Gryphon Mephisto Stereo – muscle and clarity

Gryphon Audio Designs is a company with an unquestionable reputation in the upper echelon audio market. The Danish company, which became a legend back in the 80s of the XX century, is still a trendsetter in the High End industry today - primarily in the field of amplification. Mephisto Stereo, one of the top models in the Gryphon's product line, reflects all the company's developments over its long history.

Build to last

Gryphon Mephisto Stereo power amplifier got its name for a reason – the company claims the exceptional stability of the device and amplifier ability to drive even the most current-hungry loudspeakers on the market. The output section of Gryphon Mephisto Stereo uses Sanken bipolar transistors which can to deliver momentary peak power of 4,000 watts per channel with-out overload! Gryphon Audio uses original scheme - each of the 40 transistors is bypassed with individual film capacitors and the driver section has its own supply based on the custom-made toroidal transformers. The capacitors are divided into two sections – diver section has 50.000 uF of ultra-fast capacitance, power capacitor bank has big 500,000 uF array. Of course there us no negative feedback employed. All input wiring is Gryphon Guideline Reference gold-embedded silver cable. And you must remember that only fully balanced inputs are presented.

Battery of innovations

Ok, the other side of Gryphon Mephisto can boast flat frequency response from 0 Hz to astronomical 350 kHz, DC servo coupling and frequency-independent damping factor characteristic. The amplifier based on custom-made double sealed, mil spec PCB, has no output relays and offers user-programmable Green Class A bias for possible reducing energy consumption. Also, Gryphon Mephisto Stereo offers non-invasive “smart” protection system with microprocessor control.

True pure Class A

Most of legendary Gryphon’s amplifiers based on pure Class A technology – and for Gryphon Mephisto Stereo there is no exceptions. Heavy transformers, large heatsinks, expensive parts and assembly… And, of course, lots of heat, lots of electricity, and lots of money - more than 50,000 USD price excluding electricity bills (programmable Class A bias means of reducing power consumption via taking into account speaker sensitivity, room size, musical dynamics and volume). But that’s the price for true audiophile pleasure.

Unpacking

In the large crates we found extremely heavy (111.13 kg) Mephisto, pair of gloves and acrylic polish, AC power cords (upgrade it!), green bias cable for pre-amplifier connection and warranty card. Pleasant minimalism. But you need to remember about at least 50 hours of break in period.

System

With Gryphon Mephisto power amplifier was added in the system with Wilson Audio Sasha DAW lodspeaker, LampizatOr Golden Gate 3 digital-to-analog converter and the Roon Nucleus streamer, CH Precicion L1 Dual Monaural Line-Stage and P1 Dual Monaural Phono-Stage and TechDas AirForce III Premium turntable with Kuzma 4Point tonearm and AirTight Opus One MC cartrige. Most part of cable are from Shunyata.

What about the sound?

Dire Straits - Love over Gold - this record initially seems like a simple test for the system, but many systems immediately fail the exam at the end of the Telegraph Road track. The polyphony of sounds can break into mush and overshadow the line of keyboard. But not in our case - Mephisto demonstrates exclusively the separation of sound images and masterfully builds a gigantic stage, literally pumping it with air.

Switching to Jethro Tull - Aqualung (Steven Wilson Mix) allows you to reveal the macro- and microdynamic pattern of the model and be surprised by the length of the bass line formed by the amplifier. Finally, we hear dry, clear and very deep bass on the first compositions of the album - bravo.

And Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 "From the New World" is a real stress test even for very expensive High End systems. It is difficult enough to convey the timbre of a truly multi-component large symphonic orchestra, but the grandiose dynamic splashes of the saga's finale turn the work into torture for many expensive amplifiers. Mephisto did not give any reason for criticism in this sense - the sound was absolutely reliable, colored with all the emotions and demonstrating an amazing richness of texture.

Results

Gryphon Mephisto Stereo is extraordinary product. It offers almost everything that audiophiles can dream of - and even more. The amplifier's sound has charm, exquisite tenderness and stunning, powerful force. This mosaic of contrasts captivates you without looking back - once you try such quality, you will not want to go back.