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I listened to the Gryphon Diablo today , what an experience !

I just had an opportunity to audition  the Gryphon Diablo 300 at Evolution Home Theater. They have recently become the authorized Gryphon Dealer in Atlanta. First a little background.  I normally listen to my Sonus Faber Amati Tradition powered by a Plinius 9200. My music is from Tidal, played through a Cambridge  Audio Azur 851N network player or via my network hard drive. I thought that this combination sounded great and was very happy with my system until today when I heard the Gryphon.Although I expected some  improvement with Gryphon, I did not expect to be blown away by the amplifier, However after hearing the amplifier for the first time,  that is exactly what happened!The Gryphon 300 was set up to use the internal DAC with Tidal via a music server.  The speakers were the Sonus Faber Serafina’s. I had previous heard both the Amati’s and the Serafina’s  on MAC equipment and thought the Amati’s sounded significantly better on the MAC gear,When I listened today  and compared the music with my own system, I heard significant improvement with the Gryphon. The first thing I noticed was the pinpoint control the amplifier exerted on the speakers.  This was manifested by an extended frequency range with both improved  bass and treble. It seemed as though a veil or haze had been removed from the music with a marked increase in clarity, detail, and analytics.  Yet the amplifier showed no coolness or harshness and after listening for several hours to a variety of music (mostly jazz, classical, and rock) there was no evidence of fatigue. The soundstage was large, three dimensional and detailed.  It was an improvement over my Plinius in every way.It also changed the way that I look at my music system.  I used to think that it was all in the speakers and with great speakers all that was needed was a good amplifier.  I learned today that a great amplifier with very good speakers, can sound better than a good amplifier with excellent speakers.I can hardly wait until I can make the time to be able to demo the Gryphon in my own music room with my Amati speakers.
hemoncdoc
nyev
1,031 posts
 
Denon1,

Would you be able to expand on what you mean when you say the Diablo is a bit “dark”?  Others have said this and yet others have said they wouldn’t characterize it as such.  By dark do you mean warm-ish, but not quite warm?

The Diablo is on the top of my candidate list to pair with my B&W 803’s and I will be auditioning shortly.

thanks
denon1
349 posts
 
Nyev, yes a little warmish with a lot of texture. 
I think it also depends what cables you match it with. When I had diablo I used full shunyata sigma loom that all copper and sounded great but again with a lot of meat on the bones. Now I am thinking if I was able to use nordost Valhalla 2 cables this would balance things between Gryphon  and Sonus Faber. Again at this leve careful component matching is must.
nyev
1,031 posts
 
Thanks Denon1, that makes sense.  A little warmth is fine by me.  Although, I had a hearing test recently and apparently I’ve hit the age (41) where our ears start to taper off in response to higher frequencies.  I’m told it is normal and this happens to most people, and that it shouldn’t be noticed.  But it makes me wonder if I should plan to compensate for that in my system as I get older!
nyev
1,031 posts
 
On a related note, I did read in a pro review (can’t recall which) that the Diablo’s DAC module seemed to have some small degree of midrange coloration.  So maybe that’s where the warmth comes from, if you were using the DAC.  Could also explain why others don’t perceive this, if they weren’t using the DAC.  Or maybe it’s just cable-matching....
hemoncdoc OP
71 posts
 
Denon1- I have no intention of getting rid of my SF Amati’s.  I agree with you, the speakers are spectacular.  

When I listed to the Serafino’s with the Gryphon, the improvement in the bass was the first thing I noted.  The speakers sounded much 
‘deeper” than my Amati/Plinius system and also the woofers appeared much better controlled (tighter, less sloppy) by the Gryphon amplifier.  I heard details in the midrange that I was unable to hear with my Plinius amplifier.  

I heard improvement in the clarity of the highs such as cymbals, flutes, etc... unfortunately, my ears are not young and although untested I am certain like others of my age, I have some high frequency hearing loss.
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