Description
Now, Gryphon Essence takes us closer in the never-ending quest for a more natural and convincing musical illusion. Years of experimentation and extensive research in the fields of circuit topology and component quality and reliability have resulted in the development of an amplifier that impresses immediately with its ability to cruise effortlessly through even the most demanding musical passages, regardless of volume level. As a result of the constant high power reserves available at all times, the Essence simply does not “see” the speaker, so its reactive load cannot degrade amplifier performance. Unlike other high-power amplifiers, Gryphon’s no-compromise, pure Class A topology allows the Essence to offer extreme power reserves on demand, combined with refinement and delicacy in musical presentation.
It is our fundamental philosophy that all electronics in the playback chain must ideally be neutral and not add or subtract anything from the recording, no matter how “attractive” such distortions may be. The Essence is by nature a product for the fortunate few who can afford such a statement, just as it is a product for the increasing number of audiophiles who seek purity in the reproduction of music, a product for music lovers who respect both the musicians and recording engineers enough to refrain from adding or subtracting anything in relation to the original intention of the recording.
Power is the name of the game and the Essence is equipped to take on even the most vicious and nightmarish of loudspeaker loads. The output section uses Sanken bipolar output devices which have demonstrated extreme reliability in addition to outstanding sonic performance. The Essence Stereo employs 10 transistors per channel, while the Essence Monoblock features 20 of these devices per unit. These transistors can be called upon to deliver massive amounts of momentary peak power without overload.
Fully symmetrical input- and gain stages improves transient response, soundstage depth and ambience retrieval.
The separate driver section has its own power supply from individual windings on the custom-made toroidal transformers. Unique mechanical design ensures optimal thermal tracking between drivers and output devices. The driver section features its own generous bank of high quality capacitors.
The power capacitor bank in the Stereo version is an astounding 440,000 µF array of exceptional capacitors, and 880,000 µF in the Monoblock edition, in both versions bypassed by high quality polypropylene capacitors throughout the power supplies.
Global negative feedback is non-existent and DC coupling employs DC servo circuitry. Internal wiring in the signal path is kept to an absolute minimum.
Gryphon Essence utilizes a completely independent power supply for display and control circuits, effectively preventing digital noise generated by these circuits from reaching the amplifier circuits.
