My Long List of Amplifiers and My Personal Review of Each!
Personally I love the refined industrial look of Gryphon. The Antilleon, Diablo, Mephisto are all very cool looking IMO. I'm very happy with my BAT VK_6200, but if I ever decide to upgrade to a dedicated 2 channel amp, I would definitely consider Gryphon. Both in looks and performance they are SOTA or very near SOTA at their price points. |
.....I have heard a few Gryphon products, and was always impressed by a " detailed purity, smoothness and control ", to the reproduction ( and, never through horns ). As an FYI, Flemming Rasmussen, the Founder and now ex CEO of Gryphon (although still involved with the company ), has been responsible for the visual and aesthetic designs of the products, and of course, uses his ears as to the final product introduction. The electrical circuits and designs, have been by some unnamed world class designers. I always found this weird, but it has worked for the Danish company. The Colosseum design, reminds me of some Halcro amplifiers, being tower designs, but taken to another level. Beautiful. I would love to own a pair of D'Agostino Relentless Monos. Wondering how they would do, driving my Lascala's, lol. I am typing this during the commercials of the Daytona 500, and am finding it fascinating, the information and the camera work, being displayed and provided, as we, the home audience, can get a greater understanding of it all. I hope there are no mishaps, and all of the drivers come out of it safely. I would imagine, you, WC, have a great understanding of the race, specifically the vehicles. Enjoy ! |
Cable shootout of Odin vs audiomica laboratories consequence! It’s 1230am and I have to up at 5am! The things I do for those of you who appreciate it ! Enjoy ! https://youtu.be/9ZafhqRyVs0 |
Whoaaa... The comments are really all over the place. Some are saying the Odin is too bright and others are saying it is smeared..then I am also hearing from others that the audiomica is fuller but not as clear as the Odin, etc etc. I guess this is really about: What are you using to listen ? Phone ? iPad? Computer ? Audiophile headphones ? I suggest that you all at least TRY to listen using different devices BEFORE you come to a conclusion. It is very important that you all do this first. |
I had no problem discriminating between the two recordings played back on the single speaker of my old/trusty iPhone 6S. Tentatively, I heard more "air" and low level information from the AudioMica... Having said the above, this afternoon I will play back the clip on my system.... Will post my updated impressions in the evening. G.
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On my Mac laptop both cables sounded good although I was not familiar with the music. To me the Odin1 sounded more spacious, detailed and the reverberation time and decay seemed to go on forever (which I believe was the recording engineers intent). The Audiomica cables did sound fuller but less detailed and spacious....Listening to these cables back to back sounded like the Nordost Val2 vs Odin1 in my system. The Val2 sounded fuller (in the upper bass and lower midrange) than the Odin1. The O1 was more neutral with more weight (deeper bass), more spacious, detailed and much better holographic soundstage. I think a more 'straight up' recording without all of the added reverb and artificial effects would be a better piece of music to compare these cables. Vocals, Bass, guitar or piano and drums without added effects....or a small live acoustic jazz trio. To be able to hear how quick a stand-up bass or kick drum decays is important to me...less smearing, clear details etc... Hearing the presentation at your house might yield different results. That's the best I could do through a laptop. Thank you for sharing with us. |
Have not watched the cable shootout video, as I am not interested. I am posting here, because something very interesting just happened. I received a PM, through A'gon, from Mr. Flemming Rasmussen, asking me to make a correction in my above post, as it went like this. " Just to let you know, that ALL Gryphon electronics the last 25 years are done in-house by Gryphons own R/D department and headed with the same head engineer for 20 years, Mr. Tom Mueller-Only exception has been of the passive speakers ". So, I was vague about these facts. I apologize to Mr, Rasmussen, as I was unaware of these facts. What is more amazing. Look at the people who are reading these threads here. Saying things bad about a product, or in my case, vague, can easily get back to a manufacturer, importer, or others. This is why, imo, I do not see bad reviews, anywhere.......Enjoy ! MrD. |
Whoa. I’m actually quite impressed that he has taken the time to read my thoughts on everything I've reviewed. Very honored to know they follow this thread ! Stay tuned GRYPHON AUDIO. Your turn is coming to jump in the spotlight and see how you do versus an American brand (constellation audio ) Cheers ! |
After listening to the initial video several times, I am hearing much the same as Ron here. Especially focusing on the drums, they are more distant with less detail on Audiomica. The Nordost places just as much emphasis on the vocals without lessening the impact and details of the drum kit. Overall with Nordost there is more air between instruments and a more spacious and deeper sound-stage. The sound is more detailed with Nordost without loss of musicality. |
First, respect the law. Copyrights exists for a reason. Second, you really have to be a biased fanboy to believe you can honestly judge the differences between 30k$ of powercords recording with a cellular phone... Third, you know you’re not going anywhere doing the wrong things on youtube specially when some audiogoners have friends working there... |
