- Thread Starter
- #21
No, it doesn't probably but when you pay what could be a downpayment for a house (or the full house itself in some areas) you expect at least the courtesy of actually getting the best money can buy.
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$63K, 150lbs Gryphon Commander Preamp Reviewed by Stereophile
- Thread starter phion
- Start date
solderdude
Grand Contributor
That is only the case when you assume paying more means increased performance. That's not what this brand is all about.
This is a luxury item intended for a certain clientele that probably also owns their speakers, power amps, cables, CDP etc. in one of their rooms in one of their estates.
These are not sold by the hundreds.
They don't really care about VFM and it doesn't even make a small dent in their wallets.
They care about exclusivity and looks/feel and as a bonus it sounds great as well.
People that care about VFM can buy Topping, Sabaj, FiiO or whatever other cheap brand and be totally happy as well.
Even the folks that have to save up a few months to even afford a Schiit Sys.
This is a luxury item intended for a certain clientele that probably also owns their speakers, power amps, cables, CDP etc. in one of their rooms in one of their estates.
These are not sold by the hundreds.
They don't really care about VFM and it doesn't even make a small dent in their wallets.
They care about exclusivity and looks/feel and as a bonus it sounds great as well.
People that care about VFM can buy Topping, Sabaj, FiiO or whatever other cheap brand and be totally happy as well.
Even the folks that have to save up a few months to even afford a Schiit Sys.
- Thread Starter
- #23
I realize that but I still expect it to be perfect in every possible way not just good enough. If I were one of those people you said, I would send it back and sue the company with my army of lawyers if I found that it isn't. Unless I bought it to launder the money I made dealing crack to the poor.
restorer-john
Grand Contributor
How many analogue inputs does your ADI-2 DAC have? That's right, exactly: none. It's a DAC- this is a line level preamplifier. Completely different beasts.
restorer-john
Grand Contributor
That's just a silly, really silly statement. As you mentioned above, you really had/have no idea about the Gryphon range of products and what they are built like, stand for and provide to their owners. The owners know exactly what they are buying. They are gloriously constructed in every way. I think they are way too expensive, but I appreciate the products. A good audiophile friend of mine has Gryphon amplification and it's impossible to fault.
Go find someone who has a Gryphon product, have a good look at it, maybe a listen, educate yourself and report back.
solderdude
Grand Contributor
Specs are more than good enough for perfect sound reproduction so I don't think anyone buying it will ever be displeased.
It matches nicely with 2 Apex Mono blocks. (€ 200k per pair when not dual amping) so the € 60k is a steal.
You can always pair the pre-amp with the € 400k Kodo speakers.
Just under half a million Euros...
The wallets and line of thinking of the uber-rich people buying this for fun are incomprehensible for us 'working force' people.
It matches nicely with 2 Apex Mono blocks. (€ 200k per pair when not dual amping) so the € 60k is a steal.
You can always pair the pre-amp with the € 400k Kodo speakers.
Just under half a million Euros...
The wallets and line of thinking of the uber-rich people buying this for fun are incomprehensible for us 'working force' people.
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But I no longer need any analogue inputs. That is my point, the times have changed.
Katji
Major Contributor
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wow
PS: This applies exactly to what i said there. (And I think includes Europeans who have properties in Cape Town for winter.) :
The only Gryphon I've seen is the Diablo and the price is considerably less than this. [Just because of a friendly dealer, price apparently less than you would pay in USA/EU. He loves them. Oh and apparently service level also very different from Topping.]I'm glad you like your Topping. But even thinking for a microsecond it can be compared to anything from Gryphon is the funny bit.
PS: This applies exactly to what i said there. (And I think includes Europeans who have properties in Cape Town for winter.) :
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- Thread Starter
- #29
Ok fair. Honestly, I don't care much about the brand and the people who bought them. My main issue was actually with Stereophile framing of the measurements and saying they were amongst some of the best they have seen with no mention of better measuring products that cost 100x less. While this word massaging can still be passed as technically truthful, it does still feel like willful omission and would mislead people.
restorer-john
Grand Contributor
Fair enough. Stereophile have always been much like that. I think they also realise that today's SOTA could be tomorrow's entry level and so, they tend to not make absolute statements that can pulled out of context and thrown back at them.
It's pretty amazing the little Topping even made it to the hallowed pages of Stereophile in the first place. That's progress eh?
It was the right thing to do.
D
Deleted member 48726
Guest
You might just be on the dark side, if you have invested in such a useless abomination.
I smiled a bit when the "Kerrock" material was described as something exotic.. -It's cheap composite which are mainly used as budget tabletop and can be made "simila" many materials such as marble.
I want the Gryphon Apex Power Amp. 100w into 8ohm class A, 445 pounds and $99,000
May I also ask you to elaborate why do you think it is not comparable, please? Build quality, signal purity, functionality, etc.?I'm glad you like your Topping. But even thinking for a microsecond it can be compared to anything from Gryphon is the funny bit.
MakeMineVinyl
Major Contributor
Of course they're misleading people. That's what they do to stay in business. I'm reminded about the story of the old lady and the snake, but its too long to repeat here.
It’s certainly not a bargain for the performance, but it’s audibly fine. My main grip is that even in balanced it starts to distort/clip at 2V is odd (It’s not hard clipping though as even at 10V it’s around 0.1% THD).
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Probably more money spent on the elaborately milled heat-sinks and face plate than on all the internals combined.
Seems like the Gryphon and Topping could easily be compared, and judged to be nearly identical, in terms of sound.
It's true that weight, cost, size, and heat generation are very different. Build quality too, perhaps, but I don't know.
It's true that weight, cost, size, and heat generation are very different. Build quality too, perhaps, but I don't know.
Godataloss
Addicted to Fun and Learning
My god is that sexy! The boutique stuffs are usually wonky as hell.
MakeMineVinyl
Major Contributor
That's actually very close to reality with the elaborate metalwork applied to components like this. Another major parts cost is using things like designer capacitors which cost way more than the job requires. Transistors, resistors and such are peanuts in cost comparatively, and they get them from places like Digikey just like we do.
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