Intg Amps: Hegel 590 vs NAD M33 Masters vs Gryphon Diablo 120


Hi All: I am getting an itch to upgrade my integrated amp from Hegel 190 to something more robust that facilitates future speaker swapping.  And no, I'm not presently interested in separating components that much further (e.g. separate DAC; separate amp; clock; etc. etc).  I mainly interested in the following 3 on a used basis:

Hegel 590 OR NAD Masters 33 OR Gryphon Diablo 120

Max budget is $7500 if I choose to go towards the Gryphon (used), but curious if it's really THAT much better.   I'm particularly interested to hear from people that have had or auditioned at 2 out of 3.  The room correction on NAD is very appealing but I quite like my Hegel and it's tight control, and so something nice about staying true.

 

Current Setup:

* Unideal Brooklyn Apartment living room into Kitchen

* Hegel 190

* Monitor Audio Silver 7G 500

* Pine Tree Audio Cables

* Dual 1216

* Schiit Mani 2 (though I hear the phono preamp on some of above may make this superfluous)

* Spotify/Tidal (main streaming source)

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Showing 3 responses by swede58

@marcyun I met Rune Skov of Gryphon at a demo, he said that all Gryphon amps are very neutral, except for the Antileon and Diablo 120 which are warmer, rounder and a bit colored.

@marcyun Yes, he explained that the Antileon stands out from the other amps with it’s more colored sound; fuller, warmer with huge bass. He said that the Antileon will stay in their lineup forever. Rune also told us that the D120 is slightly warmer than the D300, a subtle but noticable difference.

@missioncoonery If you are located in the states I fully understand why you choose Pass Labs; easier to get service and lower prices. Here in Sweden the Pass Int 250 and Diablo 300 have the same pricetag, my understanding is that the Pass is quite a bit less expensive in the states. If my D300, against all odds, needed service Denmark is not far away.