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

CKKeung

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Jun 17, 2011
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Hong Kong
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 :
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dCS Vivaldi Apex combo, Vertere LP combo, Zesto top phono and ProAc speakers were employed for the audition :
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The Commander preamp main unit and ext PSU are BIG!
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The exterior design and the company logo are excellent.
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Two powercords are needed :
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CKKeung

Well-Known Member
Jun 17, 2011
3,053
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Hong Kong
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.

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The Constellation monos and Gryphon Mephisto monos look like babies when compared to the Apex Stereo! :p
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The remote is rather simple and unassuming. The pre & poweramp are to be connected by a proprietary link cable.
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Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
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Thank you for telling us about this audition, and for the photos!

How did the Apex compare sonically to the Constellations?
 

CKKeung

Well-Known Member
Jun 17, 2011
3,053
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Hong Kong
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

Well-Known Member
Jun 17, 2011
3,053
3,172
1,410
Hong Kong
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!
:D
 
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Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,017
13,346
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA
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

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
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