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Gryphon Audio Designs Diablo 333 integrated amplifier Page 2

When Anthony Chiarella delivered my review sample, we discussed class mobility, among other topics. Anthony pointed out that "The Diablo 333 integrated amplifier is biased to run >10W pure class-A. The old Diablo 300 is only running 5–6W pure class-A. Ideally, Gryphon wanted to achieve the same sonic characteristics as the Apex, by using Toshiba output transistors." A 5W difference may not sound like much, but it actually indeed does sound like much; music reproduction doesn't run that many peak watts over time—sonic quality of those "first watts" makes a lot of difference.

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Gryphon Audio Designs Diablo 333 integrated amplifier Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Solid state, class-AB, stereo integrated amplifier. Analog inputs: 2 pairs balanced (XLR), 2 pairs unbalanced (RCA), 1 fixed-level A/V input, USB 2.0 firmware update socket. Outputs: 2 pairs custom gold-plated binding posts, 2 pairs unbalanced (RCA). Controls: 4.3" touchscreen, remote control. Output power: 333Wpc into 8 ohms (25.2dBW), 666Wpc into 4 ohms (25.2dBW), 1100Wpc into 2 ohms (24.6dBW). Input impedance, balanced (20Hz– 20kHz): 50k ohms. Input impedance, single-ended (20Hz–20kHz): 30k ohms. Output impedance: 0.015 ohms. Voltage gain: 38dB.…

Gryphon Audio Designs Diablo 333 integrated amplifier Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog sources: Lyra Etna λ Lambda cartridge, Ortofon Cadenza Bronze cartridge, Pro-Ject Classic EVO turntable, Sumiko Amethyst cartridge, VPI HW-40 turntable with VPI 12" Fatboy tonearm.
Digital sources: Apple MacBook Air running Tidal, Roon, Qobuz; Bricasti M1 Series II D/A processor; Musical Fidelity M1 CDT transport; Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T.
Preamplifiers: McIntosh C12000, McIntosh MA252 integrated amplifier (used as a preamplifier).
Power amplifiers: McIntosh MC462 Quad Balanced stereo amplifier, McIntosh MA252 integrated amplifier (used as a…

Gryphon Audio Designs Diablo 333 integrated amplifier Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

Fig.1 Distortion versus time at 1kHz/10W/8 ohms over one hour (3600 seconds) after switch on (left, black; right, red). Maximum heatsink temperature was 43°C/109.4°F after this warmup period.

Typically, though not exclusively, amplifiers employing reduced levels of corrective feedback may also exhibit some thermal drift, a "feature" more common still when the amplifier is also generously- biased. Gryphon's very substantial Diablo 333 is a case in point as distortion (1kHz/10W) gradually reduces from approximately 0.07% immediately after switch on to a…

Analog Corner #234: Do You Believe in Magic?

When a magician pulls a quarter from someone's ear or saws a woman in half, I believe in magic. I know it's an illusion—not real—but that doesn't mean that magic isn't real.

What's real is that the magician's illusion is believable because your eyes see it and, until sometime later—even if only a fraction of a second—your brain doesn't argue. The best your brain can do is tell you, "Yes, you saw that, but you know it didn't happen."

Funny, then, how anti-audiophiles always claim that the ear is more easy to fool than the eye. Yet books have been devoted to cataloguing optical…

Analog Corner #234: Do You Believe in Magic? Page 2

How can such tiny resonators do anything? That's what I'd wondered about the Harmonix tuning dots, but they produced results in my old room very similar to what the HFTs were doing here. The HFTs definitely improved the sound in very specific ways having to do with soundstaging and imaging, and not at all to do with harmonics, tonality, or instrumental textures—which was good: I wouldn't want any of that to change.

According to Synergistic Research, everything in your room resonates, and not necessarily in tune with the music. "The resonance of your listening room is literally pushing…

Return to Analog's Pierre Markotanyos

The return of vinyl, which has stayed popular and profitable since its resurgence, has now developed a surprising nuance. Pierre Markotanyos, the owner of the reissue label Return to Analog and Montreal record store Aux 33 Tours (which refers to the speed at which an LP spins), has noticed a distinct change in the makeup of who's buying vinyl these days. "In the late 2000s," Markotanyos reflects, "it was mostly 55-to-70-year-old guys who were coming in, buying records to play on their high-end stereos that they bought at the audio show in Montreal." [Sound familiar, Stereophile readers?] "…

Perfect Album Sides

Before the bits and bytes, before the streams, the music business and its most talented artists, producers, and engineers conjured up a notion of musical-sonic holiness: the perfect album side.

Remember albums? The idea is quaint in the era of streaming, a time of "summer songs," one-hit wonders, meme songs, song snippets on TikTok, songs tied to viral videos, robot-generated playlists, and whatnot. Those of us older than the World Wide Web itself, we remember albums. They were 12" slices of happiness, sadness, escape, epiphany—all the feelings. The geometry and physics of…

Gramophone Dreams #92: Technics SL-1300G record player

Like romance or car racing, the act of playing records is tactile by design. Like drifting through curves or making out, spinning vinyl is a learned skill that requires users to touch everything with practiced assurance.

To play a disc with Technics' new SL-1300G record player means pushing its round On button, then touching one or more of its rectangular speed selector buttons, then pushing the big square [Start:Stop] button, then unclamping the tonearm and using its cue lever to raise it up.

Next comes the part where my heart beats a little faster: using the headshell's…

Gramophone Dreams #92: Technics SL-1300G record player Page 2

In that spirit, and knowing I did not own a runout gauge, Trei told me to eyeball the chrome bead on the lower rim of the 1300G's platter against the line of the plinth's top surface, watching to see if the platter rises and falls during rotation. Which it did! I estimated it rose about 1.5mm during one point in each rotation. This seemed trivial, but Michael said I could fix that by first making sure I have the washers on the screws that fasten the platter to the motor in the right order (with the small Belleville spring washers on top next to the screw-head), and, as the manual clearly…