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Hey George, Google won't let me see the image on the link you provided, it says "forbidden content". |
Both links work fine, they are only pictures, try to turn off your ad blocker or virus guard for a minute. Or here I posted the picks up on Image-Hosting Gryphon https://ibb.co/t40D5ZrHegal https://ibb.co/4MMfjbzCheers George |
Thanks George. I would go with the Gryphon. That Hegel is quite a wiring mess. |
it is about the sound ... i think...
but perhaps sometimes ocd prevails, i get it... :) |
Hegel is nowhere near Gryphon quality. Hegel is midfi compared to Gryphon.
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The Diablo, no contest. The Gryphons are some of the few integrateds that can compete with TOTL separates. |
Thanks for the comments! Sounds like I seriously need to consider and audition the Gryphon. Should I be concerned about the age? Things to look out for if I decide to buy? |
Is the Hegel unit a new unit? Do both amps have the inputs and features you require? The Hegel has a plethora of digital features that the Gryphon omits. Is that important? Your choice can also depend upon where you live. If either unit breaks is there a quality distributor to handle service? The Gryphon probably has a higher performance ceiling, but whether that can be achieved you will need to take into account your other components.
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there is no doubt gryphons are beautifully built... for the asking price they should be
just reminding the op that build quality does not necessarily equal sound quality -- each brand and model are voiced by their producers
i have owned many many amps, roughly 40 over the years, half solid state... i have NOT heard a gryphon except for short intervals at some high end shows, not an intensive sampling
but i would say that i own 3 hegels in various systems -- sound wise, they are among the very small handful of ss amps i can happily live with long term, as they have the warm full rich tonality i desire, with clean yet unobtrusive natural rendering of detail
no affiliation other than being a very happy owner
good luck to op - by all means try the gryphon, but don’t let the big hegel be underestimated for what lovely music it can make |
I would be very interested to know which integrated you will end up with. I am in a similar situation possibly looking for a higher end integrated. I am considering the Diablo (even thinking of the Diablo 300 but I haven't found out how much better it is), the older Vitus RI-100, the Audia Flight FLS10 and the Audio Analogue Maestro Anniversary. Unfortunately it is very difficult to audition all of them.
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@greg_f Try to audition the Diablo 300, you will be surprised.It’s the type of integrated you can keep for a lifetime.
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Some details about the upstream and downstream I should have included. I will be driving Sonus Faber Guarneri. And for the time being plan to only play hi-res digital files. Have Qutest dac and cannot splash on a higher end dac yet. |
@thieliste Thanks for the suggestion. Is it really that much better that the original Diablo? Sorry OP for derailing your thread.
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@greg_f Absolutely it's a different animal.
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Thanks! I was looking for this answer months now. |
You’ve got to try both IMO... the Hegel really is a great performer. As mentioned, servicing a 10yr old Gryphon might be an issue. Not so much whether it can be serviced, just a possible challenge. Look at the specs too. Which suits your needs best? The Hegel wraps a fair amount of goodies in their chassis, the Gryphon would be without. Buy the Gryphon, not many of those around. Audition them side by side. Hegels are new, and although not a dime a dozen, they are avail pretty readily. Though you don’t see a lot of 390’s used typically.
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Hegel has a very good price to performance ratio.For someone with low budget and who wants to buy new, Hegel is a great choice.
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Hegel has a very good price to performance ratio.
For someone with low budget and who wants to buy new, Hegel is a great choice. spoken like a true top 0.01 percenter!! bravo!! excuse me, now i need to go check if they are done washing my learjet... ;) peace |
@thieliste makes me laugh. What planet are these people on? Only two possibilities...
1) yes the Lear jet is waiting.
2) very, very limited range of interests in life.
That’s it.
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