xDSD Gryphon: birth of a ‘head-fi’ legend

[jjazzy]

Exactly what I was hinting at, It easily compares with High End Daps costing nearly twice as much and unlike most of them can drive Full Size headphones with ease, add to that all the "extras" you get with it and it's one of the best bang for buck devices you can find, I'm only letting mine go as slimming down my collection!

I love my chord qutest, but the mojo2 is just stupid compared to it, and doesn’t even sound better compared to the gryphon. But missing many options.

 

[jjazzy]

To be honest for me it bests DAPs costing double and more: my WM1AM2 and RS6 both sound great, but cant match the liqud organic musicality of the Gryphon - if musicality and music realism is key, Gryphon is up there.

At first I was also a bit deterred reading "Legend" - I though that's a bit arrogant, but it is the only device of it's kind offering this feature set and mind blowing sound for reasonable price. ifi killed it with the Gryph, there really isn't much that can compete, not even Mojo 2/Poly combo which is double price, even if it's more detailed it doesn't bring the music together in such an analogue/musical way - vinyl like.. the Gryph is the antidote to digital music, it makes digital sound like vinyl in the best sense.

I agree. I have a chord qutest with a soloist gt, and I hear what they bring more to the table. I love combo.
That said, I love my gryphon just as much, really musical (it misses depth stage a little though) but for the price it is a amazing little beast I take out of home anywhere for music.

 

[jjazzy]

Gryphon is stellar with Campfire Andromeda 2020 via 4.4mm output. I think the balanced out has bit more density and higher output impedance so it brings the Andro to life. It's still a little warm leaning but also dynamic, organic and wide sounding. I still dislike the IEmatch sound wise, so I don't use it and bare the increased amp hiss.

I feel the Andro 2020 is a better combo over the pre 2020 version as it has bit more elevated mids, and the Gryphon is beautiful mids king.

My Hiby RS6, Mojo 2 and WM1AM2 are mostly gathering dust now - I've come again to appreciate what the Gryph does so incredibly well; analogue and liquid sound with musicality through the roof, but without sounding a bit warmpoo - I can listen to it all day at work without a fatigue but also without sacrificing excitement. I typically attribute this to excellent digital/reclocking section for which the Gryph is way ahead of many. I hope ifi will continue supporting and extending this platform - they've been a bit quiet lately... something must be cooking...

Je just announced their totl desktop amp, capable of even feeding elctrostatic headphone’s little pricy though, but seeing to features, I understand.

What I miss at ifi is a mid/high tier desktop dac, yes they have the idsd signature pro, but that is a all in one and too pricey used for dac alone, not everyone needs a dac/amp combi. Some want just the dac.

 

[emilsoft]

Je just announced their totl desktop amp, capable of even feeding elctrostatic headphone’s little pricy though, but seeing to features, I understand.

What I miss at ifi is a mid/high tier desktop dac, yes they have the idsd signature pro, but that is a all in one and too pricey used for dac alone, not everyone needs a dac/amp combi. Some want just the dac.

In my opinion ifi are at their best in mid tier portables - like their ifi micros black and gryphons and iphonos. They’re also at their best with their trinkets such as iusb micro reclockers and ipowers (areas which many companies ignore or unable to do)

imo, their new extremely expensive amplifier offers too many features at too high a price.. I haven’t heard it so can’t comment perhaps it does sound like a miracle. But I tested some of their other hiend idsd and amps, quite good but not quite mind blowing enough for the price. I always have high expectations of ifi as they outcompete most in mid tier with absolute musicality - so this is ifi area which I like to keep a pulse on

 

[jjazzy]

In my opinion ifi are at their best in mid tier portables - like their ifi micros black and gryphons and iphonos. They’re also at their best with their trinkets such as iusb micro reclockers and ipowers (areas which many companies ignore or unable to do)

imo, their new extremely expensive amplifier offers too many features at too high a price.. I haven’t heard it so can’t comment perhaps it does sound like a miracle. But I tested some of their other hiend idsd and amps, quite good but not quite mind blowing enough for the price. I always have high expectations of ifi as they outcompete most in mid tier with absolute musicality - so this is ifi area which I like to keep a pulse on

I tried their idsd signature, it was good I have to admit, but the moment I put a burson soloist 3xgt / or violectric beside it ifi was gone. Not to say the ifi was bad, absolutely not, but they are not at the top (not yet)

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

I tried their idsd signature, it was good I have to admit, but the moment I put a burson soloist 3xgt / or violectric beside it ifi was gone. Not to say the ifi was bad, absolutely not, but they are not at the top (not yet)

All we can do is keep trying! onward and upward, lol

Thanks for the comments!

Cheers!!

