[JoshG1217]

anyone have recs on where I should buy one in thr states? Amazon doesn't have it, and I haven't really used moon audio or others before

 

[Voxata]

anyone have recs on where I should buy one in thr states? Amazon doesn't have it, and I haven't really used moon audio or others before

I suggest Bloom audio, my experience with them has been really good.

https://bloomaudio.com/products/ifi-xdsd-gryphon

I have no affiliation btw - just went incredibly well when I bought from them.

 

[equalspeace]

I suggest Bloom audio, my experience with them has been really good.

https://bloomaudio.com/products/ifi-xdsd-gryphon

I have no affiliation btw - just went incredibly well when I bought from them.

Yeah they're backordered on Bloom audio. Darn.

 

[srkbear]

Really? Well, there you go. This what I needed to know. The micro idsd signature sounds fantastic. I even Compared it to the dx300, which is 1300, and it best that. If gryphon sounds just as good as far as resolution and stage, thats great news!

Certainly nothing wrong with the micro idsd Signature! I think it occupies a different niche—it’s more transportable than portable, and definitely beats the Gryphon in terms of wattage output for hungry cans. The chip seems the same, and it has more user customizable adjustments such as turbo mode and RCA outputs.

The only thing that I think truly puts the Gryphon ahead is that the micro iDSD Signature is not true balanced, whereas the Gryphon is. The micro iDSD uses their S-balanced technology exclusively for all headphone connections (including the 4.4mm pentaconn), while the Gryphon uses true balanced for the pentaconn and S-balanced for the 3.5mm jack.

S-balanced is a form of dual mono that offers some of the benefits of a true balanced circuit in terms of reduced crosstalk and ground noise, but does not offer the interleaving and output gains and separate amplification circuits a true balanced configuration offers. S-balanced isolates the ground from the signal path, and iFi purports that it reduces distortion and noise by not adding a separate amplifier to the mix, but I think it is mainly a nice solution for those with single-ended-only cans to achieve some of the benefits true balanced circuits offer.

I was a bit disappointed to learn that the micro iDSD’s 4.4mm pentaconn output—which is a Sony-derived “upgrade” to traditional 2.5mm balanced jacks and is explicitly designed to be balanced—was not actually a balanced connection at all. I thought including the 4.4 was leading folks into thinking they had a balanced connection when that wasn’t the case, and I know it fooled me. I was much pleased when I learned that the Gryphon wasn’t leading anyone on, and that its pentaconn was balanced as intended. This was one of my primary motivations for going with it over the micro iDSD. Whether this translates into any audible differences is another issue, and if stuff like this doesn’t matter or apply to you, I wouldn’t sweat it.

 

[koinmove]

Did you ever own the xDSD? The Bluetooth quality over AptX and AAC was actually very good as long as your phone or whatever supported those CODEC's if the connection dropped to SBC then, yes, it was not good.

Bluetooth range was very, very good too, I often left my phone on my desk and walked down the office to get a coffee and the connection stayed solid even through plaster walls.

Gryphon is similar, great range by my experience.

yes, i do connect with aptx (android) and aac with iphone....
i had tested for few hours included the xCan....

the sound quality is not good enough and that the reason i did not buy that time.

 

[boxster233]

anyone have recs on where I should buy one in thr states? Amazon doesn't have it, and I haven't really used moon audio or others before

I’m in same boat. My preferences are headphones.com, Audio46 and jaguar audio design. Headamp has been great. I believe Jaguar is only one with it in stock.

 

[JoshG1217]

Thanks man

I’m in same boat. My preferences are headphones.com, Audio46 and jaguar audio design. Headamp has been great. I believe Jaguar is only one with it in stock

 

[RedAnt poison]

Could you please make a comparison of the xCan and Gryphon? Bt quality, sound signature, background noise etc etc

 

[larzy]

Need some advice

What would be the best setup quality wise, if I wish to connect to an Android device and get the best sound running bluetooth? I was thinking of buying the Sony NW-A105 here in Europe, as the volume cap wouldn't (as far as I know...?) be that big of an issue because of the Gryphon. But with this connection, does the walkman part offer any quality advances when passing through the Gryphon, or would I get the same result by buying a cheap Android mobile and running Tidal or audio files through that mobile device?

