Gryphon Diablo 300 and Salon 2

I have a similarly powerful and excellent integrated amp to the Diablo 300, the Hegel H590, powering my Salon 2s, in an even smaller 12' x 14' room with excellent results. Like the Diablo 300, the Hegel H590 has quite the horsepower and damping factor to put a vice-grip on the woofers of the notoriously inefficient and hard to drive Salons. I first used an Hegel H390 that was left over from my previous system to drive the Salons, but the H390 fell short and wasn't able to control the bass on the Salons effectively. Yes, overall, the Salons and the H390 sounded magnificent together. But, the H590 took everything into the stratosphere!!! With the H590, I play my music at all volume levels with complete and utter enjoyment. The Salon/H590 is a sublime combo, and I'm sure you would get more of the same driving them with the Diablo 300. Happy listening.
 
kennymacc said:
I have a similarly powerful and excellent integrated amp to the Diablo 300, the Hegel H590, powering my Salon 2s, in an even smaller 12' x 14' room with excellent results. Like the Diablo 300, the Hegel H590 has quite the horsepower and damping factor to put a vice-grip on the woofers of the notoriously inefficient and hard to drive Salons. I first used an Hegel H390 that was left over from my previous system to drive the Salons, but the H390 fell short and wasn't able to control the bass on the Salons effectively. Yes, overall, the Salons and the H390 sounded magnificent together. But, the H590 took everything into the stratosphere!!! With the H590, I play my music at all volume levels with complete and utter enjoyment. The Salon/H590 is a sublime combo, and I'm sure you would get more of the same driving them with the Diablo 300. Happy listening.
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Good to hear although that is a small room for those speakers so it shouldn't be hard to pressurize.
 
I don't think I heard the salon 2 tbh, What I heard was individual instruments in space not connected in any way, interesting but odd and the lack of a soundstage made listening to music a spectator sport. I was observing what the speakers were doing to the sounds instead of enjoying the music. It was cool, but not, I think indicative of what they actually do.
 
So I went ahead and finally acquired my Diablo 300 with dac option. What an interesting piece. It sounds pretty decent with the Salons in my room. I can say that it has almost enough power to handle the 2’s, but I have kicked in the protection circuitry a couple of times when things got very loud. Source is a Node, connected with a AQ diamond usb. Speaker cables are AQ rocket 33’s. The Node is on an ethernet connection. Suggestions for improving sq? Is. Shunyata Omega usb overkill? Should I spend that dough on a better streamer since I am using the dac in the Gryphon or
would better cables (ethernet and usb) be money better spent? Need speaker cables as well. Great sounding integrated.
 
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Imo that amps deserves a far better streamer/DAC than the Node. AQ Diamond USB is very good, I wouldn't look to replace that until you have a better front end. Look at a Lumin T3 maybe, or something similar. Call Mike at Suncoast Audio, he's here in Florida.
 
Edited my post to reflect that I am using the optional Gryphon dac. Node is just the streamer. Agree node is the weak link atm.
 
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Makes things a little simpler. U2 Mini could be nice, or one of the Aurenders. Mike could sort you out easily.

Looks like a really nice system in the making.
 
Thank you! I am hoping to really see what these speakers can do in my space. I have owned them for years, and enjoyed them, but never really paired them with commensurate level electronics, or more importantly, had them in an appropriate room. I am hoping to remedy that now, and put together something that my family and I can enjoy for many more years to come. My wife is enjoying this journey with me, and in no small part due to the Gryphon. She loves the sound paired with the Salons. 😃
 
I agree, a better streamer is in order. There is a difference.

I started out with the HEOS and also tried the Node, just streaming to then a Hegel DAC. Then I got my current preamp/DAC, I was not satisfied with the sound of streaming. It wasn't until getting my Aureander that I am now enjoying the sound of streaming. I also bought and sold a NAD 50.2 during my journey. Just not satisfied with it's sound. I personally love my Aurender but others may serve as well like Lumin or Innuos, I'm just not that familiar without having heard them in my set up.

Congrats on the Diablo, I'd like to hear that combo.
 
Mr Peabody said:
I agree, a better streamer is in order. There is a difference.

I started out with the HEOS and also tried the Node, just streaming to then a Hegel DAC. Then I got my current preamp/DAC, I was not satisfied with the sound of streaming. It wasn't until getting my Aureander that I am now enjoying the sound of streaming. I also bought and sold a NAD 50.2 during my journey. Just not satisfied with it's sound. I personally love my Aurender but others may serve as well like Lumin or Innuos, I'm just not that familiar without having heard them in my set up.

Congrats on the Diablo, I'd like to hear that combo.
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Yes, better streamer for sure. I am thinking about going Aurender rather than Lumin, as Roon does not matter to me. For the money N20 looks like the sweet spot unless I win the lottery and can swing N30. What Aurender are you running?
 
