Gryphon vs. McIntosh

Great thanks to additional answers Inpieces and Elberoth2. Really interesting to read the points and your opinions. But I presume that all these mentioned amplifiers are very well built and there is a lot about synergy which should be played with. It is also interesting that I read some of the opinions from people coming from Jeff Rowland Coninuum 500 to MA7000 and they say that the sound become more fluid and fuller. Maybe not so detailed as on Jeff Rowland but more listenable on the longer run (they talk about tube like sound). But sure there is a much difference in construction, Continuum 500 is pure D class amplifier and McIntosh MA7000 build with their Autoformers. There is one thing I like about both. They do not produce a lot of heat so they can be put practically everythwre and that is one positive thing I like about them both. Gryphons here are different animals again and it is very important that they have enough space so that the heat can go away. There is one additional thing that I liked about Jeff Rowland Coniuum that it has HT bypass. This is an extra goody that McIntosh MA7000 does not have. HT bypass is a function that is very useful for me. McIntosh MA7000 I listened on SF speakers and I liked it. Also EQ controls can be useful I think, to tune the sound to the best liking. But I'm not sure how in practice really works as I did not have time to deal with that. I personally still don't favor any of the amplifiers mentioned here as I don't know them yet so well but sure your help will provide some additional answers that will at least initiate which amplifier should I listen first. But as said I will not decide on the fly so I will take time also a year if necessary to decide properly.

As far as the Gryphon Tabu is concerned I tried it personally in my home and I also know about its past and the sell of plans and development of NAD S300 that is technically almost identical. I'm also familiar about the difference between them. If I go back to the Gryphon Tabu I found it the best integrated amplifier I heard till today and I also listened some of the extremely expensive seperates combos at friends, some Hi-Fi shows or demo rooms. Gryphon Tabu was a big surprise. At the begining I said ok it is playing well but it was still cold. But after an hour it opened up and it was exceptional good. I remember I was listening some of my reference CDs like Miles Davis Kind of Blue and control and wood of the bas was exceptional well. Trumpeth was so well defined and I could touch it with my fingers. I remember also Rodrigo and Gabriela playing the acoustic guitars and it was like I had them in my room. Wood of the body of the guitar was there. Superb performance with great attack, great control. Sound was so full bodied that I did not listened to equipment anymore but music. There were also no sibilance with Tabu. Sibilinace is one of the things that I want to avoid completely as this is one of the thing that is the most irritating to listen. So with Gryphon Tabu I remember I was just sitting in one position, like I was cemented to my couch. I could not hit the trigger on my remote for the next song. All the CDs I put in my CD player sounded so good.
I really wonder how the Gryphon Atilla can compare to this Tabu if it is even better than this integrated amplifier maybe can be my kind of a treat for my ears?!
Still want to collect more comments, more opinions from you and I enjoy that this opens more ground for thinking and to explore even deeper.

thanks, del.

The Tabu is a 17 year old design but still has a lot to offer in shear honest musicallity, leaning towards the romantic side.
The Atilla, being a new design, offers the same but with a higher degree of resolution, speed and neutrality.
The Diablo has all this, combined with awesome power.
It all depends on the rest of the set-up and the ears that listens to it. The product you like the most,. IS the best for YOU, regardless of what I, magazines or other people say.

I bought a Gryphon Diablo some years back after auditioning as many integrateds as I could around the same price point. I scribbled some notes on the product
here.

The Diablo, unlike the McIntosh MA7000 is a neutral product. What you feed it with and connect it too will determine whether it is right for you. I think the pairing with the NuVista would be interesting. I would be wary on the Cardas Golden Cross cable though. I also have this cable at home and find it a bit thick and slow compared with others out there. Perhaps before you spend a bomb on a new amp you might want to optimise what you already have?

@Kiwi thanks for pointing to your review. Great privilege to meet you here as I was already familiar and I read all your reviews with great interest, already some times ago. I also read other reviews of high class integrated and found them very interesting and thorough.

As far as my system and Golden Cross IC is concerned. This is my latest optimization that I did after a lot of trying and Cardas Golden Cross ICs brought the best music presentation into my system. I tried also with totally different IC cables like Nordost Red Dawn, Nordost Tyr, Nordost Valhalla, Oyaide Across 750RR, Van Den Hul the First, Oehlbach and some others. Cardas gave the music the essence and more spirit, and more meat to the bones. This is what I like and I did not find it slow at all. I think I made a nice circle where now my current Musical Fidelity A308 Dual Mono integrated is the weakest link and needs to be changed eventually. That's why I started to look for some better integrated. But will take some time, will explore, will discuss and will sure also listen to different options when the situation emerges.

