Installing the Trident 2

[Philip O Hanlon]

I was a little apprehensive about installing the Trident 2. The Pantheons, I can just about deal with, even on my own. But the Trident 2 are about twice the volume and approx. three times the weight.
when I broke my clavicle five weeks ago (cycling accident), I knew that it would be impossible for me to install the speakers myself. I am so grateful to Joe Cali, our Los Angeles Gryphon dealer for stepping in & taking care of the installation. Bringing the crates into the listening room, unboxing, putting in the rough position. Removing the Pantheons, putting them in their crates. Then putting the empty Trident crates into our storage, finally changing out preamps - almost three hours. Before dialing in the speakers, which took almost another six hours.


Had the paving stones filled with concrete, a smooth path for the monster crates.

Had a ramp fabricated & strengthened, no unnecessary lifting required.


two dollies under each crate


The Pantheons were still in the room, when the Tridents were brought inside. Mephisto in the middle between the Pantheons.


Speakers were laid on their side to facilitate removing the top & bottom shipping caps.





These are v tall speakers




First speaker more or less in situ.

 

[Philip O Hanlon]

Actually dialing the speakers in, is always the most time consuming. though fun part of this exercise.


Trident 2 and Pantheon








Gryphon Black Spikes with Artesania Decoupling Discs. The display on the floor shows the bass amplitude, as well as damping. Adjustments, are made from the remote control or from the back of the speaker.


Photo credit - Joseph Cali


The room measures approx. 40 x 31 x 23'

The speakers have a 500WPC Class AB amplifier on the back panel that drives the 4 x 8" woofers in a sealed enclosure.
We ended up moving the two speakers about 6" away from the staircase (and into the room) & 1 1/4" closer to the staircase. After we found the correct location for each speaker, then we spiked them & mounted them on the Artesania 4" Decoupling Discs.

Total time spent from start to finish, a little shy of nine hours. My deepest gratitude to Joe Cali for taking care of the installation.

What do they sound like ? TBC

 

[HughP3]

Congrats Phillip! Please post impressions. I am beyond excited to have mine installed by Joe, maybe by mid April the room will be ready. - hugh

 

[Philip O Hanlon]

Thanks, Hugh, I have no doubt that you will be thrilled with the Trident's performance. Joe & Mike did a fantastic job dialing in the speakers.

Can't wait to get the Ethos CD back from Manhattan; its a source that competes best with the best turntables. I heard Joe is going to bring his demo to your home for the installation.

Looking forward to hearing your room the next time I am in Atalanta.
cheers
Philip

 

[HughP3]

Please do Phillip

 

[BruceD]

Wow! Quite an undertaking--where was Joe? don't recognise him from those two fellows
Did he pike on the heavy lifting!

Luv the house /setting/etc Philip --big difference from a Ballsbridge Semi !

BruceD

 

[Audiophile Bill]

Actually dialing the speakers in, is always the most time consuming. though fun part of this exercise.View attachment 62221

View attachment 62214
Trident 2 and Pantheon

View attachment 62215

View attachment 62216

View attachment 62218

View attachment 62217
Gryphon Black Spikes with Artesania Decoupling Discs. The display on the floor shows the bass amplitude, as well as damping. Adjustments, are made from the remote control or from the back of the speaker.

View attachment 62219
Photo credit - Joseph Cali

View attachment 62220
The room measures approx. 40 x 31 x 23'

The speakers have a 500WPC Class AB amplifier on the back panel that drives the 4 x 8" woofers in a sealed enclosure.
We ended up moving the two speakers about 6" away from the staircase (and into the room) & 1 1/4" closer to the staircase. After we found the correct location for each speaker, then we spiked them & mounted them on the Artesania 4" Decoupling Discs.

Total time spent from start to finish, a little shy of nine hours. My deepest gratitude to Joe Cali for taking care of the installation.

What do they sound like ? TBC

Wow what a fantastic room and setup. Enjoy.

