If i would seriously spend 100-200 K on amplifiers im certainly not letting my self be restricted /influenced by one certain individual .
So I received the review today and read thru it...will no doubt re-read to glean some of the more detailed commentary from Alan. Overall, his summary "the best and most powerful single-ended triode ever made" that does not happen to use any sort of triodes.
I do not have that much experience with single-triodes, never having had speakers that could do them real justice..
so I did not dabble in SETs with them though I probably could have.
From my limited experience with Zanden 9600 amps (which are very special), I would say yes the Robert Kodas probably are much more resolved, more resolute and more powerful. That is extremely hard to do when aiming for purity and ultimate ease. The premium of design, build (and cost) goes way up. But as you have heard with the Gryphon Apex, the extraordinary measures that certain designers will go to can be well worth the effort for those who treasure it.I dont think you missed much , my guess is the only one worth investigating would be LAMM .
There is probably a reason for it you didnt , it seems to me that " getting the SET thing " is merely a way for reviewers to express their high standards .
Its outdated imo , many high power tube designs these days have the tube magic and then some .
Besides the CAT ( that i like ) , i think of Octave Jubilee, ARC Ref 160 M , Zanden 9600.
Best bang for buck SOTA amplification,..... the ARC and Zanden can be had for 20 K second hand
I think your Robert kodas might have more definition , tubes have a tendency to smooth things over bit
From my limited experience with Zanden 9600 amps (which are very special), I would say yes the Robert Kodas probably are much more resolved, more resolute and more powerful. That is extremely hard to do when aiming for purity and ultimate ease. The premium of design, build (and cost) goes way up. But as you have heard with the Gryphon Apex, the extraordinary measures that certain designers will go to can be well worth the effort for those who treasure it.
Fair enough!Sure , but unless i have had the Robert Koda / Gryphon APEX in my system for a certain amount of time , i really can t make any definitive statements as to them being more natural better then my CAT .
When i spin a Acoustic sounds tape like Hugh masekela on my telefunken machine , i miss absolutely nothing ( for a fraction of the price .)
Experimenting with this kind of high $$ gear can easily turn into a bad deal , im quit conservative
Time to put your money where your mouth is Dutchy, Gryphon of Denmark is waiting for your Apex order. The Danish tax department needs some extra income !If i would seriously spend 100-200 K on amplifiers im certainly not letting my self be restricted /influenced by one certain individual .
I remember someone saying something similar to me (Spirit, I believe) after I got the Robert Koda K15EX...and then started asking about K160. And the rest is history!Time to put your money where your mouth is Dutchy, Gryphon of Denmark is waiting for your Apex order. The Danish tax department needs some extra income !
...dear, I think is the word! They are, but they are also exceptional. I would genuinely not use them with all-out power hungry monster speakers...never tried so I could be flat out wrong. But anything else, and these would drive them extraordinarily well...and sensitive speakers, absolutely.Lloyd, talk is cheap, whereas Koda amps are, um, well...
Time to put your money where your mouth is Dutchy, Gryphon of Denmark is waiting for your Apex order. The Danish tax department needs some extra income !
Knowing the Antileon, Colosseum and Mephisto well, my gut says for all out power assault, I would agree the Gryphon Apex takes the prize. And as someone for whom detail is not a primary focus and who by contrast loves effortlessness and deep propulsive bass, Gryphon sound is a remarkable sound for me. Powerful, effortless, tonally quite rich and with loads of capability to separate, delineate and enable details to spring forth. If you like the sound it is also a set it and forget it amp, mainly because that signature is so engrained, it powers through the entire system chain.200 KG stereo amp / heavy lifting versus 2 easy to lift 45 KG R Koda amps .
Also you need a special wall socket for the Gryphon afaik.
I wanted to hear the Gryphon Apex again at Ultimate audio Lisbon , but at the time i was there the gryphon amp had already left ( Boulder 3060 instead )
I hope to hear both the R Kodas and Gryphon again in Munchen.
But as a sheer Class A all out power assault on the senses i reckon the Gryphon takes the prize
Do let us know what you think about the Apex and Koda K160 when you hear them in Munich!
Thank you. Interesting about Robert...and certainly sounds consistent with the sound his designs make and my own personal 'voyage of discovery' as i have gotten to listen more and more.Off course !
Nice sum up by the way , i was watching an interview with robert koda where he stated that he likes to make products which will stand the test of time , iow looks and Sound quality that will grow on the listener over time .
Simple and classic looks / efficient design.
He also stated the K10 was probably his favorite design due to a certain design/ circuit simplicity. he could achieve in that product
Gotta admire the Koda gear. What I would love to see is their superb K15EX pre-amp...with a damn remote control!
Is that too much to ask??
Knowing the Antileon, Colosseum and Mephisto well, my gut says for all out power assault, I would agree the Gryphon Apex takes the prize. And as someone for whom detail is not a primary focus and who by contrast loves effortlessness and deep propulsive bass, Gryphon sound is a remarkable sound for me. Powerful, effortless, tonally quite rich and with loads of capability to separate, delineate and enable details to spring forth. If you like the sound it is also a set it and forget it amp, mainly because that signature is so engrained, it powers through the entire system chain.
Very nice comprehensive evaluation...Knowing the Antileon, Colosseum and Mephisto well, my gut says for all out power assault, I would agree the Gryphon Apex takes the prize. And as someone for whom detail is not a primary focus and who by contrast loves effortlessness and deep propulsive bass, Gryphon sound is a remarkable sound for me. Powerful, effortless, tonally quite rich and with loads of capability to separate, delineate and enable details to spring forth. If you like the sound it is also a set it and forget it amp, mainly because that signature is so engrained, it powers through the entire system chain.
With the right speaker load, the Robert Kodas present a simple purity (deceptively simple) that is absolutely startling in a side by side comparison...and at least in comparison to the Mephisto, allow far more nuance, detail to float up into the room from the music. It was the first amp EVER after several months which recalibrated my ear and still had me wondering 'who was right' in the reproduction of music. In the end, I made my choice that the Robert Koda's level of nuance, subtlety of inflection and the ability not to 'balance' lots of complex orchestral work (because balance suggest the amp is actively doing something to the music)...but instead the amps' ability to somehow amplify all the complexity in such a way that all the individual music themes and strands come OUT of the amp exactly the way they came IN to the amp from the (also exceptional) Robert Koda K15EX preamp was what was compelling and decisive winning factor about the Robert Kodas.
As for all-out assault power, with 235 watts of pure Class A power (into 4ohms) on the Robert Kodas, I was not sure exactly what to expect on 'pure grunt capability' which was my only quandry when they first came in for audition. What surprised me was that on tracks like Dark Knight (soundtrack by Hans Zimmer), the Robert Kodas went very noticeably DEEPER than the Mephisto with GREATER power. Where the Gryphons battled back was in the upper and mid bass and lower mids they present a more deep, powerful and dense music flow which breathes life into music in a very special way. The question (for the first time ever for me) was whether relative to the all out purity of the Robert Koda I actually started to question whether that touch of life from the Gryphon was a stylistic design touch or not. I am not sure I know the answer, and if I still had the Gryphon...I am not sure I would care. It sounds great.
But in the end, the Robert Kodas are exceptional and pure in so many ways, I think Alan Sircom's recent sum up that it was the world's most powerful SET triode amp (without tubes) is probably the way I think about it. And that sounds pretty good to me.
Do let us know what you think about the Apex and Koda K160 when you hear them in Munich!
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