By Dr. Panagiotis Karavitis
Pure European Hi End sound is the way to describe this system. Gryphon Audio Designs of Denmark is known for their exquisite electronics, both in design and sound but in this demo they showcased the “entry-level” speaker, the Mojo (at 12.000 euro without the dedicated stands it is hardly an entry-level). The Diablo integrated amplifier drove them with ease and the internal phono stage was used in conjunction with the Swiss made Thales TTT compact turntable, Thales simplicity tonearm and Benz Micro Ebony MC cartridge. Digital source was also Swiss by CH Precision, D1 CD-SACD transport with matching C1 DAC. These are modular (future-proof) designs based on my favorite chipset, the PCM 1704 (4 per channel).
In order to squeeze out all capabilities of this amazing system an Equi=tech 3Q balanced power system and Musical Wire cables were used.
Did I just say that this system sounded amazing?
Yes, this is what hifi should be like (except maybe for the price). Chris Jones in “No sanctuary” from Stockfish vol. 2 CD was impressive from top to bottom octave with well-defined bass (no more or less damped that what I would regard as perfect). Another characteristic was the excellent blending between the Air Motion Transformer tweeter and the two 5.5″ mid-bass units. Keep in mind, all this was happening in a hotel room, far from being acoustically perfect.
Groovy sound from Swiss electronics? Yes indeed, Jimmy Smith (Verve records) hit us with his “Cat” and all the sudden everybody in the room was moving to the beat of the Thales turntable as if it was a live show in Blue Note club.
