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

Diablo needs at least 100 hours of burn-in time in addition to 80 I think factory hours. Make sure of that. Also, Gryphon matches well with Gryphon and better Purist Audio cables and cords, I suspect it does well with some others too but don't know it. Start by plugging the Gryphon in straight into the wall if possible, no conditioner, it's got one in it. Still it might sound better with some conditioners in certain situations, this part is tricky. Look forward to your report and final decision.

nyev
Excellent review! I am looking forward to your next installment w/ the Gryphon.  Happy Listening!

Diablo 300 is becoming quite popular because it represents great audiophile value. Sure, Gryphon separates would be much better, but excuse me, that kind of money is beyond the reach of 99% especially if you want top of the line. But even 'entry level ' separates are way too much for most. Used is possible but hard to find with North American voltage, and even with European not so easy, and is still expensive unless 25-30 years old.

Thanks inna for the tips.  The Diablo is a demo unit the shop is getting from Gryphon, so presumably it should have some miles on it.  Good point on avoiding power conditioning - I’ve seen stories of conditioning causing issues for the current-hungry Diablo at shows.  While I was aware of this I am pretty sure the shop has conditioning built into the walls of their listening room.  So I’ll have to ask how we can avoid this during my audition.  

And yes, from what others say, it seems I would need to spend a lot more than the cost of a Diablo 300 to get equivalent or better performance from separates.  That said, there is the issue of subjective taste.  An example is with a lot of high end cables I find to be very impressive, but often there is one small thing that ruins it for me in terms of balance, being too warm/cold etc.  I expect to recognize all the qualities of the Diablo that others mentioned after I test it on the weekend.  But it doesn’t there won’t be that one thing that makes it not work for me.  We’ll see.  If the Diablo doesn’t work out, to be honest I’ll be happy with the 4B3 and will need to move my search to a suitable preamp that’s a bit more lively and has more drive and excitement vs the McIntosh C2500 that I tested the 4B3 with.  The C2500 wasn’t bad at all, but I’m sure I could find a more involving preamp to go with the 4B3.  Maybe Simaudio 740p Or AR Ref 6.  Or even the Bryston BP-173, but it would need to be far superior to the terribly thin sounding BP-26.  I couldn’t believe how the BP-26 came from the same company that made the excellent 4B3 to be honest.

I would ask for all Gryphon Reference or Purist Audio Dominus cables and power cord, all burnt in for at least 300 hours. Cables can really ruin everything.
No surprise with Bryston, they are in fact pro amp company. Some in the know say that it is more difficult to make first rate active pre-amp than power amp. Maybe even Gryphon people would agree, I am not sure. Diablo has passive pre-amp section.