Antileon Signature
Owner´s Manual
Antileon: In classical mythologi, the son of Hercules and Proclis, the daughter of Thespeus, whose name means "sounds divine".
Table of Contents:
Introduction....................... |
3 |
The Gryphon....................... |
3 |
The Man.............................. |
4 |
Made in Denmark............... |
4 |
Musical Objectives.............. |
5 |
The Gryphon Master Tape |
|
Collection............................ |
5 |
Design Principles................ |
5 |
Exterior Design................... |
7 |
Manufacture and Assembly. |
8 |
Using Your Gryphon......... |
8 |
AC Voltage.......................... |
8 |
Burn-in and Warm-up.......... |
8 |
Placement............................ |
9 |
Balanced Connections........ |
9 |
Choice of Cables................. |
9 |
Care and Maintenance........ |
9 |
Antileon Signature............... |
10 |
Sonic Excellence................. |
10 |
Power Supply....................... |
10 |
Circuit Topology.................... |
11 |
Class A................................. |
11 |
Protection............................. |
11 |
Exterior................................. |
11 |
Installation............................ |
14 |
AC Power, Placement.......... |
14 |
Power Cords, AC Polarity..... |
15 |
Front Panel functions............ |
15 |
Green Bias............................ |
16 |
Rear Panel functions............ |
17 |
Balancet inputs..................... |
17 |
Protection system.................. |
17 |
Fuses, Warning..................... |
18 |
Trouble Shooting .................. |
19 |
Warranty................................ |
20 |
Introduction
Welcome to the global family of proud owners of fine audio components from Gryphon Audio Designs of Denmark. Your new Gryphon unit has been painstakingly designed to re-create the sound of live music taking place in its original recorded space. Every Gryphon product is designed to cater to the needs of the most discerning music enthusiast with sumptuous styling and superb user-friendli- ness which elevate it above the mundane world of conventional audio compo-
nents.
As audiophiles, the members of the Gryphon design team are constantly reminded to keep their priorities straight. We are not involved in “hi-fi” for its own sake, but strictly as a means to an end, in the service of our lifelong love of the live music experience in all its sonic and emotional glory.
Our higher goal is to bring to the listener a “You-Are-There” sensation. In taking up this challenge, the Gryphon designers go back to basics to analyze the essential nature of the live music experience. For us, an awareness of soundstaging, ambience
and concert hall dimensions are necessary components. Dynamics and an unambiguous sense of instrument location even in the loudest passages are also high priorities. To achieve these objectives, Gryphon products offer exceptional speed and agility along with seamless coherence in the time domain.
Since 1985, Gryphon Audio Designs has quietly gone about the business of creating fine home audio components. We know that you will appreciate and enjoy the benefits of our accumulated experience and share our abid-
ing passion for music.
The Gryphon
In Greek mythology: A fabled creature, half-lion and halfeagle, combining the power of the “King of Beasts” with the grace of the “King of Birds”. The guardian of the source of gold and protector of the Dionysian cup of infinite wealth.
In the real world: An acclaimed Danish audio engineering company employing cutting edge technology and common sense in the pursuit of the purest musical experience. We feel that the gryphon is an appropriate symbol for our high sonic goals.
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Flemming E. Rasmussen painting 1967
The Gryphon Head Amp 1985
The Man
Gryphon Audio Designs is the brainchild of Flemming E. Rasmussen and the fulfillment of a lifelong dream to allow the purest essence of the live music experience to be recreated in the home environment.
Rasmussen holds a degree in painting and graphic arts from the Aarhus Art Academy, Denmark. During his studies, Rasmussen developed close relationships with the local music community and designed many LP covers and concert posters. After graduation, he taught photography and painting and designed textiles, before founding 2R Marketing, which quickly became Denmark’s leading High End audio import company.
Gryphon Audio Designs was founded in 1985 as an offshoot of 2R Marketing, The first product, the now legendary Gryphon Head Amp, grew from a one-off spare time project developed only for the designers’ own home systems. Although the Gryphon project was initially strictly a hobby, not an actively pursued commercial venture, demand generated by reviews and word- of-mouth led to the formal establishment of Gryphon Audio Designs as a separate corporate entity.
