Gryphon Diablo 250 vs Hegel390

Thanks for the comments! Sounds like I seriously need to consider and audition the Gryphon. Should I be concerned about the age? Things to look out for if I decide to buy?

Is the Hegel unit a new unit?  Do both amps have the inputs and features you require?  The Hegel has a plethora of digital features that the Gryphon omits.  Is that important?  Your choice can also depend upon where you live.  If either unit breaks is there a quality distributor to handle service?  The Gryphon probably has a higher performance ceiling, but whether that can be achieved you will need to take into account your other components.

there is no doubt gryphons are beautifully built... for the asking price they should be

just reminding the op that build quality does not necessarily equal sound quality -- each brand and model are voiced by their producers

i have owned many many amps, roughly 40 over the years, half solid state... i have NOT heard a gryphon except for short intervals at some high end shows, not an intensive sampling

but i would say that i own 3 hegels in various systems -- sound wise, they are among the very small handful of ss amps i can happily live with long term, as they have the warm full rich tonality i desire, with clean yet unobtrusive natural rendering of detail

no affiliation other than being a very happy owner

good luck to op - by all means try the gryphon, but don’t let the big hegel be underestimated for what lovely music it can make

I would be very interested to know which integrated you will end up with. I am in a similar situation possibly looking for a higher end integrated. I am considering the Diablo (even thinking of the Diablo 300 but I haven't found out how much better it is), the older Vitus RI-100, the Audia Flight FLS10 and the Audio Analogue Maestro Anniversary. Unfortunately it is very difficult to audition all of them.

@greg_f Try to audition the Diablo 300, you will be surprised.It’s the type of integrated you can keep for a lifetime.