So a question to you. Are you maybe familiar with Gryphon Tabu? I like its character a lot and is exactly what I'm looking for. I know that describing the character of some equipment is hard as it is sometimes totally subjective matter and depends also on the other components inside the system. But even though I think that you provided lot's of interesting reviews and I know also some reference music that you used during your reviews and maybe I will understand what you mean to say.

Some describe Gryphon Tabu as a bit dark, gryphonaudio said it is romantic. I would hard to say that if that is what suppose to be dark presentation. Maybe i don't know?! Romantic, maybe as I fell in love with it after 2 hours of listening. I was cemented to the chair :).
I just think that I heard the music the right way through it.

How would you evaluate the character of the MA7000 then? I liked it when I listened music through it. Is a character of MA7000 again dark ?

I now think and wonder that development of Gryphon went another way with Callisto and now Diablo and Atilla series. On some forum where one user had all of them, he said that it is not the same Gryphon as it was before with Tabu so it leans also a bit towards the analytical side. So maybe somebody can this understand as a tad bright? But I can not judge that at all, did not heard them yet.

What interest me are the @Gryphonaudio comments on the development of the character from Tabu series and all the way to Diablo. They are short but still interesting to read them. Romantic is changed now with neutrality and still there is presence of that grip and control that was present in Tabu? So maybe it is true that Tabu was a bit dark and Atilla and Diablo are more towards neutral. As I said already, I like the meaty sound of Tabu. Thick, fast, controlled. Music was with the guts this is what strike me the most. And no matter what I trow into the CD everything sounded good. Also bad recording sounded good. And that is one of the indications that we are dealing here with some really nice piece of equipment. Is that also preserved with Callisto, Atilla and Diablo?
Some of the reviews I read about Diablo said that it is highly dependent on what you throw in so this gives me a bit of discomfort.

You know, I don't like the equipment where you need only audiophile CDs to listen so that music sounds good on the system. I also like to throw into my CD a Pop from the 80s which is usually one of the worst recorded. And if that sounds good then I sense that I'm close to find my mate in the Hi-Fi to accompany me.

thanks for your kinds answers, best d.

Having been completely familiar with both products, I first thought the Post was kidding in asking for a comparison...mainly because there is NO comparison.
MAC is good gear, and some swear by it...I understand this...appreciate that certain 'sound' or look has great, sometimes even Universal appeal...hence Mac's years of success. However....however...
I went to Binghamton (long time ago) McMasters Training for their seminar over a couple of days.
They do a great and admirable job with their equipment...I came to be a big fan of their products...BIG Fan...but I can make no pretense that there's any comparison in sound between the Mac and the Gryphon.
Gryphon, to my ear, borders on the mystical...sounds silly, but true...it's so alluring (think tied to the mast in Homer's work, lol).
I owned a Callisto 2100, not even the 'big one' the 2200...and it slayed, Ayre, Conrad Johnson, (sorry Bill and Lew), Krell, Mac, separates and it was not close...AND this was not MY single impressions, but several people over the course of several days of a/b/c/d/ listening sessions in a store in Nashville, TN.
There's a thing that happens in audio, in which one passes over the obvious, and music becomes so realisitic and fun, and life like that the illusion is almost complete...it doesn't happen easily or quickly, but it can and does happen...so it was with Gryphon.
Funny...even devotees of the other gear would simply shake their head and say, 'Wow...that's not close'...words to that effect...surprised, supremely surprised at the difference.
Back some 20 years ago, I sold 11 of the 13 Gryphon preamps (rosewood knobs, gold flashed back plates, and $9000. back when $9K was more than now) that they brought into the US.
I literally, could hook an Adcom 555 Amp to the Gryphon preamp and make it sound remarkable...this forever changed my understanding of preamps and their value to a system.
Your last comment, Delfineck...'I don't like the equipment where you need only audiophile CD's to listen'....hit the mark with me.
When I designed the LSA speakers, the acid test was...can I listen to any 'worthy music'...and have a musical experience?
So it is with Gryphon...this is NO COMPARISON...Gryphon is in a different category of excellence when compared to Mac.
These words and thoughts transcend opinion.

Good listening,
Larry