Gryphon PowerZone 3

[aangen]

Well then you have no excuse due to alcohol impairment.

I may have to alert the Hyperbole Police over "completely different sound."

The PowerZone is a hyperbole machine. It is such a surprise what it does for a system. I hope you get a chance to hear one in your system Ron. Ron hyperbole is always welcome!

 

[Holmz]

Thanks for your expert analysis, your opinion is always appreciated.

I’m interested in direct experience though.

Anyone did already try it at home? And in the EU 230V version in particular.

That is sort of a weighted group, as those who are willing to get one already have decided that they needed it either objectively, emotionally, or subjectively.

The objective group may dismiss it out of hand, and the other groups might embrace it.

It would be nice if they had some evidence that the thing worked.

 

[luca.pelliccioli]

You quoted an old post of mine. I ended up purchasing a PZ 3.10 at the end of last year, based on comments from trusted audio friends.

I suppose my unit was the first (EU version) sold in my country.

As you can read from my other posts on this thread, I was amazed by the improvement achieved. A leap of faith? Am I lucky?

Who cares? The most important thing is that I’m now enjoying the PZ and have to thank who (@aangen) drove me to this route.

Curiosity can kill the cat, but sometimes distrust can make the man sad!

 

[b345t]

I took a leap of faith for sure, with the experiences of a few trusted friends and reviews from users online. In Greece, there was nothing I could demo.

 

[tony22]

For that kind of scratch I’d have to borrow one first. Anybody?

 

[aangen]

That is sort of a weighted group, as those who are willing to get one already have decided that they needed it either objectively, emotionally, or subjectively.

The objective group may dismiss it out of hand, and the other groups might embrace it.

It would be nice if they had some evidence that the thing worked.

There is a lot of evidence that it works wonders. My listening room and the dozens of others who have one now. You may be talking about needing a particular reviewer state that it works. That is a personal choice I understand. If you have a dealer who will let you try it at home I am certain, absolutely certain, that would do the trick.

 

[Holmz]

There is a lot of evidence that it works wonders. My listening room and the dozens of others who have one now. You may be talking about needing a particular reviewer state that it works. That is a personal choice I understand. If you have a dealer who will let you try it at home I am certain, absolutely certain, that would do the trick.

Yep ^that^ is anecdotal “evidence”.
We never seem to see some graph or scope reading showing something better or worse with or without it.

It is 5 hours to a local shop, and whether they have one, or not, I do not know… nor do I know whether they would loan one out.
Nor do I know if the thing would actually help as I do not know if anything is broken enough to need the thing.
Nor do I have a whole lot of desire to even try anything Gryphon, as I am pretty suspect of their customer service.

I have seen FFTs of my system during using the DAC as ADC, and was surprised that I had some spurs in the spectrum with no apparent sound playing. And was able to do some cable and ground hygiene and reduce that stuff.
But it was below audibility before I started, so another 10-20dB lower than that seemed lower than low enough..

Hence I am not sure whether these things are like the emperor’s new clothes, or whether the other people have problem that I do not have, or whether I have some FOMO. And then the hand waving in the video left me with the feel that the fellow is a slick salesman.

===

Basically everyone that got one of those and kept it, is in a group that it either works for, or they believes that it works for them.
Hence it is a weighted group.
And everyone that did not get one, either is already happy, or doesn’t believe that it’ll work, or doesn’t need it.

And then there is a swath of people which I may be in with, that do not know if they need such a thing, or do not know if it works, and are unclear whether it is anything more than just a powerstrip with a nice lion logo on it.

If we like to listen to the people that one - then would get one.
If we like to listen to people that did don’t get one, then we would not get one.
And the company did not do a whole lot towards providing clarity with the shuckin-n-jivin in the video.

 

[aangen]

Yep ^that^ is anecdotal “evidence”.
We never seem to see some graph or scope reading showing something better or worse with or without it.

It is 5 hours to a local shop, and whether they have one, or not, I do not know… nor do I know whether they would loan one out.
Nor do I know if the thing would actually help as I do not know if anything is broken enough to need the thing.
Nor do I have a whole lot of desire to even try anything Gryphon, as I am pretty suspect of their customer service.

I have seen FFTs of my system during using the DAC as ADC, and was surprised that I had some spurs in the spectrum with no apparent sound playing. And was able to do some cable and ground hygiene and reduce that stuff.
But it was below audibility before I started, so another 10-20dB lower than that seemed lower than low enough..

