Have you heard a T+A product? Gryphon and T+A are competitors in Europe and there are those who have acutally compared the T+A product to the Gryphon in the case of the battle of the uber intergrateds and have chosen the T+A product which has a few advantages over the Gryphon. and the Gryphon also has a few advantages as well so it come down to a whole number of factors.
These are two of the world's best products I have nothing but respect for Gryphon and I have heard their products and they are outstanding but to make the claim that Gryphon is the best is ridiculous, they are among the best but in the case of reference grade electronics it will all come down to what you prefer in terms of looks, features, sound quality, wattage, and how it mates with your gear.
If you read the TAS review Mr. Taffel compared an older HV series integrated to $120k worth of CH Precision gear and came away very impressed up to the point that he was having difficulty determining which was which and again, $45k D'agastino piece vs $21.5K T+A integrated and boom same thing so obviously this is a brand to be reckoned with also considering they are the single largest high end brand in Germany must mean that their equipment is also extremely good.
What I find ironic is with all the positive press rave reviews in TAS, Soundstage, Positive Feedback guys like Inna aren't saying hey what about this brand too?
I would never make a statement that T+A or Gryphon is better than Dartzeel, or Vitus, or CH or Goldmund it will all come down to what you value and what you like and of course what you are exposed to, but again, if T+A equipment wasn't absolutely world class they would hardly have grown to be the size of the company that they are.
Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