Gryphon Essence Amp and Pandora Preamp arrive

Thank you for your detailed response.
Would you say it is clearly better than Constellation Inspiration 1.0?
 
Mike said:
The Antilleon Evo is the only Gryphon amp I haven’t owned. I have the Mephisto, owned the Colosseum, Diablo 300, Diablo 120, etc. The Essence is better than the Colosseum, but not quite as good as the Mephisto. The voicing of the Essence is intoxicating. I find it needs a “one song warm up” and then song two it’s really opening up and singing. It has better DEPTH of soundstage than even it’s big brother IMO.

For me, if I was shopping for an amp/preamp combo, I would personally pick the Essence amp with the Pandora pre over say the Antilleon Evo amp and Zena pre (which I also own). This is my second go-around with the Pandora pre and this one I’m keeping.

You can read more about my thoughts regarding the Essence above. But in the ~$20K range, this is the winner for me. I’ve now tested it on four different pairs of speakers. All of them - a rarity, I felt it was the best ~$20k amp for all of them.

Let’s keep in mind that the Essence is still 50% more expensive than the M900u and 25% more expensive than the 860 v2, so price does play a role. But if someone can swing that ~$20K, this is the one I highly recommend.
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Mike, I believe the Pandora pre lists for 39,500 US. That would make the Essence amp/Pandora pre stack total 62,400 US, over 2X a Luxman 900u stack. If an Essence pre, 17,500 US list (or its equivalent Zena), was substituted for the Pandora, what changes should we expect to hear (e.g., sound stage, etc)?
 
GSOphile said:
Mike, I believe the Pandora pre lists for 39,500 US. That would make the Essence amp/Pandora pre stack total 62,400 US, over 2X a Luxman 900u stack. If an Essence pre, 17,500 US list (or its equivalent Zena), was substituted for the Pandora, what changes should we expect to hear (e.g., sound stage, etc)?
Click to expand...

The Essence pre and Zena are the EXACT SAME, just different chassis. I have the Zena and will try next week with the Essence amp.


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Mike, have you had a chance to pair the essence to harbeth 40's? I'm curious to hear how they mate with each other (non-sexually of course)
 
BullBearDC said:
Mike, have you had a chance to pair the essence to harbeth 40's? I'm curious to hear how they mate with each other (non-sexually of course)
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We are flat out of Harbeth’s. Ever since they discontinued the Anniversary series and told us to sell them all off, we’ve been waiting for the XD series. Covid put a monkey wrench in their plans.


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Mike said:
The Antilleon Evo is the only Gryphon amp I haven’t owned. I have the Mephisto, owned the Colosseum, Diablo 300, Diablo 120, etc. The Essence is better than the Colosseum, but not quite as good as the Mephisto. The voicing of the Essence is intoxicating. I find it needs a “one song warm up” and then song two it’s really opening up and singing. It has better DEPTH of soundstage than even it’s big brother IMO.

For me, if I was shopping for an amp/preamp combo, I would personally pick the Essence amp with the Pandora pre over say the Antilleon Evo amp and Zena pre (which I also own). This is my second go-around with the Pandora pre and this one I’m keeping.

You can read more about my thoughts regarding the Essence above. But in the ~$20K range, this is the winner for me. I’ve now tested it on four different pairs of speakers. All of them - a rarity, I felt it was the best ~$20k amp for all of them.

Let’s keep in mind that the Essence is still 50% more expensive than the M900u and 25% more expensive than the 860 v2, so price does play a role. But if someone can swing that ~$20K, this is the one I highly recommend.
Click to expand...


wow: “not quite as good as the Mephisto”. High praise indeed. The Antileon Evo is 50% more expensive than the Essence. Perhaps Gryphon has moved on.
 
AJR said:
wow: “not quite as good as the Mephisto”. High praise indeed. The Antileon Evo is 50% more expensive than the Essence. Perhaps Gryphon has moved on.
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The Mephisto has more dynamic slam, but only because it’s the champ in that area. The Essence is no slouch, giving you a good dose of slam and punch, more than the Colosseum even.


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Mike said:
The Mephisto has more dynamic slam, but only because it’s the champ in that area. The Essence is no slouch, giving you a good dose of slam and punch, more than the Colosseum even.


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Click to expand...

amazing. It is a winner then
 
Mike,
Which speaker cable was used in your video of this amp?
WW eclipse by any chance?
 
Lucidear said:
Mike,
Which speaker cable was used in your video of this amp?
WW eclipse by any chance?
Click to expand...

Yes. WW Eclipse 8. They were handy since we use them on the MBL Xtremes at the insistence of MBL.


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Lucidear said:
Mike,
Which speaker cable was used in your video of this amp?
WW eclipse by any chance?
Click to expand...

Yes. WW Eclipse 8. They were handy since we use them on the MBL Xtremes at the insistence of MBL.


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Lucidear said:
Thanks Mike.
The sound on the video is pretty amazing.
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Thanks. This Essence amp continues to amaze us. It drives all the speakers with ease. I LOVE the sound (slightly new sound?).


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GSOphile said:
Mike, I believe the Pandora pre lists for 39,500 US. That would make the Essence amp/Pandora pre stack total 62,400 US, over 2X a Luxman 900u stack. If an Essence pre, 17,500 US list (or its equivalent Zena), was substituted for the Pandora, what changes should we expect to hear (e.g., sound stage, etc)?
Click to expand...

Been listening with the Zena pre (exact same as Essence pre) and Essence amp. This combo is SUPERB! I was shocked to be honest. I will say seriously, the Zena + Essence is better than the Zena + Mephisto. Don’t know why. Now Pandora + Mephisto, that’s another story. I wonder if the Zena was voiced with the Essence in mind??? Still getting that deep deep soundstage from the Essence/Zena combo. The layering is superb.

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AJR said:
How are the amps sounding, Mike?
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Fantastic! Still keep saying “50 watts my ass”. This Essence drives everything in the big room! LOVE it’s sound signature.


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Hi Mike,
Have you listened to/compared Essence Stereo vs Essence Monos?
What are the sonic advantages of the latter?
Thanks!
 
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