I have a 300 and unless the performance were substantially better, which is hard to do given how good the 300 is, I can't see myself upgrading. I got my 300 for $18K CAD new in 2022 just before the last price increase. A new 333 in my neck of the woods is around $30K CAD. I imagine used 300s will soon pop up for sale as some owners upgrade, if some can be had for under $15K, they'd be a no brainer as there is no integrated you can buy new for that money that comes close IME. |
@kairosman , agreed the 300 is fantastic. Love mine, which is really why I’m curious about how Gryphon could have improved it. I see @jays_audio_lab mentioned Gryphon is sending a 333 for him to try; I am looking forward to that. Will be interesting to see if we get some community/owner accounts first. Beyond the one account in the other forum, who said that his was the first shipped to a consumer in Europe. I agree that I don’t know of any integrated, or separates for that matter, that at an equivalent price would out perform the Diablo 300. That said, I’ve not heard the Vitus, D’Agostino, Dartzeel, and other uber-integrateds so I can’t compare. But, part of why I love the 300 is that slightly dark chocolatey tone (it’s not neutral and for me at least, better for it). It tames recordings I love that sound like trash on more neutral amps I’ve tried, giving me a far broader library of material to play in a musically engaging way. I’ve never accepted the notion that a revealing system will make poor recordings unlistenable, and the Diablo’s tone is PART of the equation that has helped me avoid compromising on this front. This is why I am so interested in whether the 333 maintains this character. |
Gryphon's brand ambassador Rune says the 333 will have more in Class A, how much more isn't clear yet. - so will it run hotter as it already runs pretty warm? Also he said there's new transistors, the Sankens in the 300 have a warmish character (see Rega's Aethos) hopefully the new ones won't change the tonal character of the amp because I agree the 300 imparts a bit of gravy that makes poor turkey recordings palatable. Regardless, curious how much better the 333 would have to be to get 300 owners to upgrade, how about you?
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@kairosman , good question, TBH I’m interested in the 333 but if it’s more than a bit better I will probably go for it - but only if it has that dark tone as I said. But I have to say I’m very happy with the 300 in my current system, especially with Audiovector R6 Arrete’s which apparently were designed and voiced using Gryphon amps. So it would be a nice to have upgrade, as opposed to a need to have to fix something I’m unhappy with. Funny story that might offend McIntosh owners but I’ll tell it. My dealer once cold-called me asking if I was interested in upgrading my amp with a tradein program and said no I love my Diablo. He replied, “sheesh we really don’t like you set-for-life Gryphon customers. We prefer our McIntosh customers who upgrade every year.” Followed by “Oh I really shouldn’t have bashed the other brands we carry…” I’m sure he said it just to make me feel good but it was funny. Prior to the Diablo 300 I read accounts that said it was a pretty big leap over the 250 which I’ve not heard. So I wonder if they have advanced it by that degree again.
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If the 333 is as much a step up as the 300 was from the 250 then I guess I’ll be upgrading too, damn it! McIntosh is good but not at the level of Gryphon, however lol the blue meter cult does continue on unabashedly. On the Gryphon website the 333 is specified at 112 lbs so its added 22 lbs - if that’s not just ’fat’ but real muscle we might be in for a serious upgrade! |
