I'll come clean. I'm biased towards tube or hybrid solid state & tube pre-amps, paired with a premier solid state amp. That being said, the Gryphon combo is a better pairing than any Boulder pairing. I enjoy being granted the privilege of riding along your personal journey Jay, thank you. As a 60 year old audiophile with 40 years on my journey, I mostly now fall into the second category of audiophile you identified ( not an equipment tweaker any longer, but rather seeking the highest quality recording of my musical preferences). I'm sure all of us who are subscribed to your channel continue to expand our knowledge base and experience thanks to you, sir.
When you talk about your gear, I can tell you that you are gesturing using your hands. We cannot see that, but we can intuit from the way you express yourself (voice, inflection, etc). Keep up the good work Jay. We thank you for everything !! STAY SAFE !
I can understand the frustration the Gryphon preamp and its PSU having spikes. Spikes were introduced by Steve Mcormack calling them tiptoes. There is no scientific evidence that spikes drain vibrations. I prefer the solution of the Boulder anyday.
Jay, very, very informative, enlightening and entertaining! I'm about a year away from a MAJOR system upgrade and am learning soooooo much from you. Thanks so much for this incredible comparison. Your deep experience combined with your honest assessments, and backed up by the super impressive musical presentations, are unlike any other audiophile experience available anywhere. BTW I was partial to the Pandora as the system synergy was clear. Too bad the Pandora does not have a HT pass through. In the meantime, keep up the amazing work!!!
Well Jay I can definitely tell which one you’re going to keep but the funny part is for how long??? 😂🤣😂🤣 From your face expressions you are going to keep Boulder
I cannot tell over utube, but I know at times the complexity of the amp circuit will affect the flow or sometimes called the boogie factor. I think that's what people hear when they like the sound of the direct from DAC connections. For me, that might help make the decision of which one to keep. I tend to agree with every thing you said based on the short utube samples. I will note that the music you listen to would probably prefer the delivery I hear from the Pandora.
Those amps are well beyond my budget but for critical music/stereo at the 10-20k price point I’ll always go with an all tube preamp/amp package and save the solid state for home theater.
One of the best setups I've ever assembled (on a hifi show) is Kronos Pro turntable /.scps, black beauty arm with Lyra Etna, Aurender W20, Gryphons Kalliope + Legato Legacy + Pandora + Mephisto Monos + Focal Stella Evo. All cables were Kubala Sosna Realization. The Stella Evos driven by the Meph Monos (something that you should try :D) pressurized a 85sqm ballroom with ease (yes you are right that the Stella Evo are a different beast in big rooms) easily filling the ballroom with wall to wall soundstage and dense powerful music. Of course the Pandora played a huge part in that superb result (as did the legato legacy which is cut of the same cloth)... because it does have the big and powerful sound that doesnt call attention to itself (no grain, no grit, no false excitement, no bloom, no excessive warmth and sweetness) and indeed it is excellent at assembling copious amount of detail into a coherent whole which is always a hallmark of a reference class preamp. However I disagree with you that all Gryphon amplifiers must be used with the Pandora ... because I've been using the Pandora with various Gryphon gear for years and not just weeks at the store ... and I've heard the Antileon Evo and Colosseum fare better with the Zena in some systems.
Sorry. The audio quest I had a full system was the Wel series. I loved them. Speaker and all interconnects. Along with power cables. Highly recommend for many Sytems.
I agree on the audio quest Cabels. I owned a full line of the top cabels at the time. Maybe they were called Diamomd. Was crazy money maybe I spent 60 k for the full set up. Tho the Tara labs which might have been more money was really cool. Love Tara too. If I can’t remember at the time I was using all Audio Research top tier gear and magico. Miss that system.
Agree that spikes sucks - MSB ones are terrible and scratch anything they touch. The used to come with rubber feet which should be made available again. I'd love for you to compare Dart with these amps/preamps- but they won't be ideal with Magico. Focal would have been sublime.
Hi, thanks for the video. Did you use the Dragon high current power cord with the Pandora or the Dragon source? What power cord would be better for a preamp like Pandora (Dragon high current vs Dragon source)? Thanks, Oliver
Good review I like it better than shot out due to the music played lol. Btw J do you sell your cables or amplifier online and if so where can check them out?
Thecablecompany cable trials 30 days. Sorry Jay if your selling Mephisto I am tempted. Don’t have room exactly but have spare bedroom adjacent to my equipment - holes through wall maybe necessary.
Does Gryphon really develop and produce cables itself or do these only come with Gryphon labeling? I mean Gryphon is a fairly small company. Just wondering
@Gary Spence ...Siltech from the Netherlands...o.k., thanks! Next question would be who builds „their“ speakers? I kind of always have some reservations towards HighEnd brands which offer „everything“ for their customers. I personally prefer more specialized brands for one or two components. Regards from Germany.
Sorry Jay, but if you want to save on cables. Buy Lessloss C-Marc cables. They are nuetral as they come and will save Audiophiles a ton of money. Yes I use full power and Interconnect. Even some of what I call voodoo products that actually works. Lessloss also has trial.
I did prefer the sound with the boulder pre, even though i liked the pandora also, but would pick the boulder. Ohh i have an essence power amp, but use it with...a mcintosh pre for the tube sound i like
what projector are you using and how are you able to get 2.35:1 with 16:9 content like the apple tv. is it lens memory or zoom feature on the projector? anamorphic lens ?
Forget spikes. Isolation is the way to go. Big fan of Stillpoints works under everything including speakers. No I do not own stocks in Stillpoint, maybe I should.
