Gryphon Audio had the coveted corner room upon entering T.H.E. Show 2023 at the Hilton Orange County in Costa Mesa, CA. Not only was it near impossible to miss, it was the only high-end audio room that required a reservation just to listen. eCoustics founder, Brian Mitchell barely made it into the last demonstration on the last day after a mere 90-minute wait. The room was booked solid throughout the 3-day event, with back-to-back 20-person listening sessions every 30 minutes.
What was so interesting? The Danish manufacturer was demonstrating their cost-no-object components and loudspeakers which deliver performance that takes a backseat to nothing.
Gryphon has two-noted designers on its staff; Flemming E. Rasmussen who are primarily responsible for the industrial design, whilst Tom Møller is responsible for the audio engineering side of its products.
Tip: Gryphon products are designed and manufactured in Denmark.
Here is an overview of what Gryphon brought to T.H.E. Show 2023.
Gryphon Trident II Loudspeakers
The Gryphon Trident II is a three-way loudspeaker with an onboard bass amplifier and braced enclosure with a contoured baffle. The contoured baffle minimizes reflections and eliminates unwanted diffraction.
Other features include:
- Constant Phase crossover: This supports perfect phase at all frequencies at all times
- System response: 16 – 27 kHz, -3dB (depending on Q setting and room size)
- Time-aligned Front Baffle Curvature: This provides identical arrival time from all drivers at the listening position
- AMT Tweeter: Ultra-fast Air Motion Transformer tweeter with low-mass pleated metal diaphragm
- Danish Bass: Customised, extensively modified Danish bass and midrange drive units
- Speaker Cones: Special cone surround termination to eliminate edge reflections
- Symmetrical Array: The Trident II has a vertical driver array for ideal point source presentation
- Bass Drivers: Four Gryphon 8″ bass drivers for extreme speed and precision with massive air displacement
- Bass Amplifiers: Custom-designed Gryphon bass amplifiers capable of delivering 500 Watts continuously per channel
- Q Controller: Integrated Linkwitz-Greiner Q Controller with preset and custom Q settings for ideal low-frequency integration in any room
- Remote Control: This allows Q setting, Bass Level, Mute, and Low Cut adjustments
- Enclosure: The Trident II features a sealed cabinet with extensive internal bracing
- Damping Materials: Pure wool and synthetic interior damping materials.
- Grill Design: Stylish string grille for driver protection
- Finishes: Virtually unlimited custom finish options
The Gryphon Trident II Loudspeakers are priced at $139,500/pair
Gryphon Apex Stereo Amplifier
This is a 450-pound behemoth featuring a pure class A design. The Gryphon Apex can deliver almost 1700 watts RMS (1 ohm as a mono block). The Apex’s output section uses high-current bipolar output devices which are both reliable and provide excellent sonic performance. The output devices can deliver high peak power output per channel without overload. The output transistors are locally decoupled with an array of ZN film capacitors.
The Apex driver section incorporates a separate, optimized power supply fed from individual windings on the custom-made toroidal transformers.
The mechanical design of the Apex ensures optimal thermal tracking between drivers and output devices. This driver section features its own generous bank of the finest capacitors available for this application.
The power supply also utilizes capacitors especially chosen for this design. Zero global feedback is employed and DC coupling utilizes DC servo circuitry. Internal wiring in the signal path is kept to an absolute minimum. Gryphon Vanta single crystal solid core silver/gold cable is used for input wiring. Balanced inputs are provided (no RCA line inputs are provided).
Proprietary Gryphon speaker terminals accept bare wire, spade lugs, banana connectors, or any combination thereof.
The Apex utilizes an independent transformer and linear power supply for display and control circuits, preventing digital noise generated by these circuits from contaminating the amplifier circuits.
The Grypohon Apex Stereo Amplifier is priced at $103,500
Gryphon Commander Two-Piece Preamplifier
- True Dual Mono configuration
- Four separate custom-made 36VA toroidal transformers, two for each channel/
- Adjustable channel balance, source level matching, start-up volume, and maximum volume level
- Massive power supply capacitor bank for each channel (2 x 90.000uF)
- Separate linear power supply for both digital and individual left/right channel analog circuits
- Fully regulated extremely low noise power supply for all voltage amplifying stages
- Separate mechanical chassis for Power Supply and Amplifier circuits
The two-piece Gryphon Commander is priced at $67,000
Gryphon Ethos CD player
Who says no one listens to CDs anymore? Not only do people still listen to CDs, but some CD fans are willing to spend a small fortune to buy a high-end CD player such as the Gryphon Ethos.
Featuring a triangular exterior design, the Ethos not only includes CD playback but also a built-in DAC featuring ESS SABRE ES9038PRO 32-bit D/A converters for playback from USB sources, including Hi-Res audio files.
The Gryphon Ethos is priced at $39,800
Other Gryphon Components Shown
- Gryphon Legato Legacy Phono Preamplifier ($23,000)
- Gryphon Cabling and Equipment Stands (prices vary)
Even More Stuff!
To round out their product showcase, Gryphon also included audio components from other high-end brands including the following.
- Bergmann Gold Edition Turntable ($37,000 to $50,000)
- MSB Reference DAC ($49,995)
- MSB Digital Director ($25,000),
- Innuos Network Switcher ($3,495)
- Shunyata Everest Power Conditioner ($9,500)
- Typhon T2 Power Conditioner ($7,500).
Total audio system: $518,290 + room treatments (?) + cables (?)
Gryphon’s room was presented by Joseph Cali Systems Design, located at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, CA 90069.
For more information: gryphon-audio.dk
Dan Thomas
June 19, 2023 at 9:03 pm
I made it into the first throng of listeners on Saturday morning. The highs were a bit bright and off-putting for my taste.
What I took away from that listening experience is a new- found appreciation for the far-less-expensive system that I have put together.
All my components were auditioned in my own home with the rest of my other components.
It’s really the only way to audition components.