"Anyone Up For A Fight?"
The Danes were conquerors.
And that trait has flowed all the way down to Gryphon products. Pit them against anything out there and frankly, they usually win.
About the Diablo 333
Okay, let's start with a bit of history. How about we consider for a moment the Diablo 300, plus the Apex and Commander – Gryphon’s new flagship power amplifier and preamplifier. The Diablo 300 has been out for nearly ten years, and it pretty much swept all the integrated amp competition away at a stroke. It was a hugely successful product for Gryphon but as they started to develop the Apex and Commander amps they found considerable improvements in areas such as lower junction capacitance in the latest designs of transistors. These, and many other improvements have had a startling effect on the performance of Gryphon's top machines, so naturally they developed ways to flow those benefits down to the new 333 Integrated.
As with the Diablo 300, the 333 can be fitted with the optional Phono and DAC modules that have been completely redesigned for the new amplifier. The PS-3 RIAA module features True Dual Mono Class A-coupled topology from input to output, with no global negative feedback and discrete balanced circuitry featuring matched transistor arrays. These two modules are not yet available in the UK – we are expecting them early 2024.
Tech Insight
There seem to be a myriad of new technological elements to the 333 design. In the releases from Gryphon they talk about some of the basics such as it's a dual-mono, class-A integrated with no global negative feedback. The amplifier is specified as outputting 333Wpc into 8 ohms, 666Wpc into 4 ohms, and 1100Wpc into 2 ohms. Its output impedance is 0.015 ohm, and its input impedance, balanced, is 25k ohms. Important improvements over the 300 seem to be better voltage regulation at key points of the design, plus the implementation of new transistors with lower junction capacitance. No doubt those new transistors led to considerable circuit changes too, so we can assume a big move up in performance over the 300.
Specifications
Features Summary:
True Dual Mono configuration
Zero global negative feedback
Microprocessor-controlled 43-step true balanced relay volume attenuator for best sonic performance featuring only 1-2 resistors in series with signal at all levels.
Local Shunt regulators for best noise suppression
Ten high power output transistors each channel
Diablo 333 utilizes new ultra-fast, low-capacitance pre-driver transistors.
Polypropylene capacitors for local power supply decoupling
Optional phono stage module, PS3 MM/MC
Optional DAC3 module with one USB, 2 x SPDIF, 1 AES and 1 optical input
Ultra-short signal path
Minimal internal wiring
Four-layer printed circuit boards with 70µ copper on all layers
Dual Mono Holmgren toroidal transformer
PCB-mounted sockets eliminate wiring and shorten signal path.
Gold-plated Neutric XLR sockets for two balanced sources
Gold-plated phono sockets with Teflon insulation for two inputs and two outputs
Gold-plated Gryphon custom-built binding posts.
Fixed-level AV throughput for uncompromising integration with surround preamplifier.
Input level match
4.3” TFT capacitive touch screen with 4mm hardened glass in front
Fundamental specifications still awaiting publication.
Matching & Setup
As we have not yet got our hands on a Diablo 333, I think we will reserve any deep discussion about setup until later. Suffice to say for now that if the 333 is on your radar it's certainly going to be big and heavy and it's going to require a room and a system that needs to be in the upper leagues of capability. We're thinking of this thing right now as a 'super' pre and power amp combo, that just happens to be in one case. Oh yes, and we can't wait to hook one of these up with those new cool-looking Gryphon binding posts!