Recommended Amp(s) from Gryphon Trident II

HughP3

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Apr 25, 2019
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Hello good people of WBF,

I need some advice, what amp would you think would be synergistic with the Trident II. These are active btw so I only need to drive the mids and tweeter.

I currently have Mac 601 monos and yes people either love them or poopoo on them. I can certainly jump for the Gryphon EVO but what else should i look at, or would the Macs actually be ok here? I am weary of buying and selling so would like a long term solution. And no I am not at the extensive level of most here (your depth of knowledge is quite impressive). Just want a fire and forget solution.

Best
Hugh
 
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Ron Resnick

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Jan 24, 2015
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I see the Trident is 95dB sensitive. This means you have tons of options!

I personally like tube amplifiers. I would consider on my short list ARC 160 monos, MastersounD PF100 Litz monos, VTL MB-125 monos (to get the EL-34 tubes) and AM Audio 833S monos.

But of course you have to decide if you like how tubes sound on the speakers. Especially since you are driving only the midrange cones and the AMT I think a tube amplifier is sonically and technically a wonderful solution.

This is what I did for myself on the Pendragons (VTL Siegfried II monos).

I see you already have an ARC preamp, so an ARC amplifier might be a nice, simple solution.

If you want to stay with the same amplifier topology as the Gryphon amp built into the speaker then Gryphon EVO is a great choice. Other solid-state amplifiers might sound a little bit different in one or more ways than the EVO but at that point, if you want to stay with solid-state, I think it makes sense just to get a Gryphon amplifier.
 
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HughP3

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Thanks Ron, Oh boy lots a reading tonight, I actually like the research. So either a Tube, for that leaning toward ARC since I have Ref 6 or stick with Gryphon. Both are about same price range I think. The VTL's Siegfrieds are very nice! but i think staying in the same gene pool makes a lot of sense.
 

Ron Resnick

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Jan 24, 2015
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I agree. If you want to go tubes then ARC makes great sense. If you want to stay solid-state than EVO makes great sense.

I personally would go with ARC for tubes. ARC’s new 160M monos would be wonderful! You would be done!
 

gian60

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Apr 17, 2016
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I listen Pantheon in one shop with CH and i find very good because Pantheon i found a very very little on dark side while CH is a little of clear side so could be a good match.New A 1.5 can be a good choice together with EVO,but everyone has his ideas so will be good if you could try before to buy some
 

GMKF

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Aug 15, 2017
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I would also suggest a look at the CH A1.5 amps. The upgrade-ability is very nice. You can go from a stereo amp to two (or even four) mono amps by just buying a second amp.

You may also want to check DartZeel out.

I have not heard the Audio Research 160M's, but I trust Ron's ears.

PS: Nice Radical you have there :)
 
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HughP3

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gian60 and gmkf thank you for the CH suggestion. I am not familiar with the company but they evidently are highly regarded.
 

Young Skywalker

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Apr 30, 2012
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Hello good people of WBF,

I need some advice, what amp would you think would be synergistic with the Trident II. These are active btw so I only need to drive the mids and tweeter.

I currently have Mac 601 monos and yes people either love them or poopoo on them. I can certainly jump for the Gryphon EVO but what else should i look at, or would the Macs actually be ok here? I am weary of buying and selling so would like a long term solution. And no I am not at the extensive level of most here (your depth of knowledge is quite impressive). Just want a fire and forget solution.

Best
Hugh
If I owned this loudspeaker system then the first amplifiers that I would try on the MTM array would be the Aries Cerat Ianus Issentia monoblocks. I would use the active crossover inside the Trident II to first remove the low bass from the signal going to the Ianus Essential monoblocks.
 

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