Beyond Ayre Pass and Rowland

inna OP
2,222 posts
08-15-2016 2:00pm
These three brands appear to be very popular among both audiophiles and not. I am interested in the experience of those who auditioned other amps that seemed a step or two above. This thread is not about asking a specific advice or about system integration.
Parasound and Levinson are not better in any way.

ok.
my experience has shown (as you noted in your orig post) that the Gryphon Antillean Signature (bipolar output stage) was a cut above. A friend of mine used to own this amp - best amp he owned IMHO. 
I also verify that the Ypsilon amp was superb - heard that at RMAF driving Lansche speakers. Wow! That sound is still in my head.
Another (as jmcrogan2) wrote was the FM Acoustics 115 mono amp - heard that at a (at that time) FM Acoustics dealer’s house driving Venture (I believe these are Belgian) speakers. The sonics were sublime indeed.
I’ve also heard Nagra mono amps - don’t remember the model # now - but their sonics were also fantastic (driving Avantgarde horn speakers).
On the tube side i’ve heard that TRL mono amps are superb but i’ve not heard them myself.
that’s all for now......

"Beyond" seems a bit over the top when under consideration are the likes of Pass Labs Gryphon and Ypsilon.  Symphonic Line would certainly be in the mix as well. Not a well known brand but their Kraftwerk line is definitely something to consider as well. While not cheap it is not a King's ransom either relative to some of the astronomical prices of the top tier players.

Bombaywalla, though you heard all those amps with different speakers, could you try to describe the differences between them, particular character of each? I am especially curious about Gryphon and Ypsilon. We are talking about superb amps, on the frontier of what is possible to achieve.
We could add tube amps to the discussion, but it would greatly complicate it. How do you compare Gryphon to Lamm SET Reference? I suppose, with the right speakers Lamm might have the edge but it would also probably depend on taste and choice of music.

DarTZeel, Vitus, and FMA would probably be considered the next echelon in SS gear.

Bombaywalla, though you heard all those amps with different speakers, could you try to describe the differences between them, particular character of each? I am especially curious about Gryphon and Ypsilon. We are talking about superb amps, on the frontier of what is possible to achieve.

The Gryphon Ant Sig amp is on the dark side of neutral. It's a little on the warm side & (to me) exuded a bit of a brooding character. Superb amp - doubles down all the way to 1 Ohm load but i did not find it to be totally neutral. The music rendered thru this was superb - great micro & macro dynamics & effortless delivery of music.
The Ypsilon mono-block amps were much more neutral - it has a sparkle to its music delivery which I liked. It was like water - it had no form of its own but took the form of the music played. The Lansche speakers were also something else - 7 feet tall with plasma tweeters. It was an all-out system. Once again superb micro & macro dynamics, great for orchestral music & just as good for Jazz trios & vocals. Superb build quality. Everybody in that room did a 'wow' when the demo was over - it was truly a well setup system. Now i can't say that the Ypsilon mono will sound the same thru some other speaker....

How do you compare Gryphon to Lamm SET Reference?

no idea here!! never heard the Lamm SET Reference....