Besides this I plan on using the Gryphon connected to either my Mac or PC.

 

[MarkParity]

Need some advice

What would be the best setup quality wise, if I wish to connect to an Android device and get the best sound running bluetooth? I was thinking of buying the Sony NW-A105 here in Europe, as the volume cap wouldn't (as far as I know...?) be that big of an issue because of the Gryphon. But with this connection, does the walkman part offer any quality advances when passing through the Gryphon, or would I get the same result by buying a cheap Android mobile and running Tidal or audio files through that mobile device?

Besides this I plan on using the Gryphon connected to either my Mac or PC.

The A105 would be a good choice to pair with the Gryphon as it has LDAC and Aptx-HD.

Sound quality over Bluetooth would in theory be the same with a cheap phone vs a flagship device as long as it supports the best Bluetooth CODEC's.

If you could find a device with Aptx-Adaptive that would be good as it's the newest Bluetooth CODEC and offers on paper at least, low latency and top audio quality.

Good luck in your search.

 

[Skev]

Has anyone used this with the IE900 yet? if so, what are your thoughts?

Any background hiss? does the lowest volume level go quiet enough without any channel imbalance?

Thanks.

 

[MarkParity]

Has anyone used this with the IE900 yet? if so, what are your thoughts?

Any background hiss? does the lowest volume level go quiet enough without any channel imbalance?

Thanks.

Yes I have.

What are my thoughts, do you have a penny?

No there is no background noise the IE900 being a dynamic driver IEM with a higher impedance takes care of that issue.

There is no channel imbalance at any volume with the Gryphon it uses a volume control system that is immune to this particular issue.

 

[Skev]

Thanks for that sounds promising.

What other dac/amps have you tried the IE900's with and how do they compare relatively?

In a word (or two) how what you described the sound signature of the Gryphon with IE900?

Thanks

 

[iFi audio]

There is no channel imbalance at any volume with the Gryphon it uses a volume control system that is immune to this particular issue.

That's correct, xDSD Gryphon's attenuation is based on a digitally managed resistor ladder.

 

[MarkParity]

Thanks for that sounds promising.

What other dac/amps have you tried the IE900's with and how do they compare relatively?

In a word (or two) how what you described the sound signature of the Gryphon with IE900?

Thanks

I've got loads of DAP's/DAC's/Dongles/Amps, frankly too many (is it possible to have too many?), I must have a clear-out one day.

Some thoughts when comparing Gryphon over USB from my PC with the R3 Pro connected to my Luxury & Precision W2 again over USB (cos R3/W2 is also on my desk at the moment). Take this with a pinch of salt because I'm really not very good at comparing high-end sources, they are all very good and sound close IMHO.

I loaded up Train - Calling All Angels for no reason other than it was the first track I had access to on my PC and also on the DAP/Dongle combo. OK here it is, I think the Gryphon pairs better with the IE900 than the L&P W2, it sounds fuller, probably because I hear a little more shift towards the bass/mids perhaps you could call it a warmer sound than when compared to the W2.

I was able to crank the volume higher when listening to the IE900 when driven by the Gryphon (I'm a lower volume listener usually) without the sound becoming harsh or shrill.

All this is how I hear it of course and this is with the Gryphon sound enhancements turned off.

I would recommend the pairing of Gryphon with IE900, 100%.

IMHO Gryphon is perfect, as long as you don't mind being deafened with bursts of "Turbo +6dB" or 1W into your ears and you don't listen to Tidal Masters from your Android phone, both of these issues have so far been ignored by iFi but I'm waiting for a direct response from them via email hopefully early next week.