Well, I am blessed to say that, at the introduction of a gracious WBF member, I got in touch with an owner of a Gryphon Mephisto & Rockport system who has decided to change to super-high efficiency horns and SETs...and am now enjoying his mint condition Mephisto in the system which just arrived today...while the Colosseum remains on the market. The price was right, far less than a new one, and thus enables me to take my time on selling the Colosseum and finding it a new home.
What Philip O'Hanlon, Amadeus, and others here who know the Mephisto well have said is true:
- Relative to the Colosseum, the Mephisto is indeed delivering 'a country mile' more detail. Specifically in deep house tracks, where I have always passed over the background words of some tracks because i cannot hear them...i now know EXACTLY what they are saying in the background. A great (and for me, true) test.
- Its bass is significantly tighter than the Colosseum (which i was NOT expecting given how well the Colosseum performs in this regard). Upper bass details is noticeably greater and also tighter, more disciplined. It also appears to have greater power in the sub-bass region...not necessarily greater extension (thought it might)...but certainly the conviction the Gryphon generally has in the broader bass region carries through all the way into the sub-bass region very confidently and completely
- Overall, the voicing is very similar...i was expecting a 'darker' voice and so far have found it to be remarkably similar to the Colosseum. It also seems even more resolute than the Colosseum which I also did not expect...and because it has no fans (just massive heat sinks), the unit itself is silent.
- Of course, I need to spend more time with it...only been on for a few hours...literally in from the cold...so lets see how it settles in...