Larry I think you will be very happy with the Pandora. My system is so quiet, I think the Pandora has a lot to do with that, among other attributes...I am still waiting to see if adding a Pandora to my Colosseum will yield a big increase in sound quality. I hope so.
There is always a sky above a sky but I will never see the Apex/Commander in my home.
This is not etched in stone but I always prefer the amplification and pre to be from the same company. IMO amp/pre is vital. Can you imagine buying the Apex and not pairing it without the Commander? I'm looking forward in your observations. I think you made a great choice with the Pandora...Thanks John. I will see.
There is always the question of what upgrade will improve the sound quality the most.
I have always thought amp/preamp/speakers were the the things that would change the sound the most, maybe not in that order.
What do other people think?
This is not etched in stone but I always prefer the amplification and pre to be from the same company. IMO amp/pre is vital. Can you imagine buying the Apex and not pairing it without the Commander? I'm looking forward in your observations. I think you made a great choice with the Pandora...
Very interesting...As I mentioned I think Larry will be very pleased with the Pandora...I listened to the Commander and Pandora back and forth for several hours at The Sound Environment with DCS stack Mephisto monos and Rockport Orion. I was surprised how close Pandora comes to it. The Commander is quieter and may have a bit more detail but Pandora tonally is a bit richer. It depends on what you value and how much you’re willing to pay for it. For me I’m going to wait a year or so for the Pandora replacement and see how close it comes for somewhere around 40-45k
Will there be a replacement for the Pandora?I listened to the Commander and Pandora back and forth for several hours at The Sound Environment with DCS stack Mephisto monos and Rockport Orion. I was surprised how close Pandora comes to it. The Commander is quieter and may have a bit more detail but Pandora tonally is a bit richer. It depends on what you value and how much you’re willing to pay for it. For me I’m going to wait a year or so for the Pandora replacement and see how close it comes for somewhere around 40-45k
I have not heard of this. The Commander is the latest and greatest. Doesn't make sense to upgrade the Pandora on a number of levels...Will there be a replacement for the Pandora?
Great insight...thanks for posting. Many of us are naturally interested to hear about such comparisons while we cannot hear for ourselves. By any chance, have you ever compared Mephisto to Apex? Instinctively would think that difference should be much greater.I listened to the Commander and Pandora back and forth for several hours at The Sound Environment with DCS stack Mephisto monos and Rockport Orion. I was surprised how close Pandora comes to it. The Commander is quieter and may have a bit more detail but Pandora tonally is a bit richer. It depends on what you value and how much you’re willing to pay for it. For me I’m going to wait a year or so for the Pandora replacement and see how close it comes for somewhere around 40-45k
They will replace Pandora and Mephisto at some point. They are 12 years old or so. Zena and Antileon Evo are much newer and benefit from that. Zena at 20k or so Commander at 63k leaves a huge gap in the 40-45k range. Skov did comment a year or so ago that Pandora/Mephisto have some time left in their production. This won’t last forever. Think of all the excellent preamps in the 40k range to compete with. It’s a huge market segment for them. It makes sense on every level. I wouldn’t continue to try and compete with a preamp from 2011 no matter how good it is. I’ve tried to pin them down on timing to no avail. I have no inside information so take my opinion for what it’s worth.
Thanks for finding this, I was just attempting to search it out because I knew I read it. To have the Commander at a retail number of 63K and then have another improved Pandora at 45K would IMO be counter productive. The Commander would dominate sales. Gryphon isn't a company that has multiple models. I listened to the newer Zena in my system and the Pandora blew it out of the water. My million dollar question and I have been seriously considering Apex/Commander is how much better with my current speakers will the two combinations perform? Don't get me wrong I love my Pearl 20/20's.See Rune's comments here: https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/gryphon-mephisto-pandora.35934/
Thanks for finding this, I was just attempting to search it out because I knew I read it. To have the Commander at a retail number of 63K and then have another improved Pandora at 45K would IMO be counter productive. The Commander would dominate sales. Gryphon isn't a company that has multiple models. I listened to the newer Zena in my system and the Pandora blew it out of the water. My million dollar question and I have been seriously considering Apex/Commander is how much better with my current speakers will the two combinations perform? Don't get me wrong I love my Pearl 20/20's.
Even with my expectations of leaving this earth without much money left, this gives me pause! You do Apex/Commander then start thinking Rockport Lyra, then the part about leaving without much money may happen a little too premature! LOL!! I've spoken with Lloyd @LL21 on this very subject in regards to which incremental piece Apex or Commander would give you the bigger jump in delivery. He has many years of experience with Gryphon and I respect his opinion. His thought was Apex might be a better starting point. Virtually impossible to do a home demo. They are making these units to order. I've spoken with Rune several times over the years, good guy...BTW The Pearl 20/20's do everything well. Hard to find anything bad said about them. JA rooms have won several best of show awards...You're welcome. Just like you, I knew that I had read Rune's comment somewhere on here recently. I suppose you'll just have to get a home demo if you can of the Commander/Apex and prepare yourself for an expensive upgrade! I've not heard Pearl 20/20's, but in my fairly limited experience I've found that upgrading the pre/power has incrementally pushed the performance of my speakers beyond expectations (currently SF Serafino with Rel T9's). I've no doubt that better speakers with the Commander/Apex combo will sound, er, even better, and inevitably will lead to you upgrading them too. That said, you've got a great pre/power combo (and indeed, system) as it is - perhaps just try the Commander back to back with your current set up and see what you think?
Thanks for finding this, I was just attempting to search it out because I knew I read it. To have the Commander at a retail number of 63K and then have another improved Pandora at 45K would IMO be counter productive. The Commander would dominate sales. Gryphon isn't a company that has multiple models. I listened to the newer Zena in my system and the Pandora blew it out of the water. My million dollar question and I have been seriously considering Apex/Commander is how much better with my current speakers will the two combinations perform? Don't get me wrong I love my Pearl 20/20's.
For SURE you made the right decision...At one point, I was tempted by the Zena but thought I should go for the Pandora instead. I’m pretty sure I made the right decision.
Upgrading one component leads to questioning whether other components should be upgraded, lol.
I have a small listening room so I need a high quality speaker that will work in that space.
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