Stereophile / Sirinious: Gryphon "Emotionally" Obliterates D'Agostino Amps

caesar

Well-Known Member
May 30, 2010
4,290
767
1,698
Finally, a fair Gryphon review from Stereophile after all these years. According to Jason Victor Sirinious, Gryphon destroys D'Agostino amps when it comes to emotional involvement. D'Agostinos, on the other hand, are better at the analytical audiophile criteria from the Stereophile Audiophile Dictionary.

Fremer, who has called D'Agostinos his 2nd favorite amps, must be steaming. :)

Check out the review: Gryphon Emotionally Superior than D'Agostino
 
  • Like
Reactions: amadeus

Gregadd

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
10,517
1,774
1,850
Metro DC
I doubt Fremer is upset. He changes amps on a regular basis.
 

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,017
13,346
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA
Congratulations on a great review, Rune and Philip!
 

asiufy

Industry Expert/VIP Donor
Jul 8, 2011
3,711
723
1,200
San Diego, CA
almaaudio.com
AFAIK, Fremer has owned big darTZeels for years, 458s and now 468s. He has reviewed plenty of other big amps though, but kept the darTZeels over the years.
 

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,017
13,346
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA
. . . Fremer . . . changes amps on a regular basis.

Please elaborate on this assertion if you can support it with evidence.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bonzo75

Mike Lavigne

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 25, 2010
12,467
11,363
4,410
Fremer, who has called D'Agostinos his 2nd favorite amps......

that was many Fremer amplifier reviews ago...........a different d'Agostino amp.........and with a different set of darTZeel's than his current ones.

3 for 3 off base.:rolleyes:
 
Last edited:

howiebrou

Well-Known Member
Jun 29, 2012
2,789
3,635
1,470
Finally, a fair Gryphon review from Stereophile after all these years. According to Jason Victor Sirinious, Gryphon destroys D'Agostino amps when it comes to emotional involvement. D'Agostinos, on the other hand, are better at the analytical audiophile criteria from the Stereophile Audiophile Dictionary.

Fremer, who has called D'Agostinos his 2nd favorite amps, must be steaming. :)

Check out the review: Gryphon Emotionally Superior than D'Agostino
D'Agostino analytical? I must admit that is one word that I would have never used with his amps.
 

XV-1

Well-Known Member
May 24, 2010
3,591
2,573
1,860
Sydney
Finally, a fair Gryphon review from Stereophile after all these years. According to Jason Victor Sirinious, Gryphon destroys D'Agostino amps when it comes to emotional involvement. D'Agostinos, on the other hand, are better at the analytical audiophile criteria from the Stereophile Audiophile Dictionary.

Fremer, who has called D'Agostinos his 2nd favorite amps, must be steaming. :)

Check out the review: Gryphon Emotionally Superior than D'Agostino

Your click bait subject heading in plain embarrassing to you and your motives.

Where does Jason state Gryphon destroys D'Agostino amps? In your imagination?

As I'd thought all along, while the bass was neither as strong nor as tightly focused as through my 1000 watts into 4 ohms reference D'Agostino Progressions, it certainly was there.

rendition of Schubert Symphonies 2 & 3 (Pentatone 5186759, DSD64), the Progressions delivered a fuller sound while bringing to the fore instruments that had previously been buried in the orchestral blend. But the sheer entrancement of listening to Schubert's joy-infused melodies through the Essence monoblocks was not repeated.

Gryphon make great amps - period - not sure what your point even is as they clearly sound different - it is good news that Jason at least compared the two amps in his system - some reviewers don't.

Fremer has never reviewed the progression amps, only Momentum - so again not sure what you point is. the Essence mono's do cost more than the progression mono's.

Please note, that he is getting this wonderful sound from all amps with his Dag HD preamp.

btw - The Dag S250 sounds a lot better than the progression amps, which are just nice sounding imo when I heard them in my system and I am sure the higher priced Gryphons sound better than the Essence.
 
Last edited:

Gregadd

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
10,517
1,774
1,850
Metro DC
Please elaborate on this assertion if you can support it with evidence.
Happy Thanksgivings Ron. I hope all is well with you and your family.
I am not sure what your point is. Are you seeking enlightenment? Or are your requesting verification of an assertion for which you are in dispute? Since my memory fades proof requires research.
 

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,017
13,346
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA
Happy Thanksgivings Ron. I hope all is well with you and your family.
I am not sure what your point is. Are you seeking enlightenment? Or are your requesting verification of an assertion for which you are in dispute? Since my memory fades proof requires research.

Happy Thanksgiving to you, too! :)

Forgive me if I overreacted. I was not trying to be argumentative, but your assertion struck me as inconsistent with my understanding. Perhaps I misunderstood your point.

I truly was simply requesting evidence supporting the assertion, because it has been my understanding that Michael's primary reference amplifiers for many years have been the big darTZeel monos.