Mr Peabody said:
I agree, a better streamer is in order. There is a difference.

I started out with the HEOS and also tried the Node, just streaming to then a Hegel DAC. Then I got my current preamp/DAC, I was not satisfied with the sound of streaming. It wasn't until getting my Aureander that I am now enjoying the sound of streaming. I also bought and sold a NAD 50.2 during my journey. Just not satisfied with it's sound. I personally love my Aurender but others may serve as well like Lumin or Innuos, I'm just not that familiar without having heard them in my set up.

Congrats on the Diablo, I'd like to hear that combo.
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ACS10, I missed that in your sig. 👍
 
Congratulations on the Gryphon Diablo 300 plus DAC. I've owned mine going on two years now. I don't see any reason to replace this unless I downsize my system. I used the Lumin T2 with a little green computer to the Diablos Dac for about a year. Running Roon/Tidal/Qobuz. I recently switch to the HiFi Rose rs150b streamer just to change things up. I'm selling the T2 if you choose to go that way. There are a lot of great streaming options in todays market. If you or your room needs more from your system a couple of subs can add a lot if incorporated correctly. They can be tricky but also can give a big boost to a systems sound and ease of impact.
 
Darrel said:
Congratulations on the Gryphon Diablo 300 plus DAC. I've owned mine going on two years now. I don't see any reason to replace this unless I downsize my system. I used the Lumin T2 with a little green computer to the Diablos Dac for about a year. Running Roon/Tidal/Qobuz. I recently switch to the HiFi Rose rs150b streamer just to change things up. I'm selling the T2 if you choose to go that way. There are a lot of great streaming options in todays market. If you or your room needs more from your system a couple of subs can add a lot if incorporated correctly. They can be tricky but also can give a big boost to a systems sound and ease of impact.
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I hear you on the subs. The Salon 2's have great bass response, but with them positioned as far from the rear wall like I have them, they sound somewhat thin. I pulled a single SVS PB4000 from my dedicated theater space into the two channel room, and have been messing around with that. It has shown some promise, but you are correct, it is tricky to dial it in. I will keep the T2 in mind. Thinking hard about Aurender N20 at the moment. I may need to plan a trip down to Suncoast to do some demoing. I live in NE Florida, so its only a few hours away.
 
That's a pretty powerful HT sub. I went with the smaller sealed sub due to my room size. I do like the app that is available with the SVS subs today. I can make multiple setups and just from the app change crossover or output. One thing I wish the app did was to link the two subs. Each sub you add is added to the app. It has been said that subs are often needed more because of the room than the speakers. I once had a pair of Revel F30 speakers that I wish I had added subs to. Really good midrange but lacked enough bass. I think I would have keep then much longer had I added a pair of subs. I also think more than one sub is needed in a room. If you look at some of the Rel subs configurations. They go crazy no matter the main speakers.
 
Darrel said:
That's a pretty powerful HT sub. I went with the smaller sealed sub due to my room size. I do like the app that is available with the SVS subs today. I can make multiple setups and just from the app change crossover or output. One thing I wish the app did was to link the two subs. Each sub you add is added to the app. It has been said that subs are often needed more because of the room than the speakers. I once had a pair of Revel F30 speakers that I wish I had added subs to. Really good midrange but lacked enough bass. I think I would have keep then much longer had I added a pair of subs. I also think more than one sub is needed in a room. If you look at some of the Rel subs configurations. They go crazy no matter the main speakers.
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Yes, I like the SVS app as well. Very flexible. Would be better as you say if you could link the subs. I like the PB 4000 because you can plug the ports and change the sub tuning to run like a sealed sub. Best of both worlds. IT sounds pretty musical in either mode. Not slow or sluggish like ported subs of old.
 
At one time I had the ultra 13 SVS sub. Great for HT but too big to move around. I figured if I'm going to plug the sub then I need sealed subs. I looked at the sb-2000 but decided on two sb-1000. For my room size they work very well. I did put two 4" yoga blocks under each sub to remove any vibration to the floor. That works really well. I don't often listen to music at high levels anymore. So, at a lower listening level twin subs just give a more natural weight and body to instruments.
 
I am using the Gryphon DAC module in my Diablo also and found it was responsive to both a quality server and the associated USB cable. After top Audience and WireWorld USB cables I acquired the Sablon 2020 USB cable. This cable works very well between my Wolf Server and the Gryphon. My Rockports are a little easier to drive than the Salons I believe. Im also in the Jacksonville area.
 
When I added the Lumin T2 to the Diablos DAC I asked Mike about usb cables and he recommended the Shunyata Alpha usb cable. Good call Mike. This cable really changed streaming in my system. Trying before you buy can't alway be available depending on where you live etc. But of course can save a lot on money and effort when available.
 
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