fiability ? A 7 or 8 years old amp is a good choice or the risk of technical problem is very high (I know they are gettong very hot, so it stresses the electronics components a lot) ?
Thanks for your advices.
nico_g
Hi Mavilla,
do you Antileon monos or Antileon mono Signature ?
How old are your amps ?
Hi:

I am running a pair of anteleon monoblocks with Martin Logan Prodigys. I haven't EVER needed to switch to more than 50% of the available power. And believe me, the sound is huge. They can go very loud without any more power.

Sure, they turn hot, but not as much as one could think. Mainly because of those big difussors.
Nico,
regarding French distributors: I bought my Antileon with Audio Concert in Paris. Are you sure they are not distributing anymore Gryphon?
I brought them back my Antileon for a repair (burnt a transistor) 3 years ago, and they did it without any problem without shipping back the amplifier.
Agree it will get very hot...
Regarding the sound: medium is fantastic, tweeter not as extended in the high as on some other amplifiers. At least on my Infinity Epsilon sound was not bright at all as a remember (no the amp is in a box as I live in Japan and don't want to change the power supply to 100V...)
I see only 3 little defaults on the Antileon :
- it's getting very hot,
- the gain is a little to high for my use : it's over 30db, and I would have prefered around 25db,
- there is no french distributor, so a technical problem would be difficult to solve without shipping the amp back to the Denmark.
Nico,
I believe the Antileon will sound great with most speakers on the market. Forget about the "brightness", "darkness", blah, blah, blah. All these jargon is for people who only care about finding faults with their equipment. The antileon will be one of the best audio equipment you will ever own. I will keep mine for as long as I live unless there is a quantum leap in amplifier design.
Thanks for the info.
I was thinking that the Antileon was a bit on the dark side for sound, not on the bright side...
Nico,
My amp is 3 years old and it is a great match with my Extrema loudspeakers. Some may complain about a slight brightness with this combination but I believe the it could be due to two reasons: (1) the amp is not sufficiently warmed up (for me about an hour is sufficient) and (2) the recording may be inherently bright.
For most purposes, I believe the older Antileon should be good enough.
The sound is the same ?
If the only difference is power, the older is OK for me !
What are the diffrences between first and second gen. of Antileon (I didn't even know that 2 subversions exist!) ?
When appeared the second version ? 1999, 2000 or another year ?
Thanks for your help,
I have a normal Antileon (2nd generation). How different the sound of the Signature depends very much of your speakers. Main advantage is the power (150W) vs the 100W of the Antileon. Same type of sound.
Nico,
I have no experience with the older Antileon but I do have the Signature version. My opinion may be biased but the Signature is certainly one of the best amps available at any price. The only drawbacks are the heat it produces and of course, the weight.
Anyone ?
I have found a used Signature that cost two times the price of another used Antileon amp.
The Signature is worth twice the price ?
Nobody has ever compared the 2 generations of Antileon ?
I will try to ask Gryphon directly, but I'm sure that they will answer that the new one is a lot better than the old Antileon !