So if I am a “tube” person I could buy the least expensive Gryphon mono amp and be the happiest with it?
LL21, What did you achieve sonically by going from the Antileon to the Colosseum, and then by going from the Colosseum to the Mephisto?
Andy Payor went from VTL Siegfrieds to Mephistos. If the Antileon is a little bit more tube-like than the Colosseum or the Mephisto I wonder why he didn’t stop at the Antileon.
Hi Ron,
Regarding the Evo, all products and designs evolve...the Evo is the most recent and I have heard it was a bit of a return to the voicing of the original Antileon but updated for 3 generations of amps (Antileon SE, Colosseum, Mephisto). There are a number of people who love that voicing, and it clearly has fans here who, by their own description of themselves, are fans of tubes and NOT generally fans of SS. In the end, all technology involves a compromise...none is truly perfect...and thus we are down to the base outcome of a series of imperfect choices/implementations. For some, the Evo is it.
Antileon original vs Colosseum:
- The biggest most apparent change was the treble
- Antileon was dark...i never minded it. It was not so much that it lacked resolution, but more that it was recessed presentationally relative to the mids and all-powerful bass which was tight, effortless and unshakeable.
- But the Colosseum illuminated that corner of the room beautifully, while also extending the treble up further as well
- It also did not strike me as in any way etched nor forced. I first had heard treble from SS that was very illuminated but not etched from an older Goldmund piece, and it recalibrated my ear in terms of how to listen to a balanced listening field including treble
- The Colosseum was also more detailed (I am not a detail freak)...in a way that was unforced, and i suspect more due to lower noise floor than due to anyone 'cranking up' the feedback or other such design element
- The bass was about the same though more resolved
- The only area where I always felt the Colosseum might have 'lost' something was just a hair, the finest ever hair, of midrange intensity of tone...the Antileon had some magic there where it 'might' have been less than a so-called 3% difference, but it was there for me.
Colosseum vs Mephisto:
- The Mephisto presents far more detail in a way i had not appreciated could be done
- It also seems much, much more resolved, capable than the Colosseum...resolute i suppose would be the word. I do not mean in this instance resolved as in detail...but in its ability to deliver scale, power, majesty, tiny nuances, inflections of fingering, breath...all at the same time without losing any sense of control. Resolute.
- The foundation of music is laid down in many respects via the amp...its ability to take the signal and really lay it out in your listening room with resolve, detail, power, soundstaging, placement, inflections/nuances, and yet also awesome scale, size, depth, etc...the Mephisto is much better at laying out this soundstage than even the mighty Colosseum
- I also found a return of just that extra bit of tonal purity, intensity but with no fat on it, no sense of smudge or halo which clouds the presentation's clarity
Just listening notes. Hope that helps.