Bubb, unfortunately the shop didn't have the 803 D3's for me to test with the Diablo, as they said they sell so many 804's and 802's they don't need to demo the 803. I should be clear I'm not even slightly saying the 802 or D3 line is bad - it just has a less relaxed mid than I prefer. I agree it is an excellent speaker and I believe others may specifically like it better for how revealing it is. I've extensively A/B tested my 803 D2's with the 804 D3 and I've heard the 804 D3 in other systems as well with the same qualities detected in the midrange which are simply not to my liking. Regarding the typical analysis of dynamics, timing, attack, decay, etc, as I said I was unable to get a good read on these during my test of the Diablo. Sorry to fail in my typical reviewing abilities! Another way to put it is that the sound was so unique in my experience, that I admit I lost my sonic bearings a bit and I spent most of my time trying to get them back! Again this was due to the soundstaging (it was like, how can I test this amp when there is a singer right in front of me distracting me from the test!) and the "control" aspect which I found very different. With the vocals it is like a disembodied voice is planted right in front of you. I've seen others say this about how pinpoint the Diablo is with vocals. By "control" and "muscular" I mean that you get the sense that the speakers are doing EXACTLY what the amplifier is telling them to do, and not leaving any leeway for the speakers to do anything else. It is hard to described in terms of typical descriptors of dynamics, attack, decay etc. It is more a sense of being completely "dialed-in" and "focused". That's what gave me the feeling of using high-end headphones while I was listening. The only difference being the soundstage was in front of me instead of left/right and in my head as it is with headphones. That is what I am working through, whether I'll grow to enjoy this as a sonic benefit. I think I will - it is a really cool effect and I think it is just my ears are biased to what I'm used to which is most definitely not this! Sorry, I didn't get a chance to listen to The Chain, as I was working through my own sense of experiencing sonic discombobulation. Realized when I left the audition I was quite dehydrated too so that didn't help. I am thinking of going back next week which is my nearest opportunity. Also of note - the room was medium sized, I was maybe 8-9 ft from the speakers, and it was set up to be an equilateral triangle between both speakers and me. The room had a lot of dampening - which could have added to the "control" factor. I typically like a bit more energy to come from the room to liven it up (but not much). I did request they bypass the power conditioner they had and plug the Gryphon directly into the unconditioned wall outlet, so there shouldn't be any issue there. In terms of burn-in, it was a "distributor demo" that had just arrived at the shop. They said they expected it had some heavy use on it but they said there'd be no way for them to know for sure. The did offer the demo unit to me (with DAC and phono modules) at a very aggressive price so I'm thinking it can't possibly be new if they can do that.
