Gryphon Diablo & Dartzeel CTH-8550

Hi Lloyd,

I really couldn't tell if the Vitus set up was good. It was neither bad nor good to me in terms of tonality. But it is definitely not for me, because I like to play loud and 25W Class A just doesn't cut it.

All in all, from what I have heard so far, the Dartzeel is still the one to beat, for me.
Cheers

Hamburger,

good to know! Volume does count when evaluating! I rarely listen at loud levels anymore...but last nite, i did bring out the Deep House...and it always helps to have the extra power to keep turning up the volume!

DTZL is world-class...enjoy!

I guess then the question is whether the Dartzeel is worth the asking price? $20k is not exactly chump change, even if it has an pleasure control.

I think the Dartzeel IS worth it .....

All your answers have been most helpful and I have come to a closure on this thread.

When I first started this thread, I was looking for a high quality intergrated amp and was looking at the Gryphon and Dartzeel. Along the way, there were many excellent suggestions. As I like to play loud, I was interested in something "higher" power, high current (>150W, 8ohm). The Vitus RI-100 caught my attention but I had no chance to try it. I was circling around the Dartzeel, Gryphon and Vitus. Dartzeel was leading the pack.

Coincidentally, a friend who is a YBA fan knew about my amp hunt and found me a very good condition 10 year old six-chassis YBA SIGNATURE amplifier (4 chassis pre-amp + 2 mono-block power amp) way below the prices of a new Gryphon, Dartzeel or Vitus.

I have been very happy with the YBA as it is operating nicely and sounds beautiful. It does not run hot, and could be easily repaired by a good technician should it kaput one day.

I did not buy new this time, didn't contribute to the economy, but I have found an amp that has ticked most of the boxes of my needs, except integrated-one-box-one-power-cord-and-one-less-interconnect. And no remote-control. Oh well! ;)

Thanks, everyone!