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

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.

Nyve,

Thank you for the review. I said it earlier, the Bryston cubed series and Mac MC462 (452) are two of the amps in my list of 6 I’ve narrowed it down to. Thus it’s like I have a personal reviewer, lol.

Sounds like that recommendation I got on the Brystons was dead on. Keenly interested if you still feel the same after hearing the mc462. 

Morg111,

I should be auditioning the 462 on Tuesday if all goes as planned.  However I’m only able to test in-store and not in my home so it won’t be a fair comparison to the 452.  To make matters worse I will be hearing the 462 with B&W 803 D3’s, which are I believe a fair bit better (and more expensive) than my D2’s.

The main reason I’m testing the 462 is as a reference point for what I’m now most interested in testing, which I will also test on Tuesday- the Gryphon Diablo 300.

I have notes on what I found to be lacking with the 452, and if the Diablo can beat the 462 in these areas and do nothing else wrong, I think I will have found a winner.  If not, then I’ll have to start searching for a suitable preamp for the Bryston.

I don’t mean to steer you away from McIntosh too much as I can see how some would prefer its smooth and complete midrange, but another thing I was a bit disappointed by was build quality.  Not that it was bad. But up close, it just didn’t come close to the rock solid feel the other brands in the same price range had, despite the heavy weight.  Mcintosh preamps I thought on particular did not give an impression of sturdiness at all.  This was a surprise; I didn’t expect to have that reaction.

Nevertheless I will post an update on the 462, but all I will have to directly compare it against is the Gryphon, which probably won’t be a fair fight.

Nyve,

Understood on the different setups. It doesn’t matter as much as I’m looking at the Bryston 14b3. So if the 4b3 was nearly or in some areas better than the 452, it can be guaranteed that the 14b3 will be the clear winner as it has been reviewed as far better than the 3b or 4b combined. I doubt 462 is that much better than its previous model.