Hence I am not sure whether these things are like the emperor’s new clothes, or whether the other people have problem that I do not have, or whether I have some FOMO. And then the hand waving in the video left me with the feel that the fellow is a slick salesman.

===

Basically everyone that got one of those and kept it, is in a group that it either works for, or they believes that it works for them.
Hence it is a weighted group.
And everyone that did not get one, either is already happy, or doesn’t believe that it’ll work, or doesn’t need it.

And then there is a swath of people which I may be in with, that do not know if they need such a thing, or do not know if it works, and are unclear whether it is anything more than just a powerstrip with a nice lion logo on it.

If we like to listen to the people that one - then would get one.
If we like to listen to people that did don’t get one, then we would not get one.
And the company did not do a whole lot towards providing clarity with the shuckin-n-jivin in the video.

Can't help you.

 

[Holmz]

Can't help you.

I know - your signature block shows gryphon, so we are using different electronics as our basis.
So right away we differ in choice.

However I do see that there is a dealer 5 hours away, so I’ll try and visit them when I am up there, and see what all the fuss is about.

 

[luca.pelliccioli]

Yep ^that^ is anecdotal “evidence”.
We never seem to see some graph or scope reading showing something better or worse with or without it.

It is 5 hours to a local shop, and whether they have one, or not, I do not know… nor do I know whether they would loan one out.
Nor do I know if the thing would actually help as I do not know if anything is broken enough to need the thing.
Nor do I have a whole lot of desire to even try anything Gryphon, as I am pretty suspect of their customer service.

I have seen FFTs of my system during using the DAC as ADC, and was surprised that I had some spurs in the spectrum with no apparent sound playing. And was able to do some cable and ground hygiene and reduce that stuff.
But it was below audibility before I started, so another 10-20dB lower than that seemed lower than low enough..

Hence I am not sure whether these things are like the emperor’s new clothes, or whether the other people have problem that I do not have, or whether I have some FOMO. And then the hand waving in the video left me with the feel that the fellow is a slick salesman.

===

Basically everyone that got one of those and kept it, is in a group that it either works for, or they believes that it works for them.
Hence it is a weighted group.
And everyone that did not get one, either is already happy, or doesn’t believe that it’ll work, or doesn’t need it.

And then there is a swath of people which I may be in with, that do not know if they need such a thing, or do not know if it works, and are unclear whether it is anything more than just a powerstrip with a nice lion logo on it.

If we like to listen to the people that one - then would get one.
If we like to listen to people that did don’t get one, then we would not get one.
And the company did not do a whole lot towards providing clarity with the shuckin-n-jivin in the video.

Thanks for your contribution to this thread about all the philosophical questions a human being should answer before making decisions in his life,

There is a group that can help you, I hope.

 

[gleeds]

We believe dealers and manufacturers should offer home demos on such items. I'll visit Jay Caceras at the end of February and look forward to hearing the PZ3 in and out of his system. In our experience, mileage can vary, but if one hears enough good things from others, it is always worth determining if the intended results are what one is after.

A lower noise floor is never a bad thing. The dilemma is that many options exist, including passive and active solutions, grid protectors, grounding boxes, etc. I prefer to address power from the panel to the outlet and proceed from there. Even though we have not met, Kingrex is my go-to voice on that subject for the present.

 

[Holmz]

Thanks for your contribution to this thread about all the philosophical questions a human being should answer before making decisions in his life,

There is a group that can help you, I hope.

Thanks for including an ad hominem attack… a class act there.
While I realise that what I wrote may be vexing, the crux of the problem though was with the video and the hand waving and talk about the 5th dimension etc.
It was so difficult to put words to it that he says that he cannot put words to it.

That lack of explanation is not my fault, and I do not need psychological help… but maybe some AI help to translate what he said into “something real” would provide a good start?

Ciao.

We believe dealers and manufacturers should offer home demos on such items. I'll visit Jay Caceras at the end of February and look forward to hearing the PZ3 in and out of his system. In our experience, mileage can vary, but if one hears enough good things from others, it is always worth determining if the intended results are what one is after.

A lower noise floor is never a bad thing. The dilemma is that many options exist, including passive and active solutions, grid protectors, grounding boxes, etc. I prefer to address power from the panel to the outlet and proceed from there. Even though we have not met, Kingrex is my go-to voice on that subject for the present.

It would be interesting to know whether the device anecdotally works mostly to aid Gryphon gear, and what other gear that it does or does not seem to help… and some “how much” does it help it.

