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Bryston 4B3 vs Mac MC462 vs Pass Labs X250.8, OR... GRYPHON Diablo 300?

Hi,
Over the next few weeks I am organizing in-home demo of  three pre/power amps for my B&W 803D2's, and will purchase whichever sounds best.  I will be testing the following gear, which is based on what's available where live:
-Bryston B173 / 4B3-McIntosh C47 / MC462
-Pass Labs X250.8, if I can get my hands on one (will probably use the C47 pre-amp to test with this)
The Gryphon Diablo 300 is also a candidate.  I've seen some strong comments from others that Gryphon is in another league compared to the others.
My question is, barring what sounds best to me during my auditioning, in general to most people would the Diablo 300 really beat the others in my list?  And, are there any material disadvantages to sound quality considering the Diablo is an integrated vs the other choices?  I don't really care about having separates, but sound is obviously important.
Secondly related to the Gryphon, there is only one Gryphon dealer that is even remotely close to me.  Should that dealer cut ties down the road, or go out of business, does anyone know how I might go about getting service for the Diablo should I require it at some point?  Is that a valid concern?  There are multiple Mac dealers near me so that would not be so much of a concern.

Thanks in advance for any feedback....


nyev
inna
7,296 posts
 
Gryphon is not dark sounding. It is deep dense articulate and powerful. No brightness and low distortion. This is top solid state level, and it should last for decades. I don't even consider any other transistor amps, makes little sense to me. I would probably be after older Gryphon separates, though, but very expensive and hard to find. Gryphon separates is an answer to audiophile's prayer.
Some Pass are very good, so what ? Bryston is not high end.
cytocycle
1,043 posts
 
Keep in mind the MC462 makes 450watts into 2,4,8ohm, the Gryphon can output 950watts into 2ohm so with your more 4ohm ish speaker the Gryphon might have more control plus their Class A/AB biasing delivers tons of current. Because in my experience in the past with Wilson and Rockports which drop to 1.73 ohm for certain sections of the bass region that Mcintosh solid state doesn't sound as dynamic till you start looking at 601 monoblocks.  I am considering the Gryphon also since they are one of the manufactures that is used when voicing my Rockport Speakers, plus adding Phono and/or Dac saves the cost of 2 expensive cable per device and less potential for ground hums and issues if you are into vinyl.  I am considering Devialet 220 Expert Pro, 440 Expert Pro or higher also.   I can't speak on the latest pass or Bryston. Look forward to hearing your results and next steps.
jafant's avatar
jafant
19,684 posts
 
ddafoeThank You for the Bryston 4B3 and Pass Labs 250.8 comparison.
Did you step up from a Pass Labs 150.8 ?
Happy Listening!
nyev OP
1,031 posts
 
DDafoe inna and cytocycle, thank you as well, that was very descriptive and helpful!

My dealer offered me a 6 month old demo Gryphon including both DAC and phono modules, for $19K (converted from my Canadian price to USD). The unit is currently back at Gryphon for analysis as they thought the unit had a fault. Apparently in the shop they were limit testing (sounds fun...) and they found the Gryphon clips very suddenly and dramatically compared with most amps when maxed out. After the shop thought something was wrong, Gryphon say they have tested the unit and found nothing wrong with it.

So for $19K USD I could purchase this demo unit with modules, or for $17K I could have a brand new unit without modules. Seems the new unit price is $1K higher than list price in the US for me.

Thoughts? I will not proceed without auditioning this and other options, but the Diablo is firmly at the top of my list.
inna
7,296 posts
 
If it were my call I would get brand new Diablo 300. However, I would probably choose to have separate tube phono stage and I would have no need for dac. But even if I needed both Gryphon phono and dac I would pay more and get new piece. At this price level I would not try to save a few thousand dollars.
As a side note, I don't understand what happened with that particular Gryphon unit at the shop, that story is unclear.
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