Gryphon Colosseum vs. Karan M2000 monoblocks

Hi Sidekick,

Interesting amps...let us know what you think. Certainly look cool! Which ones are you using at the moment?

Remember that Franco Serblin was often known to use Berning (boutique company) OTL amps (output transformless or something) with his Homage series speakers (G, Amati, Strad)...and i know someone who uses their mono Z models with Wilson Alexandrias and swears by them. Berning goes from low power to their big 270-watt monos.

While the Futura was designed by new ownership, and i suspect will do better big Krell (like much of the rest of the SF does as well imho), you might go this route to see what happens (ie, clean, muscular tubes).

Enjoy the speakers!!! Surely one of the greats today.

Hi Lloyd,

I'm using the Talia preamp + Janus monoblocks. which are their "top offerings"(list price is about 20.000€ I believe). The design is, well...almost over the top :o) I don't care much for the wooden look. The all black or white versions look great though. The preamp is a hybrid with a great phono built in. The monoblocks are wonderfully compact and powerful. So far, they manage to create a very effortless sound with the Futuras. Solid state authority partnered with a hint of tube warmth and great dimensionality. I can't say I miss anything really... Makes me wish for even more of the tube-like qualities to be honest... Very interesting products indeed. I've got cables from Goldenote on loan for evaluation as well.

Yes, Berning is indeed an interesting option. They're quite boutique though, even though there's a Swedish importer. I've never seen or heard them though.

I'm playing with the idea of bridging the Futuras... Maybe an "older" Krell for the bass units, partnered with a delicate modern tube amp for the midrange and tweeter... Hmm...:o)

The Futuras looks utterly amazing btw. The Memento, even though gorgeous in their own right are not on the same level standing side by side with the Futuras I have to say...

Sonically, I need more time for evaluation and break-in of the speakers. But, so far it's clear that the Futuras are more neutral, natural, balanced, extended and transparent than the earlier Amatis (or the Mementos). The bass is also much better (tight, articulated and controlled) I believe. It doesn't cause any problems what so ever in my medium sized room about 1m(3ft) from the back wall, which has been a slight worry.

Hi Sidekick,

100% agree with your last paragraph...100%. I have heard all the Guaraneris...original, the one that came after and the new Memento, as well.

This Futura is far and away my favorite of the 3 Amatis. Far and away.

As for using 2 sets of amps...i imagine perfectly done that could be amazing...but in addition to the complexity (at one particular volume level)...i wonder what would happen as you reduce and increase the volume...would the amps be able to react to the load requirements in the same way and continue to give you similar sound throughout the volume spectrum? i have never done it...just curious.

Lloyd,

I believe(in my room partnered with Audio Aero Prestige, Absolutas and Goldenote cabling) I'm close to a level of performance I could live happy with for a long time. A majority of my earlier problems (a hard, edgy and lean performance) which I believed to be related to the room or bad cable matching are gone. I must say that I'm very surprised by this. The Futuras are brand new out of the box with 10 hours on them. I haven't even played around with the positioning. I just placed them exactly where the Mementos stood yesterday when they arrived. Plain and simple. The Futuras seems much more forgiving when it comes to placement and room integration compared to the Mementos. Everything snapped into place from the start more less. Even so, I'm sure there's improvement to be made.

Well, biamping with different poweramps might be a challenge. It's an interesting thought though, don't you think? :o)

Hi Sidekick,

Its great when many of the challenge are solved in a single moment. on a much smaller scale, i had 3 kinds of buzzing in my system when i dropped the new amp in. Frustrating. I had been waiting for the new SE-XLR cable to arrive for the new amp, and decided to leave it as is for a couple of days.

When the cable arrived, i re-arranged the new amp and the rest of my equipment to make it more tidy, and also neatened up all the other cables.

And 2 of the buzzes disappeared, and the third is vastly reduced unless i want to play at deafening levels!

And of course the amp is better too. Enjoy the Futuras!!!!!