My thoughts after audition of Commander & Apex at the local dealer

[CKKeung]

My good frd brought me to audition the new Gryphon flagships - Commander preamp & Apex stereo poweramp at the showroom of Radar Audio Co. on the past Sat afternoon.

Here is the showroom :


dCS Vivaldi Apex combo, Vertere LP combo, Zesto top phono and ProAc speakers were employed for the audition :





The Commander preamp main unit and ext PSU are BIG!


The exterior design and the company logo are excellent.



Two powercords are needed :

 

[CKKeung]

The Apex stereo poweramp is HUGE!
The dealer told us that 4 staff were needed to move it into the showroom.
The exterior design & finishing are excellent too.




The Constellation monos and Gryphon Mephisto monos look like babies when compared to the Apex Stereo!



The remote is rather simple and unassuming. The pre & poweramp are to be connected by a proprietary link cable.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Thank you for telling us about this audition, and for the photos!

How did the Apex compare sonically to the Constellations?

 

[CKKeung]

Some thoughts of mine after the audition :
The external design and finishing of Gryphon products are excellent all along but those of Commander & Apex are even better.

Sonics-wise, they are also in a league above the previous flagships : lower noise floor, bigger macro- & micro-dynamics, more solid imaging & bigger soundstage, higher resolution and last but not least, they achieve the above-mentioned improvement yet retaining musicality which is the signature of Gryphon.

Their prices are high but IMHO not unreasonable.
Two Gryphon Rosso silver-gold alloy powercords are included for both the Commande & Apex.
I think the net prices are very competitive among the current flagship grade amps in the market.

The only pitfall I can find is the huge size of the Apex poweramp. Not easy to place them in the smallish homes in HK but it may be OK in N America?
I think the Commander preamp will be more welcomed by our local audiophiles.

All in all, the Commander & Apex combo is a must-audition if an audiophile is looking for ss flagship amps in whatever price levels.

 

[CKKeung]

Thank you for telling us about this audition, and for the photos!

How did the Apex compare sonically to the Constellations?

TLi and I didn't do a direct comparison.
I personally like the Commander/Apex more. From my previous experience/impression, the new Gryphon flagships are more musical and involving.

It's a pity that all the Magico speakers in the showroom were sold a few days prior to the audition so a pair of top ProAc had to be used.
TLi and I are diehard fans of Magico.
I am quite confident that Commander/Apex and Magico speakers are perfect partners!

 

[Ron Resnick]

TLi and I didn't do a direct comparison.
I personally like the Commander/Apex more. From my previous experience/impression, the new Gryphon flagships are more musical and involving.

It's a pity that all the Magico speakers in the showroom were sold a few days prior to the audition so a pair of top ProAc had to be used.
TLi and I are diehard fans of Magico.
I am quite confident that Commander/Apex and Magico speakers are perfect matches!

Thank you.

 

[LL21]

Gryphon Apex Stereo power amplifier

Some time ago, an amplifier in for review caught fire when first powered up. I don't mean it smoked and sizzled and shut downI mean that actual flames shot through the top grate. Fortunately, I was able to grab a kitchen fire extinguisher and douse the thing with foam. (Sorry, this was decades...

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