Gryphon Audio Designs Diablo 333

What's in a name? Denmark-based Gryphon Audio Designs laid down a marker when company founder Flemming Rasmussen chose that name in 1985. Browsing through the current Stereophile Recommended Components list, I only found one other manufacturer that utilizes an animal moniker.

INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER

The imagery summoned by the use of the mythical treasure-guarding Gryphon seems appropriate; a hybrid creature combining features of the eagle and the lion, creatures of strength and speed-this choice underlines some of the aesthetics and performance Gryphon Audio has become known for. The handsome hardcover user's manual for the Diablo 333 simply states in gold "The Gryphon," along with a side-on profile of that winged lion-tailed creature, as a logo.

The Gryphon Diablo 333, a solid state, stereo integrated amplifier ($24,900 without optional DAC and phono stage modules), replaces the Gryphon Diablo 300, which was in production since 2016. The number "333" actually refers to the stated output power of the new amp into an 8 ohm load, of 333Wpc. This output doubles to 666Wpc into 4 ohms, but Anthony Chiarella, director of sales and marketing for Gryphon in the USA, sensibly pointed out to me that using the number 666 for model designation would have perhaps tied things too closely to the occult.

Gryphon Audio is known for state-of-the-art, no-holds-barred amplification, with a particular emphasis on amplifiers with classA output stages. (More on this in a moment.) That is how Gryphon began, and how the company continues 40 years on. Gryphon's first integrated amplifier, the Tabu, was introduced in 1996. There are now two integrated models currently available that are designated with the Diablo name; in addition to the Diablo 333, there is a sibling, the Diablo 120, which as the name implies puts out 120Wpc into 8 ohms. In recent years, in addition to amps and preamps, Gryphon has expanded its product line to include turntables, loudspeakers, D/A processors, phono stages, power supplies, and even stands. If you have the will and the wallet, you can now put together an entire system from Gryphon Audio Designs.