Following the immediate success of the Gryphon brand, all import business was phased out in 1993, so that Rasmussen could dedicate his efforts entirely to Gryphon.
Made In Denmark
Every product from Gryphon Audio Designs is designed and built in Denmark. This is much more than just a geographical fact. It is also a seal of approval, a stamp of quality. Living in a region with no natural resources (no oil, coal, precious metals, etc.), the Danes have learned to rely on their quick wits and skilled hands. Innovative technology, beautiful craftsmanship, pride in one’s craft and a keen eye for attractive design are some of the long-standing Danish traditions which are distilled to their finest essence in every unit that bears the Gryphon name.
Musical Objectives
While scientific method and sophisticated technology play an important role in our electronics design work, at Gryphon we never lose sight of the fact that the keen ears of an experienced listener are the most crucial “calibration tools.” Therefore, every
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Gryphon is located in beautiful tranquil surroundings.
Gryphon product exists for one simple purpose: to bring the user closer in the never-ending quest for a more natural and convincing musical illusion.
Every Gryphon design has been built to cruise effortlessly through even the most demanding musical passages, regardless of volume level, with a musical presentation defined by supreme articulation and immediacy, subtle dynamic shading and razorsharp focus. Refinement and delicacy are combined with power and authority for a natural, involving listening experience.
The Gryphon Master Tape Collection
In the Gryphon listening rooms, we are fortunate to possess a unique library of more than 1,000 original master tapes of recordings made during the Golden Age of studio engineering from 1956-1976.
Unlike conventional commercial releases, our master tapes capture the dynamic contrasts and subtle inner harmonic structure of the musical event, forcing us to work to a higher standard in our efforts to maintain the integrity of the original musical performance.
Design Principles
With state of the art technical equipment and some of the finest minds in the audio engineering field at our disposal, the Gryphon brand name continues to define the highest audiophile standards of subjective and technical performance.
The dual mono configuration radically eliminates any possibility of crosstalk or other interference between channels and provides infinite channel separation which contributes to the ability to create space, focus, depth and transparency.
Because the electrical power coming out of your wall fluctuates wildly in terms of voltage and distortion, Gryphon incorporates heavily regulated multistage power supplies that act as effective mains conditioning filters. Displays and control circuits are fed by a separate power supply to isolate any digital noise artifacts and effectively prevent them from contaminating the signal path.
While the printed circuit boards in more conventional audio products utilize conductor tracks a mere 35 micron thick, Gryphon employs at least 70 micron traces of the highest purity.
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Typical Gryphon module
Beginning with our very first product, “The Head Amp” all Gryphon products have featured extremely wide frequency bandwidth, because the ability to reproduce ultra-sonic frequencies with no difficulty ensures linear phase across the audible frequency range.
The implementation of circuits with wideband frequency response is a painstaking endeavor in which the actual layout and ground pattern of the PC boards are crucial to the achievement of superior sonic performance with no loss of inherent stability.
Wideband frequency response ensures the high slew rate essential to the realistic handling of the ultra-fast transients which routinely occur in live music and is crucial in recreating the natural decay of musical instruments. Wide bandwidth also improves phase characteristics, for more correct soundstaging and imaging.
All Gryphon designs are realized with an absolute minimum of negative feedback, which when present in large amounts can actually increase TIM distortion. All Gryphon preamplifiers are designed with zero negative feedback. Gryphon power ampli-
fiers apply negative feedback judiciously for improved linearity and bandwidth.
Gryphon research into the detrimental effects of magnetically induced distortion (MID) has led to the elimination of magnetizable materials wherever possible. To eliminate the effects of stray magnetic fields, non-mag- netic materials are employed throughout, with the unavoidable exception of the transformer shield box.
The mechanical design of the cabinet and assembly methods are all carefully calculated to ensure minimal resonance, either through the use of mechanically grounded high mass or decoupling. Vibrationsensitive components, capacitors in particular, are thus guaranteed a non-resonant environment.
The heavy, thick chassis offers a vibration-proof environment for the sensitive electronics inside and provides crucial shielding from a polluted world of low and high-frequency radio waves, power-line radiation and other electrical interference. Meticulous attention to such issues makes a significant contribution to the relaxing, open and transparent Gryphon sound.
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