2. amps-preamps
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Bryston 4B3 vs Mac MC462 vs Pass Labs X250.8, OR... GRYPHON Diablo 300?

Hi,
Over the next few weeks I am organizing in-home demo of  three pre/power amps for my B&W 803D2's, and will purchase whichever sounds best.  I will be testing the following gear, which is based on what's available where live:
-Bryston B173 / 4B3-McIntosh C47 / MC462
-Pass Labs X250.8, if I can get my hands on one (will probably use the C47 pre-amp to test with this)
The Gryphon Diablo 300 is also a candidate.  I've seen some strong comments from others that Gryphon is in another league compared to the others.
My question is, barring what sounds best to me during my auditioning, in general to most people would the Diablo 300 really beat the others in my list?  And, are there any material disadvantages to sound quality considering the Diablo is an integrated vs the other choices?  I don't really care about having separates, but sound is obviously important.
Secondly related to the Gryphon, there is only one Gryphon dealer that is even remotely close to me.  Should that dealer cut ties down the road, or go out of business, does anyone know how I might go about getting service for the Diablo should I require it at some point?  Is that a valid concern?  There are multiple Mac dealers near me so that would not be so much of a concern.

Thanks in advance for any feedback....


nyev
nyev OP
57 posts
 
Xsparky you are probably right about overthinking the service risk.  One thing though is I think it is likely that only one or two areas of the Diablo are mil-spec.  I can’t imagine all components, relays, etc are mil-spec.  Could be just the PCB’s themselves that are, and not the components on the boards.

Out of curiosity, what are you feeding your DAC from?  I’m using a Mac Mini with Audirvana but am considering whether to plan a move to a dedicated streamer.  Which may be more important to do once I have the Diablo in my system.


xsparky
6 posts
 
Hi,

I have a Linn Klimax Dsm streamer. This is getting upgraded at the moment to their Katalyst dac architect. It has been in storage for a couple of years since my move. I like the fact that Linn has supported and continues to support their customers with upgrades if desired. I plan to use Roon to source my flac music library and music services to stream to the Linn Dsm.

These two pieces will be the heart of my system to my PMC's.
dguitarnut
90 posts
 
My Diablo 300 was barebones as I only use digital streaming from a LUMIN U1 to a Chord Dave Dac via AES/ebu.....then to the Diablo. It worked splendidly.
Inna ......in my present system I have the LUMIN U1 to the Chord Dave to a Vac Renaissance Mk5 Preamp to a Vac 200iq amp to a pair of Magico S3MK2 speakers.
I have absolutely no interest in analog and I prefer the flexibility of choosing my own Dac. For the record I got a very noticeable SQ increase when I went with the LUMIN U1 streamer over my Mcbook Pro via USB to the Chord Dave.

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