It seems to me that Michael typically compares amplifiers under review to those long-term reference amplifiers. Occasionally, if he has a review amplifier which just arrived and a review amplifier on its way back to the manufacturer he may compare those two together, as well as comparing each of them to his longtime reference amplifiers.

With this being my understanding of Michael's recent amplifier history, it does not suggest to me the characterization that he changes amps on a regular basis.
 
Last edited:

Gregadd

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
10,517
1,774
1,850
Metro DC
I understand.
I have followed Mr. Fremer for forty years. My claim that he has switched out amplifiers covers thatperiod. My memory does not allow me to name the amplifiers. I would would have to come through his reviews and look thro his associate equipment list.
Or even less likely ask him to provide me with a list of his reference amps.
Let us examine how reviews choose their reference. Mr. Fremer is no exception. He choose an amplifier he likes. Just as important is the amps available for long term loan or industry accommodation pricing Of course long terms loans are free. I would suspect industry accommodation at or below manufacturer cost. I seriously doubt they pay retail. Leaving aside the issue of conflict of interest this creates some obvious issues .
God rest his soul, I once posed this question to the late HP of the absolute sound. Would the Wilson WAMM be your reference if you could a long term loan. He never replied.
 

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,017
13,346
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA
Michael pays out of his own pocket for all components other than cables. To his great credit he does not engage in "long-term loans" of components.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bonzo75 and hogen

Gregadd

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
10,517
1,774
1,850
Metro DC
Michael pays out of his own pocket for all components other than cables. To his great credit he does not engage in "long-term loans" of components.
I saw his video. He has lots of review samples sitting around. No reviewer can avoid it. You are saying he is paying retail for Wilsons or DartZeel. He
I am not questioning his credibility.
 

thedudeabides

Well-Known Member
Jan 16, 2011
2,126
651
1,200
Alto, NM
Let us examine how reviews choose their reference. Mr. Fremer is no exception. He choose an amplifier he likes. Just as important is the amps available for long term loan or industry accommodation pricing Of course long terms loans are free.

Ron is correct and you are wrong, Absent his cables, he has purchased the rest of his gear. How much off retail he paid is unknown to me. However, no one pays retail unless they are naive or really stupid. MF has a lot more integrity than most reviewers out there. Please stop the misinformation. We certainly have enough of that going on elsewhere in the world.
 
Last edited:

jeff1225

Well-Known Member
Jan 29, 2012
3,007
3,247
1,410
51
I saw his video. He has lots of review samples sitting around. No reviewer can avoid it. You are saying he is paying retail for Wilsons or DartZeel. He
I am not questioning his credibility.
He pays for Wilson and/or DartZeel, but no where close to full retail. One of the perks of being a reviewer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bonzo75 and Gregadd

Gregadd

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
10,517
1,774
1,850
Metro DC
Ron is correct and you are wrong, Absent his cables, he has purchased the rest of his gear. How much off retail he paid is unknown to me. However, no one pays retail unless they are naive or really stupid. MF has a lot more integrity than most reviewers out there. Please stop the misinformation. We certainly have enough of that going on elsewhere in the world.
Okay I have no desire to to start a flame war. He does accept long time loans. You said it yourself . He has at least $30kof cables. My source is his own video. Do you know at what point he purchased his equipment? Did he go to his dealer and purchase it. OR did he obtain a review sample? His own video says he was going to return a piece of equipment but he decided buy it. He does not pay for his review samples. Again watch the video.
Plenty of people pay retail. Especially on hot items. But there is a vast difference between a retail discount and industry accommodation prices.
Everything I said is accurate.
I have no complaint with Mr. Fremer. I wish other reviewers were more like him. I have praised and defended him on this site.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Vienna

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,017
13,346
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA
. . . You are saying he is paying retail for Wilsons or DartZeel. . . .

Where did I say this?

By "retail" do you mean MSRP?

Of course Michael does not pay MSRP. Of course Michael receives an accomodation discount. (Rarely, I believe, does any consumer in this industry pay MSRP for anything sold under the traditional manufacturer/distributor/dealer business model.)

And I see nothing whatsoever wrong or improper about a reviewer receiving an accommodation discount.
 

tima

Industry Expert
Mar 3, 2014
5,777
6,818
1,400
the Upper Midwest
I thought I was gonna read a thread about Gryphon amps and perhaps some comparison with D'Agostino amps. In the Stereophile article there was 3 references to 'D'Agostino' and the only comparisons I read was about the bass, the absence of 'magic' from the D'Ag amps and something vague about the inadequacy of dynamics from the Gryphon. Discussion about the amps doesn't seem to be happening in this thread.

Congratulations on a great review, Rune and Philip!

I gather it was an article somewhat positive for the Gryphon amp and that's fine and the many paragraphs of quotes from the designer and the marketing director were communicative and somewhat interesting. But it is a terrible review. Almost as bad as his write-up on the ARC Ref 6SE in October where he rattles on about after-market products.

Please elaborate on this assertion if you can support it with evidence.

Why did the thread need to turn into another discussion about Fremer?
 

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing