Gryphon Diablo & Dartzeel CTH-8550


Hi,
I am looking for a high quality integrated amp in a small room of 18' x 10' x 8'.

On a usage basis, one negative point about the Diablo is that it runs very hot.

Anybody who has compared both amps side-by-side and could comment on it?

Thank you
hamburger

Showing 9 responses by hamburger

Hi Russell, I have not tried the Boulder and Vitus yet. But I will be listening to a friend's Vitus SIA-025 soon.
Hi Lloyd,
I heard the Vitus SIA-025 for about 2 hours, but it's really difficult to tell as it was a totally unfamiliar setting. It would have been fun if I could audition the Gryphon Diablo and Vitus RI-100 within the same room. Too bad, no such luck!
Cheers
Hi Lloyd,

I really couldn't tell if the Vitus set up was good. It was neither bad nor good to me in terms of tonality. But it is definitely not for me, because I like to play loud and 25W Class A just doesn't cut it.

All in all, from what I have heard so far, the Dartzeel is still the one to beat, for me.
Cheers
Hi Lloydelee21,

Your post has been most helpful and I concur with your points mostly, in view of my own personal experience. I would like to share my thoughts here.

I have a fresh from box Diablo on a one week loan in my home system now, but I have not heard the CTH-8550 at all. The Diablo is about 30 hours now…

My own amplifier is the Orpheus Laboratories (Swiss) and I understand what you meant by “a very lithe, fleet of foot natural sound that can be very beautiful in the right system” on the Dartzeel CTH. I have heard the NHB a few times before. Immediately I agree with what you were describing. “Lithe, sprightly, agile, sweet”… think Peter Pan’s Tinkerbell. Most Swiss amps I know have this character, but not all do.

I recently heard a Mirage/Colosseum-Stereo set up and was very very impressed by how musical and organic it sounded. Yup, I was awed by the “extraordinarily powerful and propulsive in the bass” that you have described on Gryphon. The change from the Orpheus to the Diablo was very similar to my change of turntable from a Wilson-Benesch Circle to a Kuzma Reference. Suddenly I realize there was a missing bottom. I am not talking about boom-boom bass, but a kind of solid low frequency foundation where music emits from. And subsequently such bass energy drive that comes out from that foundation.

Yes, I noticed a “darkness” in the Diablo and I do not consider the Diablo as “sweet”. It is clear treble but not sweet (The NHB was sweet). The gryphon is an ox… hahaha, not a gryphon? In Asia, it is more a water-buffalo that can pull anything (any music genre) along with it. No problem with the power! Considering my small room and relatively easy to drive speakers, it is a piece of cake for the Diablo.

Personally, I like Class-A sound but dislike the Gryphon heat… kind of a contradiction. I know the Diablo is class-A/B. Also, although my Orpheus amp is a “lesser” amp than the Diablo, the Orpheus is more “musically engaging” to me. The Diablo has more fire power in the high-fidelity sense, but it lacks a certain x-factor on musicality. (I sing more in my head after listening to the Orpheus than the Diablo… my own personal measure of musicality). And if the CTH is anything similar to the Orpheus (the Swiss character), I get a pretty good idea how the CTH and Diablo will compare. Quite an enigma for me right now!

Perhaps the Diablo will sound better after more running-in?

Cheers
Hi Rtn1
I have heard the CTH recently and I really liked it. Well, there is no perfect amp, and for both the shortcomings and strenghts of both the Dartzeel and Gryphon, I prefer the Dartzeel.

However, I do not think the CTH is worth the price it is asking for, no doubt a very good amp. And I understand what you meant by "that the midrange is thin and non-organic". It lacks a certain body to the sound; you hear the sound but you don't sense there is a musician there producing the sound.

Anyway, back to my drawing board and search for other candidates other than the Diablo and CTH.
Cheers

I think I will be
Thanks for all your opinions and comments.

Dartzeel CTH-8550
Gryphon Diablo
Gamut DI-150
Burmester 032

Is the Musical Fidelity M6-500i anywhere in the same league with the group above?
Thank you.
Heard the ASR Emitter quite a few times, nice big smooth slight darkish sound. However not to my taste. Thanks Kiwi for your opinion on the MF and Pass. OK, won't waste my time on them.

Amps that I have not listened to are:
Boulder 865
Vitus RI-100 and the SIA-025
Gamut DI-150

and the shopping continues... ;-)
All your answers have been most helpful and I have come to a closure on this thread.

When I first started this thread, I was looking for a high quality intergrated amp and was looking at the Gryphon and Dartzeel. Along the way, there were many excellent suggestions. As I like to play loud, I was interested in something "higher" power, high current (>150W, 8ohm). The Vitus RI-100 caught my attention but I had no chance to try it. I was circling around the Dartzeel, Gryphon and Vitus. Dartzeel was leading the pack.

Coincidentally, a friend who is a YBA fan knew about my amp hunt and found me a very good condition 10 year old six-chassis YBA SIGNATURE amplifier (4 chassis pre-amp + 2 mono-block power amp) way below the prices of a new Gryphon, Dartzeel or Vitus.

I have been very happy with the YBA as it is operating nicely and sounds beautiful. It does not run hot, and could be easily repaired by a good technician should it kaput one day.

I did not buy new this time, didn't contribute to the economy, but I have found an amp that has ticked most of the boxes of my needs, except integrated-one-box-one-power-cord-and-one-less-interconnect. And no remote-control. Oh well! ;)

Thanks, everyone!
I wanted to go Danish - Gryphon and Vitus, but somehow the French got me... Is Dartzeel French-Swiss? And now pops in Neodio. ;)

Neodio is available here but not popular, so I guess I must have missed it. But will find a chance to go hear it.

Yes, my integrated amp needs 4 powercords and I ran out of power cords AND sockets on my power-distributor. Damn! ;(