Living room system: class A or AB amps?


Would class A be suitable for a living room system? Apart from hi-fi listening sessions, it's also used a lot for watching TV.

Would it make more sense to get good class AB amplifiers, which can be switched on permanently without drawing huge amounts of power? I wouldn't want to warm-up an amp first before getting good sound.

For this system, I have so far only purchased the speakers: Focal Stella Utopia Evo. Room is big: 1,200 square feet with openings to hallways.

I'd consider to pair them with Gryphon Mephisto and Pandora. But that's class A...

Opinions and amp suggestions are welcome!

robert1976

Showing 1 response by avalove

Sorry to dig up this old thread, just wanted to clarify some incorrect information on the Gryphon Antileon.
A Gryphon Antileon does NOT run a "5W bias" in any of the available settings. It’s 50/75/100% Class A but not 5W. I’ve measured an Antileon Mk2 (just before the Signature came out) power draw myself at 450W@50% and 850W@100% bias settings. Measured at ~227VAC.

Heastink temp was about 50*C vs 63*C. Hot, very hot and unusable in the summer without AC unless you like expensive recapping every couple of years and the smell of hot metal and electronics in your listening room.😃

I honestly doubt the Antileon Signature is any different in terms of bias. The "Green Bias" feature only switches through the 3 bias settings based on volume level of the matching Gryphon preamp, nothing fancy here. An ASR Emitter does a similar thing but with it’s power supplies.