Gryphon Apex Stereo or Mephisto Solos
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Just FYI, Michael Fremer's review of the Apex is in the next issue of Stereophile.
Gryphon Apex Stereo power amplifier
Some time ago, an amplifier in for review caught fire when first powered up. I don't mean it smoked and sizzled and shut downI mean that actual flames shot through the top grate. Fortunately, I was able to grab a kitchen fire extinguisher and douse the thing with foam. (Sorry, this was decades...
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Finally, Commander arrived and connected with Mephisto solos. (Apex delivery is being delayed...) Wow. What a beast. Totally amazing and shocking performance. Couldn't believe it's performance. Great and superb job done by Gryphon.
Last week I moved my Gryphon Antileon EVO and Pandora Preamp with Built In Legato Phonostage out of my system. I replaced it with a Commander, Apex Stereo, and a Legato Legacy Phonostage. They join my Gryphon Ethos and Grimm MU1 driving my Vivid G1 Spirits. It is hard to adjust to what I hear now. It is much more involving then the former setup. It's a major step up. Gryphon Fanboy I am!
At your leisure I would appreciate hearing your detailed sonic comparison of the Antileon EVO versus the Apex.
Thank you.
Same here! An owner of Gryphon from Antileon to Colosseum to Mephisto for 11-12 consecutive years until only very recently.
Ditto!! Please share your evaluations. I have Mephisto/Pandora and I'm seriously considering going in the Commander/Apex direction. Any input will be quite useful...John
Thanks for your support Michael! This is one of the main reasons why I come on to WBF. Good Healthy Encouragement to die without much left behind! Bravo!!
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The Pandora + Antileon Evo combination seemed more than up to the task. I was very, very happy with it. It seemed extreme to consider an upgrade. But the week the Commander and Apex were announced I got in line. A six month wait followed. It was well worth the wait.
With the previous gear, the soundstage was deep and very very wide. Now it's like the speakers turned into omni style speakers, say like the MBL Extremes. With the Commander and Apex the soundstage is whatever it was intended to be. It's vast beyond measure when called for. Or stirringly intimate when that path is chosen. Each listening session I almost feel fatigued from the amazing and nearly endless new musical discoveries and how they fill the space. Walls aren't an issue. Whether it is new to me music or very familiar music. I do not have the ability to half-listen. It is extremely compelling and very rewarding to see how old gems sound. Everything comes up from a new definition of black. The previous gear was more like carboard cutouts highly defined but somehow flat in comparison to what I hear now. Jazz is particularly good. When a trombone appears eight feet behind the double doors to my listening room it reminds me of early days with Carver Sonic Holography. But it doesn't involve any tricks, it is just where the Trombone is supposed to be. One thing that really surprises me is the volume level I use now. I was usually letting peaks hit 85 dB to hear the detail I was looking for. Now I can drop that to 75 to 80 dB and not have an itch to turn it up. I do turn it up just to know how it sounds, but it just doesn't seem necessary. Most unusual.
My Turntable setup is the tip top source. The Ethos CD / DAC playing silver discs is a surprisingly close second. And the Grimm MU1 is a very tight third. It's an embarrassment of riches, and thankfully I have a large library of Vinyl and Silver disc.
I am focused right now on a new chair. Stressless has my attention.
The combination of the Pandora, Legato, and Antileon EVO were very hard to send down the road. Two days later I wondered at the new sound. It's not subtle, except when subtle is called for. It always seems unencumbered and just what it needs to be. And the speakers are invisible. They don't call any attention to themselves ever. It's pretty nice.
It could be weeks before I consider an upgrade!
Weeks I say!
With the previous gear, the soundstage was deep and very very wide. Now it's like the speakers turned into omni style speakers, say like the MBL Extremes. With the Commander and Apex the soundstage is whatever it was intended to be. It's vast beyond measure when called for. Or stirringly intimate when that path is chosen. Each listening session I almost feel fatigued from the amazing and nearly endless new musical discoveries and how they fill the space. Walls aren't an issue. Whether it is new to me music or very familiar music. I do not have the ability to half-listen. It is extremely compelling and very rewarding to see how old gems sound. Everything comes up from a new definition of black. The previous gear was more like carboard cutouts highly defined but somehow flat in comparison to what I hear now. Jazz is particularly good. When a trombone appears eight feet behind the double doors to my listening room it reminds me of early days with Carver Sonic Holography. But it doesn't involve any tricks, it is just where the Trombone is supposed to be. One thing that really surprises me is the volume level I use now. I was usually letting peaks hit 85 dB to hear the detail I was looking for. Now I can drop that to 75 to 80 dB and not have an itch to turn it up. I do turn it up just to know how it sounds, but it just doesn't seem necessary. Most unusual.
My Turntable setup is the tip top source. The Ethos CD / DAC playing silver discs is a surprisingly close second. And the Grimm MU1 is a very tight third. It's an embarrassment of riches, and thankfully I have a large library of Vinyl and Silver disc.
I am focused right now on a new chair. Stressless has my attention.
The combination of the Pandora, Legato, and Antileon EVO were very hard to send down the road. Two days later I wondered at the new sound. It's not subtle, except when subtle is called for. It always seems unencumbered and just what it needs to be. And the speakers are invisible. They don't call any attention to themselves ever. It's pretty nice.
It could be weeks before I consider an upgrade!
Weeks I say!
Congrats on your wondeful new amps and many thanks for sharing your impressions. May I ask about the heat output from the Apex? I appreciate this may be difficult to describe so perhaps just a comparison with your previous AE would be very helpful? Happy listening.
Thank you! My speakers are 92 dB efficient so they don't really need a lot of power. But I preferred to run my Antileon at full Bias. I pretty much always had it set that way. It was a furnace. My rabbit liked to sit under it, she loved the warmth. The Apex I have been running in medium bias and it barely warms up. I have run it in high Bias and it doesn't seem to get anywhere near as warm as the Antileon EVO did. The Apex is nearly 50% Heat Sink. I would be surprised to see what it takes to get it hot. I'll make it a personal goal to find out.
What a fantastic set of listening notes. That is super great and 'image density' is a particular gift of Gryphon having owned Gryphon amps leading up thru the Mephisto for over a decade. And yes, absolutely positively, the volume went DOWN in the house because the power, grace and resolution are so good...you hear everything in full, complete powerful and effortless sound at lower levels. That is the exact phenomena, and its great.
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