I may have just been overly lucky in not seeming having significant issues with power.
However I do know that once I got a DAC, then it seemed like power and noise problems came in.
Prior to that with just analogue, it always just worked like a champ.

 

[luca.pelliccioli]

I opened this thread writing this sentence:

“Can anyone share their experience (especially in the EU)?”

This thread is intended to share experiences on this device among those who have had the opportunity to try it personally.

I kindly invite those who are interested in theoretical or philosophical reasoning (not psychological), evaluations of marketing effectiveness, lucubrations on technical and scientific characteristics of this product to open their own thread. Thank you.

 

[aangen]

Thanks for including an ad hominem attack… a class act there.
While I realise that what I wrote may be vexing, the crux of the problem though was with the video and the hand waving and talk about the 5th dimension etc.
It was so difficult to put words to it that he says that he cannot put words to it.

That lack of explanation is not my fault, and I do not need psychological help… but maybe some AI help to translate what he said into “something real” would provide a good start?

Ciao.


It would be interesting to know whether the device anecdotally works mostly to aid Gryphon gear, and what other gear that it does or does not seem to help… and some “how much” does it help it.

I may have just been overly lucky in not seeming having significant issues with power.
However I do know that once I got a DAC, then it seemed like power and noise problems came in.
Prior to that with just analogue, it always just worked like a champ.

Your reaction is perfectly understandable. I try to tell people not to consider the PowerZone as a "Power Conditioner". It is unlike any other power conditioner on the market. For one thing, it is unfused. (It has no fuse, external or internal) For another, it has no power switch. It offers zero surge protection. It comes with either one or two 20 amp inputs, and 8 outputs. It may have been better if they called it a "Snakeoil 1000".

It should not be compared to other "power conditioners" as it has no active elements inside, no transformers, no circuit boards, just one or two magic boxes and some wire. The only thing one could measure is the voltage out. It is all magic. I can tell you it has a not subtle effect on the sound. I won't try to describe it.

"Sounds too good to be true, can't be true" is a good rule. But not this time.

For more unmeasurable yet easily heard improvements you could also check this thread out:

The Grid Protector, the EMI Protector and The Allocator By Schnerzinger-In My System and I’m Blown Away

Many years ago as I started my audiophile pursuits, I was basically a digital guy and only got into analogue (turntable and reel to reel) over the past 10 years. I remember vividly when something called a CD player hit the audio market and how one could pause, reverse, fast forward simply and...

www.whatsbestforum.com

It is most amusing.

As for Gryphon, they have served me very well. The first Gryphon Commander Preamplifier I bought had an issue. After a short discussion period with their technical people, they sent me a brand new one. They prefer that all of their customers speak with their dealers instead of contacting Gryphon directly if issues arise. That works fine unless your dealer is unsupportive or you bought your gear second hand. I buy mine from a Gryphon Dealer. As you can see, I like their gear.

I would be fine with the old days where there was more substance in the specs on gear. The thing about the PowerZone is, every online review has been extremely positive. I have yet to find one that is critical.

I look forward to the day you get to hear one, hopefully in your system. It works with any gear, not just Gryphon. I have helped over a dozen people get a PowerZone, and most of the folks that have one do not use Gryphon gear. It's an odd world.

 

[Popspin]

Post deleted. Didn’t add enough to the conversation.

 

[Paul172]

The engagement I get using the PZ’s is beyond what I used to have.

You are definitely not alone! Congrats!

 

[CMG]

Judge for yourself the effect of 100 hours of heating PowerZone 3.10.

 

[Paul172]

Nor do I have a whole lot of desire to even try anything Gryphon, as I am pretty suspect of their customer service.

First off I feel bad with your negative outlook on the Gryphon. From experience I can tell you the finest audio equipment being made right now imo is from Gryphon. As far as service issues I own a Gryphon Ethos some of the original Ethos had issues with the lids staying open on them. Contacted Gryphon and let them know the parts were shipped along with a new optical drive because my player couldn’t read a small handful of CD’s. Luckily for me I live 2 hours from the Gryphon repairman (Soren). I dropped it off Wednesday it was repaired Saturday picked it up on Sunday. No issues and met a new friend in the Gryphon family! A+ experience

 

[CMG]

After 120 hours heating - Gryphon PowerZone 3.10​

 

[HughP3]

I have just finished an in home Demo of the PZ3. It is better sounding than my Shunyata Everest which was an improvement even with a dedicated line and a Torus 60 amp power supply. I will likely purchase late this year or early next.