Gryphon Colosseum vs Antileon Signature stereo

Hi Schorly! Nice to hear from you again...Merry Xmas! I spoke with 'Mihalis' whose system is on AGon..."This is not a sound system"...check it out. anyway, he told me the Antileon Sig is an older model and is darker than the new Colisseum which he owns. He feels the antileon is not quite in the same league as the 833 1.3 and the Colisseum. BTW, he owns both the Wavac 833 1.3 AND the 833 Mk II!!! He also owns the Wavac PRT 1 and the Gryphon Mirage...talk about a serious system! He is a great source of information.

...oh and i think he owns the Colisseum too!

Hi Lloyd,
thank you for your info.
Antileon Signature is in my opinion great sounding solid state amp but I am not sure if Colosseum's diference in much higer price translates also into much higer sound quality?!
Amyway I hope I will get some more info from other Audiogoners.

... i never compared the 2 side-by-side, but having had the colleseums for over 2 months now,i find them to be
very very good. smooth and coherent on all frequencies, they are gorgeous to look at and listen to.

Any more experiences or updates on the sound of the Colosseum.

I saw one today and it was gorgeous!!

perfect match for my Strad's, aesthetically at least

Hi. I am back...2 years later. I now can say i have compared the Colosseum to the Antileon (in my system). The Colosseum has a far superior, more natural treble and upper mid balance. The Antileon was beautiful, great purity of tone (the inner deep 'ring' of a note)...but ultimately it was dark...clear and detailed but dark. It helped in the overall impression of a rich, organic sound, smooth powerful and effortless. but when i put a Goldmund in (not my taste below mids) but the treble was incredibly pure while also being far more illuminated...i learned something after several weeks of having the Goldmund.)

The Colosseum matches all of the Antileon's natural power, beauty, tonality...but now illuminates the treble and upper mids in a manner that is equally organic as the mids and lower mids all thru the lowest of the low bass...but illuminated and detailed.

I would also say it has shed a few pounds from the Antileon...like a sprinter or a boxer with greater muscles but way more definition too...so that Colosseum takes its immense power and adds dexterity in handling complex musical passages far better. Its just all there in front of you, with multiple complex passages with ease and clarity, no bleeding, no confusion whatsoever...so easy, it makes you wonder why others amps seem to strain so hard to do this. Because it does not seem particularly complex when you hear it on the Colosseum.

Even on the bass, this 'super strong, 5% body fat presentation' means the Colosseum can effortlessly pick up various different lines of low bass in a deep house track 25-45hz and pick each line apart...the Antileon at first seems stronger...until you realize it is 2 notes...when the Colosseum shows you there are actually 5 deep bass notes...and you wonder where they all were before.

Hope that helps.

Hi Lloyd,
Managed to listen to the Mephisto as yet ?

Hi Boeing,

Not i have not. I have spoken with someone who owns them, and with someone who has heard them in a friend's system. One difference as i understand is that the Mephisto has an even greater intensity of that purity/depth of note than even the Colosseum. Its resolution is also something to behold.

Hello again Lloyd,
I would be very interested in knowing if you have compared the Gryphon house sound to that of the Vitus. There are a lot of similarities both being Danish, Pure Class A , zero negative feed back to name a few ......

Boeing,

I wish I could say that i have compared them. I have never had that opportunity. However, Jeff Fritz has at Ultraaudio. Based on the reviews i have read, i believe he would order them (for his system) as follows:

1 Gryphon Colosseum
2 Boulder 2060
3 Vitus Ref (the 50-watt amp)
4 Gryphon Antileon Signature

Essentially, his in-house reference went from the Antileon to Vitus to Boulder 2060 to Colosseum. He has since moved on in 2012.

Try reading Jeff's reviews of the Vitus, Boulder and Colosseum. Ultraaudio.com Hope that is helpful. Good luck!