Experience with Tannoy Westminster Royal Gold Reference

hddg OP15 posts10-17-2016 6:59pmThanks Melbguy1. I can go to some USD60k, and actually i am having a great and rare opportunity around that price for a pair of brand new Gryphon Mephisto Solo (230V) from Europe, that’s the monoblock version, with 200W ClassA with zero NF

According to XE.com, $60,000 USD = €54,511.64EUR, so he is not far off the mark. Also, Vitus is made in Denmark so he would be able to access better pricing than in the US. Besides that, personally given the choice I would prefer to own a Vitus SS-103 & SL-103 preamp over the Gryphon Mephisto solo & Pandora pre. But in the end, this is all subjective.

Thanks again to all for your input!!
Hi Roxy54, i said i wasn't ready to spend for USD200,000 and over, it is a big difference with $60,000 for an all European made and outsourced 200W ClassA zeroNF very high grade SS amp don't you think? just $140,000 less than the Audionote!!!
Melbguy1, i understand you like Vitus, and i am positive that they must be excellent amps.
The philosophy of Vitus going to monos is same as Gryphon doing monos, just more power and stereo separation, and that's about it i believe. But if i can get this additional quality at the cost of the stereo version, why not? The fact is that i am having that rare deal for Gryphon Mephisto solos at near half price, whereas i don't have the same for Vitus. As for taste, as you rightly put it, it is subjective, but it is also nice to hear and learn from others, so thanks again for sharing. The Mephisto has also some high degree of tube like sound to it, but maybe a bit more on the neutral side, and i think it could better suit the Westminsters who have some character.
Dynamics wise, the Gryphon beat the Vitus hands down, but all the rest is comparable i think. Both great amps, but i think i am not missing the deal and going Mephisto solos' way!!! I will inform and share my observations of the results if you are interested. I think such pairing will be sort of first of a kind, probably, and could be very interesting...
Believe it or not, i have experienced it, european gear is more expensive in europe than in the US. You can google on european shops for same products and compare with US shops, you will be surprised. For example, the Tannoy Westminster GR is over 35,000euros in europe, and around $30,000 or maybe even less in the US... In Europe there are big taxes (21% VAT) and on top of that the people are considered as ever milking cows, if i can put it this way (i am french speaking, so forgive my English if the imagery is not so good).

Hddg, I think that is a pretty safe deal on the Gryphons as even if you later sell them, you should not lose much money. As I said, they are great amps. I was just trying to let you know that Vitus should be releasing new SM-103 mono's early in the new year which will be more powerful, faster/more dynamic, more resolving etc, and a bit more neutral than the SM-102's. MSRP doesn't dictate the performance or musicality of an amp. Just sayin'. Enjoy the Gryphons..

Yes Melbguy1, i totally got your point, and totally agree that MSRP don't reflect the actual and full musical quality of an amp. So far, all subjectively, my Coincident Frankenstein 300B MkII beat anything i have heard in pure musical terms, at any price, and may remain better in same terms over the Gryphon, but we all know they do not have enough control over the Westminsters.
My few main points and logic just is:
1- don't really want to wait till next year, and don't even know what price the SM-103 will be - no good prices available when new stuff comes on the market - often we have to wait one or two more years to get good deals.
2- Mephisto Solo is already preferred by many over the Vitus MP-M201, which are actually the Masterpiece of Vitus and easily better the SM102.
3- It seems reasonable to think that the Vitus SM103 to come will not beat their flagship MP-M201, or would the SM-103 become the flagship?
4- Jeff Fritz of SoundStage magazine reviewed the Mephisto stereo in 2013 and preferred it over the MP-M201, and he's reviewed quite some good amps so far.
5- I very recently wrote to him to verify, and he told me that he would go for the Mephisto without hesitation over all the others, except for the Boulder 3050 which is his preferred ($200,000!!)
6- The Pass Xs300 make unanimity in US, and apart from SoundStage, no one got to review the Mephisto Solo, so no real final opinion available in the US.
7- European shops and consultants that sell both Mephisto and Xs300 (about same price) prefer the Danish amps by a large majority.

Have you actually listened to the Mephisto solo, and on which preamp and speakers?

hddg, First of all, Is Jeff Fritz and this loyal followers the "many" people to which you refer who prefer the Mephisto solo amps over the Vitus MP-M201 mono’s? Lol! I like Jeff, but let’s just say you only have half the story. There is a very specific reason why JF doesn’t review or praise any Vitus products, but I’m not going to go into that here. Let’s just say that his views on Gryphon vs Boulder are not objective.

Re: The release of the SM-103 monos, yes they incorporate much of the Masterpiece series technology, but also some new technology which is now being ’filtered up’ to the MP series. Hence the Masterpiece series will still remain VA’s flagship line.

Pass XS series is good, but they are not on the same level as Vitus or Gryphon.

No I have not personally heard the Gryphon Mephisto solo amps. Nor have you heard the Vitus SM-102 monos or MP-S201. But we can agree MSRP does not dictate how musical an amplifier may sound in a given setup.