GRYPHON UNVEILS DIABLO 333 AT TWO DEALER EVENTS

[Ron Resnick]

Omaha, NE—November 15, 2023: Gryphon’s highly anticipated Diablo 333 Integrated Amplifier will make its North American Dealer Debut today, Thursday, 16 November at The Sound Environment, Omaha, NE. Anthony Chiarella, Gryphon’s North American Director of Sales and Marketing, will present the amplifier and be available to answer questions and discuss The Gryphon Brand. The showroom will be open from 11 Am to 6PM and appointments are recommended. After 6PM, The Sound Environment will host an Official Presentation with all invited. For more information or to book an appointment, please contact Charlie Santmire, info@soundenvironment.com(402) 391-3842

The following day, Friday, 17 November, Anthony will present the 333 at Gryphon’s Chicago Dealer, Kyomi Audio, Addison, IL. Kyomi’s owner, George Vatchnadze, is a world-renowned Concert Pianist and Professor whose knowledge of music and its reproduced sound is unsurpassed. Anthony will present during showroom hours and George will host a Special Event after 7 PM. For more information, please contact George Vatchnadze, info@kyomiaudio.com, or by phone (312) 513-2759

First shown in prototype form at Munich High End 2023, Diablo 333 is the successor to Gryphon’s renowned Diablo 300, acknowledged to be among the finest Integrated Amplifiers ever built as well as the best-selling “Ultra-Luxe” integrated in High End history. Utilizing technologies and components developed for the State-of-the-Art Apex Power Amplifier, 333 represents a significant step forward in both performance and functionality from Gryphon’s class-leading Diablo 300. Industrial Design is equally tour-de-force, evocative of both Apex and it’s partnering Preamplifier, Commander. Diablo 333 carries an MSRP of $24,990, with DAC and Phono Modules available separately.

 

[Republicoftexas69]

Omaha, NE—November 15, 2023: Gryphon’s highly anticipated Diablo 333 Integrated Amplifier will make its North American Dealer Debut today, Thursday, 16 November at The Sound Environment, Omaha, NE. Anthony Chiarella, Gryphon’s North American Director of Sales and Marketing, will present the amplifier and be available to answer questions and discuss The Gryphon Brand. The showroom will be open from 11 Am to 6PM and appointments are recommended. After 6PM, The Sound Environment will host an Official Presentation with all invited. For more information or to book an appointment, please contact Charlie Santmire, info@soundenvironment.com(402) 391-3842

The following day, Friday, 17 November, Anthony will present the 333 at Gryphon’s Chicago Dealer, Kyomi Audio, Addison, IL. Kyomi’s owner, George Vatchnadze, is a world-renowned Concert Pianist and Professor whose knowledge of music and its reproduced sound is unsurpassed. Anthony will present during showroom hours and George will host a Special Event after 7 PM. For more information, please contact George Vatchnadze, info@kyomiaudio.com, or by phone (312) 513-2759

First shown in prototype form at Munich High End 2023, Diablo 333 is the successor to Gryphon’s renowned Diablo 300, acknowledged to be among the finest Integrated Amplifiers ever built as well as the best-selling “Ultra-Luxe” integrated in High End history. Utilizing technologies and components developed for the State-of-the-Art Apex Power Amplifier, 333 represents a significant step forward in both performance and functionality from Gryphon’s class-leading Diablo 300. Industrial Design is equally tour-de-force, evocative of both Apex and it’s partnering Preamplifier, Commander. Diablo 333 carries an MSRP of $24,990, with DAC and Phono Modules available separately.

Omaha ??? I will miss it by 2 weeks….heading there on business.

 

[Whbgarrett]

Interesting choice of locations

 

[GSOphile]

As a former Diablo 300 owner, I'll be interested to hear the early 333 returns. Gryphon makes terrific products.