 

[Ron Resnick]

How are the Trident IIs sounding, Philip?

 

[Mobiusman]

Philip,

Congratulations on the Bergmann line. I have had mine 6 mos and still tweaking it to sound better. In my case a Vibraplane really helps with the deep and mid bass, which are both outstanding.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Philip,

Congratulations on the Bergmann line. I have had mine 6 mos and still tweaking it to sound better. In my case a Vibraplane really helps with the deep and mid bass, which are both outstanding.

Hi!

What cartridge are you using on the Odin now?

 

[Mobiusman]

Hi!

What cartridge are you using on the Odin now?

ZYX ULTImate Optimum. I had the model one down ?Premium (the one I think you have) and then went to this which is very similar overall, but even more detailed.

It likes the arm and table, but the fine tuning of the counterweight is way too delicate and thus takes care and time. BTW, the arm is amazing, but there is a learning curve.

 

[Ron Resnick]

ZYX ULTImate Optimum. I had the model one down ?Premium (the one I think you have) and then went to this which is very similar overall, but even more detailed.

It likes the arm and table, but the fine tuning of the counterweight is way too delicate and thus takes care and time. BTW, the arm is amazing, but there is a learning curve.

Thank you very much, Russ! I am very excited that you are enjoying the Odin!

I am still trying to figure out whether I should start with the ZYX UNIverse Premium SB2 on the SME 3012R (a known and very well-liked pairing) or on the Odin.

What have you found to be the elements of the learning curve of the Odin? I know it's a little bit not obvious about how you roll down the knurled knob to drop the stylus onto the vinyl. Do you mean that, or do you mean other operating characteristics of the tonearm take some getting used to.

 

[Mobiusman]

At first I found the cue to be clunky, but then quickly adapted. The hardest setting is the tracking force, which does not change easily because it is not threaded ad has a lot of friction and thus not easy to move. The tracking force is very sensitive, ,01 gram makes a substantial difference, gut what a difference.

 

[Ron Resnick]

At first I found the cue to be clunky, but then quickly adapted. The hardest setting is the tracking force, which does not change easily because it is not threaded ad has a lot of friction and thus not easy to move. The tracking force is very sensitive, ,01 gram makes a substantial difference, gut what a difference.

Thank you, Russ.

 

[Mobiusman]

Ron,

Somewhere in WBF land is my first response. I have had 4 straight trackers Rabco ST7, M&K Rabco 110/110 on a Thorens 150 and a Rockport Sirius 6000 on a TriangleArt Reference SE and now the Odin. It is my favorite because the image is so fixed and clear. Also I am using the ZYX Optimum which is amazing, yet very musically real.

I have had a number of pivotal arms, mostly 9", but have preferred the 12" Aries 3D to the 9" printed equivalent and like the TA Osaris 12" with the Apollo cartridge, because it tracked everything and always sounded good.

However, the Bergmann Galder/Odin is in another class and I am still working it out.

IMHO there is no better phono cable than the MasterBuilt Ultra with Bocchino RCA's on both ends to get rid of the standard rhodium.

I should admit that I have an entire MB Ultra loom for IC's Speaker wire, PC's and especially the USB

 

[Philip O Hanlon]

Coming up to three months now since I installed the Trident 2, been busy changing gear out. Enjoying myself immensely.
Given that I have changed out all of the sources and even the amplifier for the mids & highs, its been a fun time for exploring music & trying to determine the limits of this spectacular system. It goes without saying, that its a dramatically different system to the Vivid Audio Giya G1, series 2 driven by the Luxman 1000 series reference amplification and a Audio Aero La Source SACD player.

