Gryphon Diablo 300 vs Vitus RI-101

Don’t listen to the clown above suggesting tubes for these speakers, he has no idea.
A tube into this kind of load will have a lean bass (unless it has a 2ohm tap) and an exaggerated treble.

Stereophile
Because the magnitude is considerably higher in the treble, the speaker will sound brighter when driven by tubed amplifiers

Cheers George

btbluesky OP

The new John Curl Parasound Halo JC1+ have just been released, even better than the old ones, maybe you should have a look at these.
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/new-parasound-halo-jc1-monoblocks-just-released

Cheers George

caphill
I would pair your Focal Sopra speakers with full warm sounding electronics If I were you.

You may have missed what his sound preference is.

but I want to try the highend ultra fast yet relaxing sound.

To me that says the JC1’s in low bias or high bias for a more relaxed. Or the big Gryphon Antillion

btbluesky I don’t think the two integrateds (Diablo and Vitus) have the same amount balls your used to into the Sopras, they will work fine but I think you’ll miss the bottomless pit of current the JC1’s or Antillion can supply. These are the most noticeable attributes I heard on the Alexia’s with both of them. An ease of dynamics highs mids or lows that were devoid of the speakers, and rolled out at you, little more on the Antillion than the JC1’s

Cheers George

Yes Naim have a following, but they don't sound like what the OP wants that's a fact, they are far from neutral..

btbluesky OP
George, that was actually pretty useful information with your mate’s Wilson.
Now, the fact that we are talking about the Alexia, its an extremely difficult load for any amp. The focal sopra 2 on the other hand is very easy load.

The Sopra’s are efficient BT, and only needs 100w, but they are a very hard load in the bass, the JC1"s from what you’ve mentioned in sound charater so far is the best for them. read below.

Stereophile
The Focal will play loudly when fed only a few watts, my estimate of its voltage sensitivity being 89.2dB/2.83V/m.
However, as fig.1 shows, the Sopra No.3 is a difficult load for an amplifier to drive, with a minimum magnitude of 2.75 ohms at 96Hz and a combination of 4 ohms and a –56° electrical phase angle at 68Hz, both frequencies where music can have high levels of energy.
https://www.stereophile.com/images/417FSop3fig1.jpg
Do you get it now??

I LOVE my JC1, but I am not sure its the end game type of amp. Otherwise stereophiles Michael Fremer would be rocking them, instead of a pair of dartzeel monoblocs (~$150000).

So if you have the $$$$ get the Gryphon Antillion it will be a logical upgrade, the Gryphon Diablo 300 vs Vitus RI-101 are great amps, but into this kind of load, are sidways or maybe a backward step. The JC1’s are the go or the Antillion if you realy feel the need to upgrade.

Cheers George

btbluesky
I’ve been itching to upgrade my amp.

What is it that you don’t like about the JC1’s (in high class-A) mode, these are great amps for your speakers which are a bit of an evil load from 60hz to 150hz, similar to the 3’s it’s said.
https://www.stereophile.com/images/417FSop3fig1.jpg


I would say keep it the JC1’s and change the preamp to a tube or something if you want a bit of tonal change.

Cheers George

btbluesky OP
So I figure to get the best out of this chain is the fastest neutral amp I can get my hands on.

You’ve got that with the JC1’s in normal bias, and then in high bias mode they’ll have that Class-A warmness added. And the big + they drive those speakers of yours with breaking a sweat.
Look at the preamp for a tonal difference.
And I’ll tell you the JC1’s with a passive preamp was the second best I’ve heard the Wilson Alexia’s sound, only bettered by the Gryphon Antillion Evo with the same passive pramp.


BT just read this again from Stereophile review, and compare it to what your asking above.

The Sound of Speed, the Speed of Sound
It took but a few seconds for me to absolutely fall in love with the Halo JC 1. I first used them to drive the Kharma Midi-Grande Ceramique 1.0s, then my reference Audio Physic Avanti IIIs, which they controlled brilliantly, with the kind of relaxed ease you’d expect of a pair of powerhouse amps. If big amps are said to be slow to react, the JC 1 disproved that myth: it was lightning-fast, delivering transients and sibilants with a speed and clarity that were positively addictive.
The overall lack of smear helped create an impressively coherent, transparent, and detailed soundstage, with the kind of air and reverberant presentation I usually associate with tubes.

As almarg hinted at, I think your due for a passive preamp which is a perfect match with the JC1’s 100kohm input impedance, that will give you the most dynamic, transparent, uncolored sound you can get.

Cheers George

the amps he listed will surely be in another category well above the JC-1, not that it isn’t a great amp.

No sorry, the JC1's are as good today as anything, and I would back them over those two any day. 
As I said if you missed it, it took a Gryphon Antillion Evo to sound better, than the JC1's on my mates the Wilson Alexia's 2's

Cheers George