Gryphon Audio Designs EOS 2 Prototype Loudspeaker, Gryphon Apex Amplifier and Rosso Cables

One of my first stops at the Munich show was to find out who made the shiny red loudspeaker shown in an atrium room—shown in the same room as the latest gargantuan Gryphon Commander preamplifier and Apex amplifier. The striking speaker was rotating on a round platform that you couldn't miss when you entered the room. Why the rotation? It was an attractive speaker from all angles. It, uh, turns out, it was indeed a Gryphon—the EOS 2, a prototype, as text in large letters beneath clearly stated.

Benno Melgaard (above), who'd previously designed speakers for Gamut, was the mind behind this new design. Indeed there are subtle resemblances to Gamut's look: The enclosure's front baffle angles slightly backward in gentle slope—in part to assist with proper wavelaunch arrival times.

The Gryphon EOS 2 is a two-way housed in a wooden cabinet that allows the listener to choose whether to use a front port or a rear port, depending on their room, listening preferences, etc. Its phase switch enables polarity inversion, which can also help with speaker-pair spacing and position. On back, the speaker has the same sturdy binding posts found on the Apex amplifier.

The EOS 2's tweeter of largeish diameter uses a beryllium dome and operates to "a low crossover point." Woofer cones are of carbon-fiber. The speaker is said to be "mostly a 5- or 6-ohm" load, and its measured sensitivity is expected to be 91 or 92dB/W/m). I was told the production EOS 2 is due out in August and its estimated retail price will be $20,000/pair.

Also debuting were Gryphon Rosso cables (above)—yes, they're red—a new line that joins the current Vanta cable series. The "ultra-low capacitance" Rosso cables are made with gold and silver alloy.

At the back of the room hung a poster showing the evolution of Gryphon's products along timelines. Gryphon's US Distributor Anthony Chiarella showed me Gryphon's very first product that launched founder/designer Flemming Rasmussen's career circa 1985: a substantial yet diminutive dual-mono phono preamplifier (above). Quite a contrast to the massive Gryphon Apex amplifier shown on static display (below). (Although Rasmussen is no longer a Gryphon company employee, he still designs the chassis, Chiarella said. More on this in an upcoming report.)

X