Gryphon Diablo 300 vs Vitus RI-101


   So I've been itching to upgrade my amp. I currently have: PS audio Directstream -> PS BHK preamp -> parasound JC1 -> Focal Sopra 2.
    I narrow down to these 2 candidates. Any one with experience with both int amps can comment on them?Thanks!!!
128x128btbluesky
@yyzsantabarbara 2 years ago I had the AHB2 with Dyn Contour S3.4 Le's and was initially impressed by the little amp, but overtime grew to dislike the sound; super duper detailed ...to a fault in my mind; There was something very odd about the presentation overall and I felt like I could not connect to the music. Not sure what it was, as I really wanted to like it but was easy enough to send back. Benchmark is a wonderful company.
Oh ya, the amp also ran out of headroom quickly; Having Sopra 2's which, to my ears are much more forward in the presence region than any Dyn I have ever heard, IMHO, I think that synergy might not be the best.
@dpac996 Great feedback. I would be interested in hearing the AHB2 with darker sounding speakers, such as the Harbeth, Yamaha NS 5000, Vandersteen Treo. I mentioned the AHB2 since the OP wanted to hear something fast and neutral. Not too familiar with the Focal Sopra sound myself.
@yyzsantabarbara

Thanks for your suggestion. But the AHB2 might be abit thin sounding combine with sopra. From the stereophile review:
" That's where I discovered that my new hero amp wasn't quite perfect. Oh, its power and resolution were still not to be faulted, but through a pair of Monitor Audio Silver 8 speakers, the sound was somewhat hard and thin. "

For the Kaya 45, we'll see what preamp they use. With a alloy dome tweet, AHB2 might sound too lean. It's an amazing amp for it's price, but monobridged spec at 6ohm 480w, the sopra dip at 3-4ohm at ~100hz. It would not be better than JC1 stable at 2ohm. damping factor also way less than JC1.

I want a neutral grain free amp, but if I have to pick a side to to fall back to, of course it'd be on the warm side of things (thus the Pass labs X.8 series might work). For the upper echelon european brands, beside soulution, the rest are all categorized to be neutral with a hint of warmth.
 
@btbluesky I made my suggestion without taking into consideration your speakers. I am not too familiar with the Focal Sopra. I just saw "fast and neutral". 

Like you I was thinking that the AHB2 maybe a little lean with Kaya but the preamp would tip the scale I guess.

My next amp will be the Luxman m900u. Which sound gorgeous with multiple speakers I heard them with.
caphill
I would pair your Focal Sopra speakers with full warm sounding electronics If I were you.

You may have missed what his sound preference is.
but I want to try the highend ultra fast yet relaxing sound.
To me that says the JC1’s in low bias or high bias for a more relaxed. Or the big Gryphon Antillion

btbluesky I don’t think the two integrateds (Diablo and Vitus) have the same amount balls your used to into the Sopras, they will work fine but I think you’ll miss the bottomless pit of current the JC1’s or Antillion can supply. These are the most noticeable attributes I heard on the Alexia’s with both of them. An ease of dynamics highs mids or lows that were devoid of the speakers, and rolled out at you, little more on the Antillion than the JC1’s

Cheers George