Hi Rshad, I am up to 100 hours and everything is continuing to sound fantastic. To be clear, it is not only the amp that is being burned in, but also the DAC module and the AQ Hurricane cord. I don’t know for certain whether I’m continuing to hear any improvement or not, but it doesn’t matter what I play, it just sounds engaging, satisfying, and highly detailed. The sound is incredibly welcoming and inviting. I will note two other cool things I’ve noticed. First, when leaving the “sweet spot” in my listening position (standing up or walking around) I’m fairly certain that the difference is smaller than with other amps I’ve tried before. In other words, with the Diablo the sound doesn’t really degrade as much when moving around. Another thing that is very unique: All the qualities in the sound that I mentioned are there regardless of the volume level. Even when playing music quietly, you can hear really full and highly detailed tones, including bass. I’ve never tried any amp before this that maintained all of its qualities at low volume.
The tiniest critique ever would be that I notice on occasion, when playing music that is quiet or during a quiet passage, and I adjust the volume up or down, I can hear a very subtle pop sound coming from my speakers. It is not really that noticeable and it only happens sometimes. Not really an issue for me but thought I’d mention. Could be related to Gryphon’s two-resistor volume control design? I believe that each volume setting switches to a different resistor or something like that.
Regarding power cords, I’m not planning to try out different brands of cords. Based on yours and others experience I’m just going to stick with the Hurricane. Which apparently requires 400 hours to properly burn in. So I’m only 25% there. When I’m there I will compare with the stock power cord to see what kind of difference there is. In a bit I will see if my dealer can bring in demo Valhalla 2 speaker wire; I am very interested in how these will sound. People describe this wire as similar to how I’d describe the Diablo’s sound - a hair on the warm side, musical, engaging, and loads of texture and detail.
When my Innuos streamer finally arrives (hopefully in early May), I may experiment with a lower end power conditioner to help manage any noise it may introduce on the AC line that is shared with the Diablo.
In short, I am enjoying this amp so much that I find myself wanting to buy another just in case something happens to it after it is eventually discontinued. Just craziness as I can’t afford that. But seriously, if I had to choose a different amp I have no clue what would even come close to the Diablo. Maybe the D’Agostino Momentum integrated but that is far more expensive. But I have not even heard the Momentum and part of the reason I think I like the Diablo so much is that the sonic presentation and voicing matches my subjective tastes. So maybe I do need to save up and buy another! Flemming has retired so who knows if Gryphon can keep improving on the design or not....
The tiniest critique ever would be that I notice on occasion, when playing music that is quiet or during a quiet passage, and I adjust the volume up or down, I can hear a very subtle pop sound coming from my speakers. It is not really that noticeable and it only happens sometimes. Not really an issue for me but thought I’d mention. Could be related to Gryphon’s two-resistor volume control design? I believe that each volume setting switches to a different resistor or something like that.
Regarding power cords, I’m not planning to try out different brands of cords. Based on yours and others experience I’m just going to stick with the Hurricane. Which apparently requires 400 hours to properly burn in. So I’m only 25% there. When I’m there I will compare with the stock power cord to see what kind of difference there is. In a bit I will see if my dealer can bring in demo Valhalla 2 speaker wire; I am very interested in how these will sound. People describe this wire as similar to how I’d describe the Diablo’s sound - a hair on the warm side, musical, engaging, and loads of texture and detail.
When my Innuos streamer finally arrives (hopefully in early May), I may experiment with a lower end power conditioner to help manage any noise it may introduce on the AC line that is shared with the Diablo.
In short, I am enjoying this amp so much that I find myself wanting to buy another just in case something happens to it after it is eventually discontinued. Just craziness as I can’t afford that. But seriously, if I had to choose a different amp I have no clue what would even come close to the Diablo. Maybe the D’Agostino Momentum integrated but that is far more expensive. But I have not even heard the Momentum and part of the reason I think I like the Diablo so much is that the sonic presentation and voicing matches my subjective tastes. So maybe I do need to save up and buy another! Flemming has retired so who knows if Gryphon can keep improving on the design or not....