 

[CJmooney]

I attended the first dealer demo of the new Gryphon 333 this afternoon in Omaha (The Sound Environment). The Sound Environment is a great high end store and has a large listening room that I am very familiar with. The 333 was demonstrated with Rockport Orion speakers, Brinkman Taurus table and arm with a Lyra Etna cartridge using the onboard phono. On the digital side an Aurender W20SE and DCS Vivaldi Apex and clock were in play as the 333 did not have the built in DAC installed. Cabling was Transparent. I had a nice visit with Anthony Chiarella (director of sales for Gryphon) and we played both vinyl and digital cuts. I'm not a Gryphon owner but have friends with Gryphon and I'm familiar with the house sound. My impressions are as follows:

1. Build - Massive yet beautiful. Has the apex appearance from the front. I personally like the aesthetics more than the Diablo 300. It has a very clean modern look. The front display is very readable from a distance and fades to black. The remote is very nice and comfortable in your hand. I like the remote much better than the "tripod." Wish the remote had a phase switch, however. The back panel is well laid out and similar to the Diablo 300 as I recall. After my demo the amp was warm to touch on the heatsinks but not hot.

2. Sound in general - I've listened to Zena, Pandora, Commander, Mephisto, Essence, Apex amps/preamps in this same room and system and can say without hesitation that the 333 punches above is weight when replacing the separates. In other words, I didn't really miss the separates when listening to the integrated. It really was that good. Seemingly endless amounts of power, high resolution, transparent, resolving, dynamic are words that come to mind. I've always been impressed with how the Gryphon amps reproduce bass dynamics/impact. I was not disappointed with the 333. The bass was superb. It was easy to just relax and enjoy the music. Which I did for over an hour! Maybe there was a little less "locked in" imaging and the central image was larger end less focused than I'm used to hearing but I'm nitpicking.

3. Phono - I'm a vinyl guy and was really interested in the phono section. The inputs are balanced and resistance and capacitance are selectable on the rear panel. The overall sound was excellent and I think improved from the phono section in the Diablo. Again, most of my demo was on vinyl so my comments above apply. We listened to the Rufus Reid/Caelen Cardello album that is making the rounds, and it was superb. Also, UHQR of Miles Davis KOB was beautiful with very good depth and spaciousness. Overall I was happy.

4. Negatives - There was a bit of phono hum (only heard at high volume and completely masked during album play). I'm guessing the 333 will steal some sales from Essence amp/preamp buyers too (negative only for Gryphon). No phase switch the remote. Weighs over 100 pounds! Finally I never really heard/felt "magic" during the demo. It was all excellent but I wasn't moved or connecting emotionally. This might be related to the unit not being completely broken in (likely), the mid afternoon power or just me not connecting.

Lastly, I've been a long time lurker on WBF and this is my first post ever. I never really thought I had much to contribute but have always enjoyed the forums. Since there has been a fair amount of interest in the 333, and the Diablo has been a best seller, I thought a mini review might benefit the readers. I've always liked integrated amps and the high end ones are fun. Oh, I almost forgot. My past experience is with JRDG, Exposure, Devialet and I currently own darTZeel.

 

[buzzlulu]

Excellent first post and write up. This is my first post as well.
How would you compare the Gryphon to your DarTZeel ( and do you have the integrated or seperates?

 

[CJmooney]

Thanks for the thumbs up. I have the DarTZeel CTH 8550 MK 2. It's difficult to comment on a direct comparison of the Gryphon vs DarTZeel as I've not had the Gryphon in my system. Generally, I would say that the Gryphon is more "weighty" on the low end a bit more forward in its presentation. The 333 is not dark or bright, very neutral. The DarTZeel has "midrange magic," with imaging that is well defined and just floats in space. The Dart is very musical and connects emotionally which I know sounds weird, but it does! Also, the 8550 comes alive even at low listening levels (maybe 65-70 dB) which is very cool. I've never had that quality in my system. To be fair to the 333, however, I would need to evaluate in my system before I would say that the Gryphon won't do the same thing as the DarZeel, or even better it. That could happen in the future and would be fun.

