New integrated amplifier to drive Magico S3 mk2

Mike said:
That's awesome. Is MQA in consideration for you?

The DAC in the Diablo 120 and 300's are certainly no after thought. They are outstanding DAC's that hit way above their price point. They're not some cheap card you put in either. They're mighty big boxes!

Hands down, the two most exiting new products for me this year in the store, is the MIT Cables and the Gryphon Diablo 300. Gryphon amp is next. [emoji41]

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Great question. The answer will have an impact on my decision whether to go for the Diablo.

If MQA is under consideration, I have two more questions:

1) How would the upgrade likely work - ie fairly low cost modification to the existing DAC or pay (a lot more) for a brand new one?

2) What is the likely timing?

Many thanks.

Andrew
 
Gryphon Audio said:
At this point we are not considering MQA
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It’s great that you are on Audioshark and are responding to questions! Thank you!

Can I please ask why you are not considering MQA? I am not sold on it yet (but am interested in it), but I am worried that if it does take off and I have bought the Diablo 300 with the DAC, I will be left stranded.
 
Gryphon Audio said:
Because we are interested in it, but not sold on it.
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Thank you for responding. I understand the issue and your unwillingness to commit one way or the other, as it is early days. I would love to hear about your reservations/thinking.
 
An update: I listened to the Gryphon Diablo 120 today. I am more interested in the Diablo 300, but my dealer will not have one for me to test until late November. So I was ‘stuck’ (:)) with the 120. All I can say is WOW. Amazing quality of sound. Full, delineated/precise and great soundstage. I can’t wait to hear the 300.

I tested the 120 in-store. Will test the 300 at home with my set-up.

I am also testing the Pass labs INT-250.

Will be a fascinating show-down.

The other contender is a 2nd hand Dag Momentum, but they are hard to find in Singapore.

Andrew
 
The Gryphon 120 ‘smashed’ (dramatic I know, but it is true) my Devialet 220 Pro. Am salivating at the thought of what the 300 is going to do.
 
AJR said:
The Gryphon 120 ‘smashed’ (dramatic I know, but it is true) my Devialet 220 Pro. Am salivating at the thought of what the 300 is going to do.
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Frankly speaking I’m not surprised. The French company have not really evolved since the Premier was updated into the next gen.


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Assuming I end up with either the Diablo 300 or the Pass INT-250, what DAC and streamer should I get to complement? If the Diablo, am thinking I buy the Diablo 300 DAC plus the Lumin S-1. This assumes that Gryphon will upgrade the optional DAC in the future (in particular, for MQA). If the INT-250, I am thinking the Lumin A1 or the Esoteric N-5. I like the all-in cost of the latter option (although not sure whether to go for the A1 or the N-5).
 
Kuoppis said:
Frankly speaking I’m not surprised. The French company have not really evolved since the Premier was updated into the next gen.


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To be fair, the Pro upgrade made a huge difference and I think on a bang for buck basis, Devialet is up there. But it is still Class D biased (despite the A/D hybrid tech) and so sounds different to A/B (let alone Class A).
 
Mike - should we move my DAC/Media Player/Streamer question to a different thread, or is it ok here?
 
Does anyone have a view on the Esoteric N-05 vs the Lumin A-1 to be paired with the Pass INT-250? It seems I can buy the N-05 for a couple grand less than the A-1.
 
The demo D300 will most likely be without a DAC, so I'll have to see whether I can use Devialet for that or borrow something I know, most likely BelCanto or MSB Analog.

That is not optimal, because I'd really like to hear the D300 DAC as it would be my preferred solution at the moment.

Streamer is the next one to figure out, I'll probably start with Lumin.
 
Magico pairs nicely with Halcro amplifiers. Halcro dm88 powered my S3 Mk1, and now it powers my Q3. I expect any of the Halcro dm series amps would yield excellent results with S3 Mk2. Halcro are releasing a new product line-up next month, including, from what I understand, an integrated amplifier.
 
brodricj said:
Magico pairs nicely with Halcro amplifiers. Halcro dm88 powered my S3 Mk1, and now it powers my Q3. I expect any of the Halcro dm series amps would yield excellent results with S3 Mk2. Halcro are releasing a new product line-up next month, including, from what I understand, an integrated amplifier.
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Never heard of Halcro but after a quick look at their website and in particular the DM38 stereo amp it looks VERY interesting. For space and cost reasons I like integrated amps - any idea (1) when the integrated amp will be released, (2) what the output will be, and (3) a ball park estimate of cost?
 
walesi said:
The demo D300 will most likely be without a DAC, so I'll have to see whether I can use Devialet for that or borrow something I know, most likely BelCanto or MSB Analog.

That is not optimal, because I'd really like to hear the D300 DAC as it would be my preferred solution at the moment.

Streamer is the next one to figure out, I'll probably start with Lumin.
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I am also leaning towards Lumin for my streamer. In addition to the stunning aesthetic and what seems to be (based on comments from fellow Sharks and also reviews) a very high quality product with regular upgrades, I like how Peter from Lumin is a Shark, responds to questions, and gives what I think is very balanced advice.
 
AJR said:
Assuming I end up with either the Diablo 300 or the Pass INT-250, what DAC and streamer should I get to complement? If the Diablo, am thinking I buy the Diablo 300 DAC plus the Lumin S-1. This assumes that Gryphon will upgrade the optional DAC in the future (in particular, for MQA). If the INT-250, I am thinking the Lumin A1 or the Esoteric N-5. I like the all-in cost of the latter option (although not sure whether to go for the A1 or the N-5).
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Isn't the Gryphon more than twice the price of the Pass?
 
And Singapore may present a different price comparison, which I didn’t notice when I posted.
 
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