A closer look
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Next room: Cary audio 600 Streamer ( around 8k). Gryphon Diablo 300 ( 20 k ). Apertura Adamante ( 11 k euros).
Nice sound too. Open, organic, with nice bass. But less soft , textured, not in the same league. But not night and day difference too.
The Gryphon diablo is not as soft and nice as the Gryphon amp next in the range. Don’t remind, but one is class A, the other one is class AB.
I listened to the same 4 tracks. The Cary streamer had Qobuz integrated app. More convivial app that Mconnect used with the Meitner.
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I had not enough time to listen to the Solstice. But heard it already in the same room with 552/500 .
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Not my budget/league at all, but those speakers look good. Surprisingly low on driver count for high end too. Even the ones you demo’d look “restrained” on that basis. I’m not convinced massive arrays of drivers is necessarily good in high end speakers, glad you enjoyed the demo!
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Different room, different speakers. Perhaps the differences may be contributed more by the room and speakers rather than the amp? The Gryphon Diablo 300 is the top of the range integrated and I’m not sure about the pre/power combination from Gryphon which was used to drive the top Apertura speakers. The price is too much for me anyway. I did look at the Gryphon Diablo 150 and 300 about 3 years ago but went with a Luxman instead for the lower price. I am still curious how will a Gryphon sound in my system with my current speakers but I’m already done.
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I have heard many solid state electronics during the 10 last years. Soulution, Constellation, Accuphase, Esoteric , Ayre, Mark Levinson, Ypsilon ( hybrid), Devialet, Boulder, Fm Acoustics, Macintosh, Vitus…None of them involved me more than Naim. Some good tubes , yes, but it’s another story.
GRYPHON is the only one for now which could replace Naim or Ear Yoshino/ Naim which Is my current combo. It has similar drive, grip, and a propulsive organic sound.
Maybe even softer on top, mellower, but very involving in the meantime.
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I forgot to say that I was impressed by the Meitner MA3 streaming dac. For 11k euros, it was really good. Would be interested to compare it to the Nd555. Maybe one day.
I found the Meitner crisp, detailed, very involving, textured and organic. But it was with the 40k euros Gryphon electronics. So can’t really say how it compares to other, but I prefer its sound signature to Lumin X1 or DCS Rossini bare.
Just a bit shame that the look is average.
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Yes it looks like i designed it……whichis a bit unfair to myself😉
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Glad you liked it , I’m blown away by mine direct into Active ATC’s . Possibly the first time I’ve truly realised what depth means in relation to Music reproduction. So easy to listen to and never boring .
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When I will be able to upgrade from my Nds, I will compare first the Meitner vs Nd555. But I feel already that Naim is overpriced, even if very addictive.
I heard previously the Lumin X1 , at same price as the MA3. It was better on some aspects vs the Nd555, And costs quite 1/3 of it.
The Meitner pleased me more than Lumin also.
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I haven’t compared it to anything from Naim as I don’t want any more than 2 boxes . I was looking at adding an Auralic Aries G2.1 streamer to my Vega G2.1 when my dealer suggested the Meitner which I then tried at home . It didn’t take me long to order one as its such an enjoyable sound , there’s masses of detail but overall its very engaging and musical .
Another thing that attracted me to it was its ‘Lossless’ volume control which gives full transparency at all volume levels which is very welcome when driving active speakers . I quite like the understated looks and the M connect app is fine to use , I have heard a rumour that J play controlling app is coming soon and will be much better .
I also tested the DCS Bartok and yes it was very good but I much preferred the Meitner in my set up .
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Give the bartock a second try as its been updated this month to 2.0 software on the dac, its a big upgrade for it.
I noticed that as I was ordering the Meitner and did pause for thought , I’ve no doubt you are correct . I really liked the Bartok as it was but the Meitner suits my room better and the clincher was the Lossless digital volume control which drives my speakers really well .
As standalone DAC’s , that will be up for debate . They are both excellent .
Continuing the discussion from Apertura/ Gryphon show:
Hello Frenchrooster, where would you put the Supernait 3 compared to the brands you mentioned? I am about to replace my Nova for an integrated and a DAC/streamer. I am considering the Supernait 3 but also Accuphase, luxman and Gryphon. Your input would be interesting
Regards
I would consider the Gryphon Diablo 120 . Luxman and Accuphase are more on the polite sound, for my tastes.
The Ear V12 integrated is also very very good. Very involving, dynamic, and beautiful midrange.
But it’s a matter of taste, you have to discover yourself and listen. Maybe you will like more Luxman……
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Good advice. Based on my experience with Luxman and Naim, I would generally agree. Although I do not have experience with Gryphon and Accuphase, I have read that the Accuphase is generally warmer and more polite than the Luxman.
May I ask on the Luxman model which you have listened to. Although the Luxman is considered to be a polite sounding amp in direct comparison to the Naim specifically NAC 282 / NAP 250DR, it’s highly refined and detailed specifically the L-590AXII. I own both L-590AXII and 282/250DR/HCDR and they sound quite different. The Luxman is only slightly more polite than the Naim but it does not sound excessively warm or lush. The 282/250DR has a supercharged sound anyway which I believe is the most dynamic and forward sounding Naim amp. FWIW a previous owner of the 252/300DR switched to the L-590AXII and found the latter to be an overall improvement. It’s a matter of preference.
Hi Ryder,
You asked me which model of Luxman I heard, sorry, I don’t remember. It was quite some years ago that I have listened to this brand.
But as you said Naim is more forward and may appear a bit in your face sometimes. The power supplies ameliorate that however.
It depends also which speakers you use. As you know I have a tubes pre, so I tailored the system to my tastes. Would be interesting to see how Luxman matches Naim.
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