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Gryphon Antileon Signature technical problems

Dear all,

I have recently learned that both the older Gyphon Antileon as well as the current signature model have some technical issues due to the enormous amount of heat they generate and many of those units require repair after 1 and a half to 2 years.

The problem seems to be that a small part in the amplifier breaks. This causes the amplifier to get very hot on one side only, while the other side stays cool. Obviously if it is working correctly the heat is distributed equally on both sides. The cause for the issues seems to be that Gryphon seems to be using a relatively cheap component (a few euroes...) for this part and while the part is cheap to replace it does require a huge effort as one needs to take the amps apart and the whole servicing, due to the overcomplicated design of the enclosure, takes 1-2 days. My friend told me that they had 5-6 antileons and antileons signatures that had this problem.

Does anybody have experience with the reliability of these amplifiers?

I have demoed thes amps and loved their sound and since then have actually been saving up to buy them either new or 2nd hand. But now having learned these things I have been bit put off from these amps!

Also does anyone here have experience with other solid state class A amplifiers, i.e. Pass Labs or Karan Acoustics or others I may have missed here.

any info on the Gryphon Antileon technical issue or alternative similar sounding amps would be much appreciated.
kaifupaddy
kaifupaddy OP
10 posts
 
Hi Blindjim,

I do by no means want to bash or discredit Gryphon. I love there design and sound from what I have heard and I was pretty determined to get their Sonata Allegro + Antileon but if the employee of a shop who has sold quite a few of these items tells me that their service department had to fix pretty much each of the units they sold after said 1.5-2 years that is an issue in my book. I have no reason not to believe the guy as they sell a lot of high quality products and margins for them on the respective products pretty similar.
blindjim
3,092 posts
 
Agreed. Nor do I want to bash anyone here either... but it sure doesn't seem like something one would usually hear of especially given the selling price, build, performance and so forth.

I know I'd not want to have to go back and repair all my units a year and a bit out for some innocuous low cost item I could fix during the building of later models. It'd be better for everyone all around. No maker wants that sort of word out on the street about their products, if you think about it.

I've spoken to one other owner of this product recently via emails, and he has had no such issue. According to him, his pre-owned purchase was even sent into Gryphon as part of the sale proceedure to have it checked out and refurbished if needed at the factory as it had some age on it, and the factory said all was within new specs and no work was necessary then or in the near future.

For my own piece of mind now and going forward I think I'd ask a few other dealers of their own exp, and maybe the factory too. Doing that should give you more texture and a wider lens with which to appraise the situation.

I did that with my latest amp purchase and the results were quite informative and diverse depending upon whom I spoke with. Ultimately however all was set right and I was satisfied entirely. The maker was the most forthcoming of all those I spoke with and gave me a better perspective than some of the dealers.

Good luck
Ag insider logo xs@2x
aldavis
202 posts
 
I have owned mine for 6 years and have not had a single problem. Until your post I have not heard of a single problem from any other owners either. I wonder if the amps you mention were manufactured around the same time and were built with a faulty part batch. The closest match in my opinion would be the Pass 160.5. They should do the trick as long as you do not need lots of power into a low impedance load (<4ohms) Pass labs double to 4ohms but not into impedances below that. I have great respect for Nelson Pass. My personal Judgment is that Gryphon amps , while more expensive, are worth it. YMMV. - Jim
billleebens
9 posts
 
FWIW, I know Flem Rasmussen of Gryphon, and he tells me that fewer than 10 pieces of this model are serviced WORLDWIDE per year, and none of the issues are heat-related. I think you can totally rely upon his products and his organization.
rleff
1,065 posts
 
What about jeff roland models 6,8t or 9t? I have the 6 monos driving usher rw723's and soundlab m2's when I feel like moving them;they are very tube like;controlled bass and the midrange/high freq ranges almost equal my audio valve challanger 180 mono's.
They control the panels of the m2's extremely well as this is one of the harder speaker loads to drive.
If you are near the east coast maybe worth having Bob & Gary Backert of RHB Sound Designs look it over.( not related and they get excellant praises for service and support)
If out west maybe Nick Gowan in Campbell Ca would be the one I would take my gear too.
Good Luck on that very nice amp;hope you can resolve the issues.
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