 

[buzzlulu]

The DarTZeel has "midrange magic," with imaging that is well defined and just floats in space. The Dart is very musical and connects emotionally which I know sounds weird, but it does! Also, the 8550 comes alive even at low listening levels (maybe 65-70 dB) which is very cool. I've never had that quality in my system.

Thank you for the comments and they mirror EXACTLY what I found when the 8550 was demoed. As a 20+ year Naim 552/500 owner I was looking to simplify my life and reduce black box and cable count. Many Naim users on the dCS forum experimented by removing the Naim preamp and running our dCS Rossini APEX/Clock directly into the 500 amplifier. This opened my eyes and the decision was taken to finally make the change I have been dreaming about - a simplified box count (many long time Naim users eventually go through the same process).

After demoing D'Agostino and Nagra I found the DarTZeel 8550 integrated to hit the spot and, quite honestly, I could have easily lived with it as a replacement for my 552/500. Having been on the Naim upgrade merry go round for so many years I knew I would not sit still and eventually make my way to the separates. A new NHB-18NS and NHB-108 model two will be arriving next week and they will be fronted by my Rossini APEX and Klimax LP12. Four boxes total and I am done!

 

[Ricky64]

Interesting review. I have been driving a Gryphon Essence directly from a Tambaqui DAC, and have felt I needed to move to a pre or integrated to get the tonal density and midrange dynamics I am seeking. I've been curious if the 333 is going to outperform the Essence separates, or at least match them.

 

[CJmooney]

Thank you for the comments and they mirror EXACTLY what I found when the 8550 was demoed. As a 20+ year Naim 552/500 owner I was looking to simplify my life and reduce black box and cable count. Many Naim users on the dCS forum experimented by removing the Naim preamp and running our dCS Rossini APEX/Clock directly into the 500 amplifier. This opened my eyes and the decision was taken to finally make the change I have been dreaming about - a simplified box count (many long time Naim users eventually go through the same process).

After demoing D'Agostino and Nagra I found the DarTZeel 8550 integrated to hit the spot and, quite honestly, I could have easily lived with it as a replacement for my 552/500. Having been on the Naim upgrade merry go round for so many years I knew I would not sit still and eventually make my way to the separates. A new NHB-18NS and NHB-108 model two will be arriving next week and they will be fronted by my Rossini APEX and Klimax LP12. Four boxes total and I am done!

Congratulations on the darTZeel separates! Please report on how they work for you.

 

[ariel2611]

Thank you for the comments and they mirror EXACTLY what I found when the 8550 was demoed. As a 20+ year Naim 552/500 owner I was looking to simplify my life and reduce black box and cable count. Many Naim users on the dCS forum experimented by removing the Naim preamp and running our dCS Rossini APEX/Clock directly into the 500 amplifier. This opened my eyes and the decision was taken to finally make the change I have been dreaming about - a simplified box count (many long time Naim users eventually go through the same process).

After demoing D'Agostino and Nagra I found the DarTZeel 8550 integrated to hit the spot and, quite honestly, I could have easily lived with it as a replacement for my 552/500. Having been on the Naim upgrade merry go round for so many years I knew I would not sit still and eventually make my way to the separates. A new NHB-18NS and NHB-108 model two will be arriving next week and they will be fronted by my Rossini APEX and Klimax LP12. Four boxes total and I am done!

Hi buzz lulu,
I'm also owning the Naim 500/552/ with Focal Scala Evo speakers, and I am completely satisfied with them.
But you know, as an audiophile, I will always be curious to discover a better sounding performance, so...it never ends
In my point of view, the Naim 500/552 are hard to defeat...and if so, it's probably a significant increase in money, as you apparently did.
The Gryphon 333 looks a wonderful hi end piece, I wish I had the opportunity to compare between them.
Regards,
Ariel

 

[ariel2611]

Thank you for the comments and they mirror EXACTLY what I found when the 8550 was demoed. As a 20+ year Naim 552/500 owner I was looking to simplify my life and reduce black box and cable count. Many Naim users on the dCS forum experimented by removing the Naim preamp and running our dCS Rossini APEX/Clock directly into the 500 amplifier. This opened my eyes and the decision was taken to finally make the change I have been dreaming about - a simplified box count (many long time Naim users eventually go through the same process).

