Gryphon vs. McIntosh


I just try to get as much information as I can for my next upgrade, so I'm turning here for help from you. With a lot's of reading and also hearing some I came to the selection of a couple of very fine integrated amplifier which are in close line up for my upgrade. But as you all know that auditions are sometimes hard to get I'm also opening this with which I want to get also voice from users that have some of the components mentioned here.

My system consists from main speakers that are Anthony Gallo Reference 3.5 and source mostly used is Musical Fidelity NuVista 3D CDP connected with Cardas Golden Cross ICs.

Here are the amps on the shortlist:

- McIntosh MA7000 (heared on SF Electa Amator II)
- Gryphon Atilla (not heard yet)
- Gryphon Diablo (not heard yet)
- Gryphon Tabu (a bit old but so good; I tested it on my previous system)

So here are some questions for those who maybe have a bit more experiences and chances to some of these amplifiers.

1. Did anybody hear McIntosh MA7000 and compare to any of these above mentioned amplifiers or also maybe other amplifiers that you heard during your time of selection? Why you choose MA7000 or why did you not go for it?

2. For those who have McIntosh MA7000, how do you find the equalizer controls on this fine amp? Do you use it to achieve your likeable sound or you completely disable it? I know that some will strongly support that best is not to use it, but I think that if equalizer controls are constructed the right way they can be in some circumstances also positive.

3. Did anybody audiotion new series of Gryphon amps (Diablo or Atilla) and compare it to older gryphons e.g. Gryphon Tabu? Just to tell you Gryphon Tabu went deeply under my skin when i heard it on my previous speakers, but I'm a bit scared to buy it as it is coming into ages now so you newer know what you can get if you go for the second hand.

4. If you had a chance to compare McIntosh MA7000 or also other McIntosh amps with Grpyhon please come forward with your thoughts.

What I'm looking for, full bodied sound, good control and music with guts :), absolutely should not be bright, sound can be a bit on a dark or warm side.

Many questions I know, but I sure you will make a great help to me and maybe also some other ppl who are also in the doubts where to look for more details.

thanks, del.
delfincek
As is the case with many things, it's hard to describe.
Let's start with the obvious:
It's very pleasant...and that's not a 'damning with faint praise' comment.
Pleasant is good.
The bass is a bit, 'rubbery' if that makes any sense...a bit lose with the overall impression that it's not plumbing the depths...a little heavy in the midbass...not as tight as it should be tonally.
Background, very black...midrange very nice...if not a bit 'forward'...remember the 'absence of one, is the prominence of another'.
The highs...softish, not articulated, in my experience...but NEVER fatiguing.
Forgiving but not syrupy...sounds about right.
Actually, with some of the THIEL'S, interestingly, the Mac sounds nice...good offsets for one another.
If we could agree that Spectral is a bit dry sounding, clean but dry, we have some common ground.
Classe...more musical and very Threshold/Pass Labs sounding.
Krell, thunderous bass, a bit grainy (my main objection) in the mids and upper frequencies.
What's fundamentally right about the Gryphon...I notice NOTHING as it relates to these regions...I'm only hearing what passes for music 'for ME'.
I've heard Gryphon with THIEL, Logan, B&W, Nearfield Acoustics Pipedreams, PSB, Rega, LSA...almost too many to mention...and it's character or musicality always outshines any perceived color for me...just musical, without the pejorative connotation one normally associates.
Without those niggling little problems or issues, the rest just falls in place for me.
Gryphon is in a league almost by itself for my taste...MBL offers a very, very similar sound...with a slight, and I do mean slight...did I say slight? lack of that final ounce of resolution?
Having said that...they're as close as you'll hear, as if the same guy and suppliers are at work here.
If this does NOT make sense, I apologize...subjective analyses, are always hard.

Hope this helps a bit.

Larry
Good listening
LoL Larry, I’m not sure that "rubbery" is legitimate Stereophile lexicon to describe the bass but I nonetheless wholeheartedly agree with your observation(s) on the McIntosh sound. On the whole I found the McIntosh "inoffensive” which is also not damning with faint praise… :-) I think....

The McIntosh can seem slow too, having no real snap to it -and somewhat behind in the resolution stakes. Still, with the right speakers the McIntosh works.
Let's call it 'flabby' or 'loose'...yeah, I struggled with that.
Not well damped would probably work too.
Sorry...words escaped me.

Those comparisons, inadequate vocabulary notwithstanding, should be fairly accurate for a numbskull like me.

Larry
Besides McIntosh what other type of amplification most
uses output transformers? Tom
Thanks guys for providing new answers which they make a total sense to me.

I've read a lot about comparison between different gear and now some of your arguments comes into place and that makes better understanding to me about the sound. I heard McIntosh MA7000 on Sonus Faber Electa Amator II but I did not made any conclusions at that time as it was to short to make them. Sound was pleasant and very listenable, but still I asked myself and told to my friend that his Gryphon Tabu might be even better sounding than this sexy MA7000. If I would be greedy I would be able to live with any of them I think :).

I also found some comments of users on other forums in regards comparison between Jeff Rowland Continuum 500 and MA7000 and there are similar conclusions than here. The only problem I had was to find comparison that we talk now here -> Gryphon vs McIntosh. Only on one Italian forum I helped myself to find some comparison comments between Diablo and MA7000. Users there were mentioning some veil in the Mac's presentation. But it was not defined as something ultimately bad but rather as a tubby sound or musical forgiveness by my interpretation :). Also MA6600 was judged as a good alternative with maybe event better balance of sound than MA7000. But this again I think is much more of a finesse and associated with the equipment used I believe. I found this last mentioned discussion on Audiokarma forums. But my preference would be to discover MA7000 prior to MA6600 more as of technical advantage of the amp.

And finally Diablo on Italian forum was mentioned again as strong, full controlled with excellent transparency and for some better sounding than McIntosh MA7000.

If I go back to my experience with Gryphon Tabu and its bass area. It was simply excellent that is how I remember it with great energy and push. Gryphon just drove my speakers like no amp before or after. Even at low volume speakers still sang so good and with a great body. The only problem as said was first hour as Gryphon Tabu was sounding good, but nothing extra special. Magic came alive after 45 minutes or something.

Coz of the age of Gryphon Tabu I'm now leaning my curiosity towards Gryphon Atilla. Atilla is an entry level Gryphon integrated with 2x100W. It is a proper dimension for my place as I don't need more power for my place. It has also HT bypass that I need and there is a word that it is also a bit more forgiving than Diablo and that maybe can work very well for my system?!? Now a challenge how to find a piece to test it and to confirm this. But Ok I'm not rushing anywhere. How much better can Atilla be in comparison to Tabu? Is it possible to be better sounding at all? Technically certainly, but still I wonder what the reality can show. If weight is the main factor for judgment of the quality then Gryphon Tabu would outperform Atilla by around 8kg. What about the sound?