 

[jonmbarlow]

Have just dropped the price of Gryphon on EBay to £395 (hint…I will consider slightly lower)

 

[zhuhang]

Anyone experience gryphon running very hot?
I'm using 4.4 balance output, volume 60 only, playing just PCM 48k, 1hr playback, connected to USB at the data port ONLY (with dual USB port charge enabled), so its sending data+power through that single USB connection.

 

[electronicsdesign]

On mine it depends on ambient temperature a lot.
When ambient temperature is higher than normal and/or the device doesn't have good airflow it tends to get very hot.
This happens regardless of volume, even if I use it only as a DAC, it still tends to get hot in the above mentioned conditions.

When I use it connected to the computer (with dual port charge enabled) it tends to get warm sometimes depending on the ambient temperature.
Pay attention where the device sits, as there needs to be an air gap below it for proper cooling, that's one of the reasons it has the rubber feet.

 

[Josz27]

All done, no issues, thanks guys!

So my first impressions of the Gryphon are rather possitive, love the XBass feature.
But for now, judging purely on SQ, the Gryphon isnt as good as Dethonray Pegasus Gold. Its warmer, which i like but seems slightly muddy in comparison, where the Gold is very clean and clear, still maintaining this warmish type of sound and very powerful bass. The Gold also has more advanced layering and blacker background. The soundstage is very deep and 3 dimentional.
What i like on the Gryphon tho, is that it sounds bolder and has more meat, is very powerful, especially with XBass ON. They differ but im liking the Gryphon more with every minute. It also has more linear and less intensive mids which i love. The Gold can be slightly aggressive with vocals.
Will make the final decision when my Mest Mk2 come in a couple days.

But wait, that one is a Fully Bluetooth Dac/amp/Dap

Are you comparing them using Bluetooth Gryphon?

I think synergy matters a lot, do you have tried more headphones?
I think ath ad2000x gets a better matchup than the A1000z(bassier headphones compared to 2kx) with the gryphon.

 

[jjazzy]

So my first impressions of the Gryphon are rather possitive, love the XBass feature.
But for now, judging purely on SQ, the Gryphon isnt as good as Dethonray Pegasus Gold. Its warmer, which i like but seems slightly muddy in comparison, where the Gold is very clean and clear, still maintaining this warmish type of sound and very powerful bass. The Gold also has more advanced layering and blacker background. The soundstage is very deep and 3 dimentional.
What i like on the Gryphon tho, is that it sounds bolder and has more meat, is very powerful, especially with XBass ON. They differ but im liking the Gryphon more with every minute. It also has more linear and less intensive mids which i love. The Gold can be slightly aggressive with vocals.
Will make the final decision when my Mest Mk2 come in a couple days.

You are seriously comparing a ‘only’ bluetooth device to a full featured device.

I have heared the best of the best bluetooth devices they all share the same ‘missing’ dynamics. The moment you listen to complex busy rock, jazz, blues recordings.

So the only conclusion I can make is, you are not using very resolving headphones or not using complex music.

Not even Ldac, it is coming close, is as good as direct usb connection. (And if you have a apple device it is even worse you only have AAC 256.

 

[RIGATIO]

You are seriously comparing a ‘only’ bluetooth device to a full featured device.

I have heared the best of the best bluetooth devices they all share the same ‘missing’ dynamics. The moment you listen to complex busy rock, jazz, blues recordings.

So the only conclusion I can make is, you are not using very resolving headphones or not using complex music.

Not even Ldac, it is coming close, is as good as direct usb connection. (And if you have a apple device it is even worse you only have AAC 256.

I'm using u12t and Monarch Mk2, so i think these are technically efficient enough to show most differences in sound.

 

[npatrix]

Anyone experienced an issue on the balanced connection, mine loses contact on the left side, need to touch the connector to find a position that works, is becoming very annoying.

Tried different cables, different headphones and IEMs and the issue persists, no problem with the 3.5mm connector…

 

[Supplicant]

Anyone experienced an issue on the balanced connection, mine loses contact on the left side, need to touch the connector to find a position that works, is becoming very annoying.

Tried different cables, different headphones and IEMs and the issue persists, no problem with the 3.5mm connector…

Yes, my first one was like this right out of the box. I returned it for a replacement that was much better.

 

[BartekR]

Anyone experienced an issue on the balanced connection, mine loses contact on the left side, need to touch the connector to find a position that works, is becoming very annoying.

Tried different cables, different headphones and IEMs and the issue persists, no problem with the 3.5mm connector…

It's probably not a Gryphon fault.

Some 4.4 plugs on the market seem to be produced a slightly too long.

You need to put a small ~0,5mm plastic or rubber washer on your plug,
to make its insertion slightly shorter and the problem is gone.