After demoing D'Agostino and Nagra I found the DarTZeel 8550 integrated to hit the spot and, quite honestly, I could have easily lived with it as a replacement for my 552/500. Having been on the Naim upgrade merry go round for so many years I knew I would not sit still and eventually make my way to the separates. A new NHB-18NS and NHB-108 model two will be arriving next week and they will be fronted by my Rossini APEX and Klimax LP12. Four boxes total and I am done!

Hello,
Could you describe please the experience with the Dartzeel compare to your previous Naim 500+552?

Regards

 

[buzzlulu]

Big difference imho. After 25 years with Naim we were always conditioned on the °flat earth° principle of listening. We were made to believe sound stage width and depth did not matter - the only thing which counted was PRAT. DarTZeel provides sound stage depth and width - and tons of PRAT as well. One other thing to consider is the 552 has been around since 2002. Nothing particularly wrong with that however things have moved on. My sources are a LP12 and dCS Rossini APEX. The 552 masked and did not let though all of the detail the Rossini is capable of outputting. The DarTZeel allows all of it to come through and provides an engaging, toe tapping listen. Timbre and not decay and sustain are better as well.
Best advice would be to try and arrange a demo (although I realize that is not always easy)

PS I have another long time Naim friend who recently moved to the 8550 and is extremely happy

 

[ariel2611]

Sounds interesting, great to hear that! I'm a believer...
About the "flat earth" - that principle for me belong more (imho) to the old Naim speakers (which was positioned close to walls) or the whole Naim concept system, especially to the olive (old) components...so, just maybe! the 500+552 represent a little that concept..but as I've wrote before, they are not easy to defeat...
I wish I can hear those Dartzeel in comparison...in every Munich show (with Stenheim speakers) they're my favorite room!
About the DZ 8550, I'm not sure they have the punch and the control vs the 500+552, that's the reason the Gryphon Diablo 333 is interesting me...
any experience with that?
Regards,

 

[buzzlulu]

About the DZ 8550, I'm not sure they have the punch and the control vs the 500+552, that's the reason the Gryphon Diablo 333 is interesting me...
any experience with that?

The DarTZeel separates (pre and amp) EXCEED the punch and control of the 552/500
The 8550 integrated may not have the punch and control of the 500 however the preamp section obliterates the 552 - so the sum of the whole is superior imho
As for Gryphon I have no demo experience. A good friend, also a former long time 552/500 owner, found the Gryphon to be a touch dark sounding.

 

[Audio_Karma]

WOW

 

[ariel2611]

The DarTZeel separates (pre and amp) EXCEED the punch and control of the 552/500
The 8550 integrated may not have the punch and control of the 500 however the preamp section obliterates the 552 - so the sum of the whole is superior imho
As for Gryphon I have no demo experience. A good friend, also a former long time 552/500 owner, found the Gryphon to be a touch dark sounding.

Hi,
I can imagine...the DarTZell cost about twice in comparsion.
About the "dark sounding" from Gryphon, as far as I know, it refers to the old units such as Antilieon Evo and maybe the Mephisto...not the 333

 

[buzzlulu]

I can imagine...the DarTZell cost about twice in comparsion

That is not correct
552/500 is $70k for the set
The DarTZeel 8550 integrated is $42,600
According to my math it is the other way around - the Naim pre/amp costs significantly more than the DarTZeel integrated. That is why ithe Zeel integrated was so impressive to me.

You need to compare apples to apples
Pre+Amp = integrated
You cannot compare amp (Naim500) to pre+amp (Zeel 8550)

 

[ariel2611]

I've meant by that in comparison - "The DarTZeel separates (pre and amp) EXCEED the punch and control of the 552/500"

Regards

 

[ariel2611]

With all due respect, I don't think the 8550 int outperform the 500/552 all the way...