First I added a Gryphon Ethos to the system; WOW ! I have never heard such amazing playback from the CD format before. My preference is for up-sampling to DSD128, gives a wonderful analogue texture to the music, effortless and involving. Here is a CD player that is competitive with the best SACD players & turntables.
Been playing some of the musical gems that I accumulated over the past three decades. Interesting how even when playing hybrid SA-CDs that I don't miss the DSD layer as the 2xDSD up-sampling is so well executed. Playing the equivalent DSD file through the DAC of the Ethos is inferior sonically to the disc playback. Streaming is inferior to that again, but ideal for choosing the play order of a compilation.
Stand-out. Peter McGrath recorded "The Dancer's Lament" in a theater many years ago. Starts out with a female singer humming along, as a lady recites a poem of her (dancer's) woes. Percussion shimmers & dances in the air, soon to be joined by an electric bass, then a bass drum roll obliterates the calm. This must be at least a 10dB change in dynamics. The bass drum slams you in the chest - ouch ! Says he, smiling.
Been listening to Demo XXII and only feel that I need to change out one song before this is complete and I can start accumulating songs for next year's Demo XXIII. Delighted with the Artesania Ethos rack, even comes with two extra shelves for a music server or streaming device.

Swapped out the Mephisto for an Essence. Given that the Trident 2 have powered woofers, this amp only needs to drive two 6" midrange woofers and the Mundorf Air Motion Transformer, ribbon tweeter; the mids & highs are 95dB efficient, so a strong 30WPC amp should work beautifully.. Delighted with the performance of this compact amplifier, approx. 1/3 of the cost of the Mephisto.
Totally different presentation to the Mephisto, much more soulful, musically rich. Without question, the Mephisto is the resolution champ and retrieves detail that you thought was lost in the mix. I can well imagine many audiophiles preferring the Mephisto in this system. But on this subjection question, there really is no wrong answer; its just a matter of personal taste.
The Essence is irrefutably a Gryphon amplifier in its sonic character. Warm, rich, involving; throws a deep & wide sound-stage. Utterly musical, but with lots of resolution delivered in an unforced manner.
Have not compared the Essence to the Antileon EVO yet.

Been listening to the Bergmann Galder turntable system for a month now with the Brinkmann Pi MC cartridge (Benz Micro motor assembly) mounted on the Odin linear tracking tonearm and must say that once I sorted out the loading on the Gryphon Legatto phono stage - the latter allows one to use any value resistor in a particular socket on the board; I am THRILLED with the result. Interesting how subconsciously noticeable the lack of tracking distortion is. There is an effortless to the system, where the side of the record is over before you know it. Lovely even handed presenattion with terrific dynamics on Dominique Fils-Aimé's album Nameless - check out Birds or Feeling Good. Demonstration quality. Hard to find, but well worth the $$.

Only bummer recently is that I had to drop my ReVox / SonoruS PR99 off for service with Marc Bishoff in Los Angles. The capstan needs to be resurfaced, new bearings, caps, pots - looking at a month+ before it will be ready.

So the Trident 2 continue to burn in & have not had time to play around with cabling, yet. Effortless is a how many listeners have described the system so far. I don't doubt that there is quite a lot more performance to be eked out of the system yet. Not in a hurry, enjoying lots of terrific new records and rediscovering CDs that I have not listened to for almost two decades.
Fun indeed.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Dear Philip,

Thank you very much for these very interesting updates!

Gryphon amplification seems very popular and your report actually makes me want to try a Gryphon amplifier on the Pendragon ribbon panels someday.

For the same reason as you described for the Trident II, the new Essence might be the perfect amplifier for the ribbon panels (since I personally would prefer a touch of warmth over ultimate resolution and "slam").

I cannot wait to hear this system someday!

 

[Lagonda]

Coming up to three months now since I installed the Trident 2, been busy changing gear out. Enjoying myself immensely.
Given that I have changed out all of the sources and even the amplifier for the mids & highs, its been a fun time for exploring music & trying to determine the limits of this spectacular system. It goes without saying, that its a dramatically different system to the Vivid Audio Giya G1, series 2 driven by the Luxman 1000 series reference amplification and a Audio Aero La Source SACD player.

