Pandora Preamplifier
Product Reviews:
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新音響 (New Audiophile) No.256 2022年7月號 |
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家庭影院技術 (Home Theater Tech) Vol.269 |
Gryphon has always marched to the beat of a different drum. Way back in 1985, when Flemming E. Rasmussen and tech guru Kim Rishøj created the groundbreaking Gryphon Phonostage, it was on a strictly one-off, do-it-yourself hobby basis. Flemming just wanted to build the best possible phono preamp for his home system, not to get into manufacturing consumer products. But word spread rapidly in the audiophile community until Flemming could no longer ignore a steady stream of requests and, suddenly, Gryphon Audio Designs was born.
In the intervening years, Gryphon has constantly had one or more projects in the works as experimental platforms, exploratory testbeds intended to bring us ever closer to a credible illusion of actually being in the presence of the performers. Although never meant for public consumption, these components invariably impress the fortunate few who have the opportunity to audition them at Gryphon headquarters and their enthusiastic response and encouragement have been the impetus behind the decision to occasionally make them commercially available.
It was this unique process that ultimately led to the release of the Gryphon Reference One power amplifier and, later, the four-piece Poseidon reference monitor loudspeaker system. Most recently, Gryphon engineers have been granted the rare luxury of developing a preamplifier/power amplifier combination unrestrained by considerations of cost, size, weight, appearance or production deadlines. Their design brief was simple: make it the best that it can possibly be. Once again, persistent rumours of these uncompromising laboratory instruments have resulted in the production of a strictly limited edition of components now officially dubbed the Gryphon Mephisto power amplifier and Gryphon Pandora preamplifier.
Pandora’s Four Boxes
In Greek mythology, Pandora was created at Zeus’ command as the first woman on earth. Her name means “the all-gifted”, because the gods endowed her with numerous precious talents. From Aphrodite, she received beauty, divine grace, charm and harmony; from Apollo, the gift of music; from Hermes, the power of subtle persuasion; from Athena, soul and from the Graces, love, tenderness, beauty, kindness, pleasure, creativity, artistry, and sensuality.
We have captured these virtues in the four-chassis Gryphon Pandora preamplifier with total isolation of left and right channels on separate chassis and dedicated dual mono power supplies in individual chassis to protect the audio signal from any interference.The dual mono aspect of the design is taken to the practical extreme with separate detachable power cords and separate power switches for each channel. Thanks to creative engineering and unbridled freedom in its design and execution, Gryphon Pandora is empowered to reveal more of the recorded source than any previous preamplifier. Only the finest components, selected for both technical and audio parameters, have been implemented, including Japanese Takman resistors and Charcroft Z-Foil resistors. Signal transmission between preamp and power amp takes place in fully balanced mode for low signal loss and minimal distortion.Pandora Preamplifiers
Gryphon has always marched to the beat of a different drum. Way back in 1985, when Flemming E. Rasmussen and tech guru Kim Rishøj created the groundbreaking Gryphon Phonostage, it was on a strictly one-off, do-it-yourself hobby basis. Flemming just wanted to build the best possible phono preamp for his home system, not to get into manufacturing consumer products. But word spread rapidly in the audiophile community until Flemming could no longer ignore a steady stream of requests and, suddenly, Gryphon Audio Designs was born.
In the intervening years, Gryphon has constantly had one or more projects in the works as experimental platforms, exploratory testbeds intended to bring us ever closer to a credible illusion of actually being in the presence of the performers. Although never meant for public consumption, these components invariably impress the fortunate few who have the opportunity to audition them at Gryphon headquarters and their enthusiastic response and encouragement have been the impetus behind the decision to occasionally make them commercially available.
It was this unique process that ultimately led to the release of the Gryphon Reference One power amplifier and, later, the four-piece Poseidon reference monitor loudspeaker system. Most recently, Gryphon engineers have been granted the rare luxury of developing a preamplifier/power amplifier combination unrestrained by considerations of cost, size, weight, appearance or production deadlines. Their design brief was simple: make it the best that it can possibly be. Once again, persistent rumours of these uncompromising laboratory instruments have resulted in the production of a strictly limited edition of components now officially dubbed the Gryphon Mephisto power amplifier and Gryphon Pandora preamplifier.
Pandora’s Four Boxes
In Greek mythology, Pandora was created at Zeus’ command as the first woman on earth. Her name means “the all-gifted”, because the gods endowed her with numerous precious talents. From Aphrodite, she received beauty, divine grace, charm and harmony; from Apollo, the gift of music; from Hermes, the power of subtle persuasion; from Athena, soul and from the Graces, love, tenderness, beauty, kindness, pleasure, creativity, artistry, and sensuality.
We have captured these virtues in the four-chassis Gryphon Pandora preamplifier with total isolation of left and right channels on separate chassis and dedicated dual mono power supplies in individual chassis to protect the audio signal from any interference.The dual mono aspect of the design is taken to the practical extreme with separate detachable power cords and separate power switches for each channel. Thanks to creative engineering and unbridled freedom in its design and execution, Gryphon Pandora is empowered to reveal more of the recorded source than any previous preamplifier. Only the finest components, selected for both technical and audio parameters, have been implemented, including Japanese Takman resistors and Charcroft Z-Foil resistors. Signal transmission between preamp and power amp takes place in fully balanced mode for low signal loss and minimal distortion.