Mephisto Mono
Now, for the most demanding among the fortunate few who make up the Gryphon audience, for that limited circle able and willing to travel with us all the way on our journey, Gryphon presents the Gryphon Mephisto Solo single-channel power amplifier.
While monoblock construction is not unheard of in the High End, most often manufacturers take the easy way out, by simply creating a bridged version of an existing two-channel product. Bridging couples the stereo channels in series to form a single amplifier with increased voltage and, nominally, more output power. Unfortunately, the inevitable side effects of this approach include doubling distortion, doubling the input impedance (impairing the amplifier’s ability to drive low-impedance loudspeaker loads) and cutting damping factor in half (reducing the amplifier’s control of cone motion at low frequencies).
The Gryphon Mephisto Solo elegantly eliminates these issues by running two stereo channels in parallel (not in series) for unchanged output and voltage, but double the current and half the distortion. As always, extreme high current capability is a fundamental parameter in Gryphon amplifier design.
Capable of massive current swings, Gryphon Mephisto Solo maintains the dynamic integrity of the audio signal even under the most extreme reactive loudspeaker load conditions. The extraordinary load tolerance of the Mephisto Solo means that it will bring out the best in any loudspeaker.
Isolating power amplifier channels in completely independent enclosures offers additional crucial advantages. With separate power supplies, rectifiers, regulation, preamp stages and gain stages, there is no interaction whatsoever between channels. What happens in one channel at any given time (for instance, extreme instantaneous dynamic demands) is entirely independent of and therefore unaffected by anything going on in the other channel.
Total physical separation of the channels eliminates any possibility of inter-channel crosstalk, providing infinite stereo separation.
As a result, the Gryphon Mephisto Solo drives loudspeakers with greater ease, control and authority, delivering a more spacious soundstage in all dimensions, rich detail against a silent background and tighter, more extended bass. Less critically, independent mono amplifiers offer increased flexibility of placement in the listening room.
The quality of sound reproduced by Gryphon Mephisto Solo is completely level-independent. It is a huge amplifier capable of delivering its best at any volume setting, from background levels to full throttle.