First I added a Gryphon Ethos to the system; WOW ! I have never heard such amazing playback from the CD format before. My preference is for up-sampling to DSD128, gives a wonderful analogue texture to the music, effortless and involving. Here is a CD player that is competitive with the best SACD players & turntables.
Been playing some of the musical gems that I accumulated over the past three decades. Interesting how even when playing hybrid SA-CDs that I don't miss the DSD layer as the 2xDSD up-sampling is so well executed. Playing the equivalent DSD file through the DAC of the Ethos is inferior sonically to the disc playback. Streaming is inferior to that again, but ideal for choosing the play order of a compilation.
Stand-out. Peter McGrath recorded "The Dancer's Lament" in a theater many years ago. Starts out with a female singer humming along, as a lady recites a poem of her (dancer's) woes. Percussion shimmers & dances in the air, soon to be joined by an electric bass, then a bass drum roll obliterates the calm. This must be at least a 10dB change in dynamics. The bass drum slams you in the chest - ouch ! Says he, smiling.
Been listening to Demo XXII and only feel that I need to change out one song before this is complete and I can start accumulating songs for next year's Demo XXIII. Delighted with the Artesania Ethos rack, even comes with two extra shelves for a music server or streaming device.

Swapped out the Mephisto for an Essence. Given that the Trident 2 have powered woofers, this amp only needs to drive two 6" midrange woofers and the Mundorf Air Motion Transformer, ribbon tweeter; the mids & highs are 95dB efficient, so a strong 30WPC amp should work beautifully.. Delighted with the performance of this compact amplifier, approx. 1/3 of the cost of the Mephisto.
Totally different presentation to the Mephisto, much more soulful, musically rich. Without question, the Mephisto is the resolution champ and retrieves detail that you thought was lost in the mix. I can well imagine many audiophiles preferring the Mephisto in this system. But on this subjection question, there really is no wrong answer; its just a matter of personal taste.
The Essence is irrefutably a Gryphon amplifier in its sonic character. Warm, rich, involving; throws a deep & wide sound-stage. Utterly musical, but with lots of resolution delivered in an unforced manner.
Have not compared the Essence to the Antileon EVO yet.

Been listening to the Bergmann Galder turntable system for a month now with the Brinkmann Pi MC cartridge (Benz Micro motor assembly) mounted on the Odin linear tracking tonearm and must say that once I sorted out the loading on the Gryphon Legatto phono stage - the latter allows one to use any value resistor in a particular socket on the board; I am THRILLED with the result. Interesting how subconsciously noticeable the lack of tracking distortion is. There is an effortless to the system, where the side of the record is over before you know it. Lovely even handed presenattion with terrific dynamics on Dominique Fils-Aimé's album Nameless - check out Birds or Feeling Good. Demonstration quality. Hard to find, but well worth the $$.

Only bummer recently is that I had to drop my ReVox / SonoruS PR99 off for service with Marc Bishoff in Los Angles. The capstan needs to be resurfaced, new bearings, caps, pots - looking at a month+ before it will be ready.

So the Trident 2 continue to burn in & have not had time to play around with cabling, yet. Effortless is a how many listeners have described the system so far. I don't doubt that there is quite a lot more performance to be eked out of the system yet. Not in a hurry, enjoying lots of terrific new records and rediscovering CDs that I have not listened to for almost two decades.
Fun indeed.

Nice to read your own review of the products, who needs Fremer Your pleasure shines true. Time to audition Gryphon again !

 

[han_n]

Ron, as you may remember, I had the Mephisto feeding my Pendragons, and needles to say that it's not "just very good" but likely within the top 3 of possible best choices to power the Pendragons. Even I don't use the Mephisto anymore, I still highly recommend to consider to whoever is using the Pendragons.

 

[Philip O Hanlon]

Ron,
Whenever you are ready, I would be happy to lend you - the Antileon EVO, Essence or Mephisto to drive your Pendragons.
Hopefully, the Lockdown will be lifted shortly & we'll all use the Apple / Google Tracing app on our phones. Should address concern about having guests over to your home.
Ciao,
Philip