Oh this one... When I get home from work later... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLNbXSnIK4k&feature=youtu.be |
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WC, I think this gentleman does a very good job with his review videos. In the linked video below, he is comparing the sound of different tubes in a preamp. IMHO, the differences are easily discernible. He also discusses how he sets up his gear for the comparisons. He also does a short take of the song before switching the gear. I think this improves the pace of the review. This may be of help as you get more into the video reviews. https://youtu.be/RltJw004j3c |
@chazzzy007 For what it is worth, I just listened to BOTH videos. I clicked on chazzzy's link to video 2, watched the video and when the video ended it started the much longer first video. My findings using a laptop speaker: Audiomica = Thicker with maybe a little more meat on the bones. Odin 1 = very nuanced. All frequencies seem well balanced, in other words no highlighted frequencies. Holographic. Audience sounds very real. Overall realistic feel. For me, with emphasis on the fact I'm using a laptop speaker, I like the Odin 1 much better. It brings all the little details that the Audiomica seems to gloss over or leave out like air, ambience, high-level details that are included in the ambiance, a better sense of realness. You just get more with Odin 1. I'm not sure that is for everyone, but it is for me. This is what really makes listening fun for me. Addressing the laptop speaker variable. If you can hear differences between the two cables on a cheap laptop speaker, imagine how much more so when in person. If you can hear a difference (fairly easy for me to hear), then you can to some point extrapolate the difference for yourself. And I'd imagine that with my conservative assessment, I might be under playing the difference between the two brands. @whitecamaross Thanks for taking the time to do this for us. I think it is a learning experience for us all. |
Again, make some cable risers out of cardboard....will probably blow your mind.....so much faster and more open the sound will be....especially for the round cable that is sitting right on the rug. The Odin is sitting on its edge so most of the cable is away from the rug. Just try it....takes 10 minutes. All cables need to be off the floor....whether its rugs or wood or whatever. Serious improvement for practically nothing. I will not mention this again. You can lead a horse to water......well, you know the rest. |
ewert Very nice example. The guy uses a pair of microphones, and each one is aimed at a single speaker. It’s a pity WC don’t take the time and ressources to do this the right way. Odin 1 pc is first generation Nordost, it will always sound leaner compared to others in it’s class...like Shunyata or Cardas, etc. You have to step up to the second gen. Odin 2 or Valhalla 2 to get the new fuller Nordost sound. We don’t need copyright blocked youtube videos to know this. We already said so a couple weeks ago. |
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As there seems to be confusion/ misinformation about ‘series 1’ vs ‘series 2’ Nordost, I thought I’d share my exchange with Nordost when I was deciding between V2 and O1. As you will see, Nordost does not consider Odin 1 as part of ‘series 1’ as it is being referred to above. Me: Which would you recommend and is there anything the V2 interconnect is better at than the O1? Nordost: No, O1 is better in all areas and should be. It’s Supreme Reference compared to Reference. Me: I am leaning toward to the O1 but am a bit concerned I may lose the warmth and richness of the 2 series.Nordost: Not in the least, O1 is still the best cable we produce outside of O2. O1 will outperform V2 in each category but still maintains the same characteristics or sonic signature. Me: Got it. In part I ask as series 1 has been described as 'lean' and Odin 1 has been around since 2007 and is part of series 1... So I did not know if that 'lean' sonic signature would be part of the Odin 1 as well versus the series 2. Does that make sense? It sounds like this is not the case... Nordost: You are correct, when we talk about series 1 we are referring back to Norse series 1 and Valhalla series 1. Odin has never a series 1 in the same context due to individual conductor gauge. |
There ´s a reason why Nordost made the Odin 2 PC. Because that Odin 1 pc was getting it’s ... kicked by the competition in the midrange fullness area. Whatsbestforum users corroborate this. Goners here on this thread corroborate this. WC latest video corroborate this. Ask him, here, we trust what we ear and experience...not what is written by the brands. So zprr, you only have what Nordost says.... And it’s pretty amusing...the Odin 1 is not a 1 , but there ´s a Odin 2 ... so if there ´s a 2 that means there ´s a 1 ... and it’s flawed. |
Odin 1 seems a little clearer and to my liking, Audiomica is fuller but not as clear to me on the video of course I would have to be there to make a final decision. Has mentioned by me a few pages back and now by a couple others "get those cables off the carpet and get at least a block of marble, granite or block of wood to put the Gryphon on with the new spikes. Between the cable lifters and a base under the Gryphon w spike your system will sound noticeably better. Still sounds great but’ |
I've been re-listening to the video and I can hear what others are saying BUT it is my opinion that the Odin cabled are not a universal cable especially since WC changes so many pieces whether it's amps, speakers or some new digital piece. WC you need to have a variety of cables for evaluation with other gear. Just keeping the Odin's or just Audiomica is not the way to go but hey it's your journey but more important it's your $$$. Keep the journey going! |
