Gryphon Cantata Owner's Manual

Cantata

Owner´s Manual

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A musical composition, often using sacret text,
comprising recitatives, arisa and choruses.

Table of Contents:

Introduction....................... 3

The Gryphon....................... 3

The Man.............................. 4

Made in Denmark............... 4

Musical Objectives.............. 5

The Gryphon Master Tape

Collection............................ 5

Exterior Design................... 5

Cantata design story........... 6

The Bass............................. 7

The smaller speaker........... 8

The Gryphon Cantata......... 8

The design......................... 9

Choice of Cables................. 9

A long process..................... 9

The Cantata Q Controller..... 10

Best of both worlds.............. 11

The Cabinet......................... 11

The Drivers.......................... 13

Set-up.................................. 15

Assembling the Speaker...... 15

Connecting the Q Control.... 16

Cantata and the listening room 17

Speaker placement.............. 18

Selecting the Q Factor......... 19

Break-in................................ 19

Room placement.................. 20

Manufacture and Assembly 21

Choice of cables.................. 21

Care and Maintenance........ 22

Tweak Alert.......................... 22

Warranty.............................. 23

Specifications...................... 24

Introduction

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 excep

-

tional speed and agility along

with seamless coherence in the

Since 1985, Gryphon Audio

Designs has quietly gone about

the business of creating fine

home audio components. We

know that you will appreci

-

ate and enjoy the benefits

of our accumulated expe

-

rience and share our abid

-

In Greek mythology: A fabled

creature, half-lion and half-

eagle, 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

In the real world: An acclaimed

Danish audio engineering com

-

pany employing cutting edge

technology and common sense

in the pursuit of the purest musi

-

cal experience. We feel that the

gryphon is an appropriate sym

-

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-friendli­ness which elevate it above the
mundane world of con­ventional audio compo­nents.

time domain.

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

ing passion for music.

The Gryphon

cup of infinite wealth.

bol for our high sonic goals.

3

Following the immediate suc

-

cess of the Gryphon brand, all

import business was phased out

in 1993, so that Rasmussen

could dedicate his efforts entire

-

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 tech

-

nology, beautiful craftsmanship,

pride in one’s craft and a keen

eye for attractive design are

some of the long-standing

Danish traditions which are dis

-

tilled to their finest essence in

every unit that bears the

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 “cal

-

ibration tools.” Therefore, every

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 word­of-mouth led to the formal estab­lishment of Gryphon Audio
Designs as a separate corporate
entity.

ly to Gryphon.

Made In Denmark

Gryphon name.

Musical Objectives

4

Gryphon product exists for one

From the very beginning, every

Gryphon product has offered

stunning audio performance,

sumptuous styling and superb

user-friendliness, catering to the

needs of the discerning audio

-

phile who demands musicality,

convenience and aesthetics, all

In every Gryphon product, form

follows function in a unique syn

-

thesis of aesthetics and practi

-

cality. Gryphon stands for

sophisticated technology with a

high standard of industrial finish

that also incorporates the best of

The peerless finish, build quality,

ergonomics and pride of owner

-

ship that contribute to the totality

of the Gryphon concept can only

be fully understood and appreci

-

Rasmussen’s background in fine

arts and industrial design gives

every Gryphon product a distinc

-

tive, luxuriant finish which arises

organically out of the audio cir

-

cuit design and the user inter

-

face for a truly unique integration

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.

Exterior Design

without compromise.

handcraftsmanship.

ated up close and in person.

Gryphon is located in beautiful tranquil sur­roundings.

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.

of form and function.

5

dedicated, purpose-built listen

-

ing room. Most of us listen to

music in a room that also serves

as the living room. There are

several ways to address this

challenge. Here are the most

Cantata prototype

Cantata design story

As with all things known to man,
loudspeakers are subject to the
laws of physics and to the limita-

tions of human perception. We
may bend, manipulate or mask
or exploit these laws and limita­tions, but we cannot ignore
them.

In the quest for the finest speak­er, music lovers audition numer­ous models and finally settle on
what they believe to be the
“best” speaker. What else can
you do? But is the “best speaker”
truly the best speaker? If you are
lucky, you will end up with a
speaker that is the best match
for a particular room, a speaker
that might be a complete disas­ter when set up in a different
room. This explains the differ­ences in opinion about speaker
performance. The perform­ance/quality of any given speak­er changes radically, depending
on its environment.

In general, a loudspeaker can be
no better than the listening room
allows it to be.

Therefore, the listening room is
the most important element in a
high performance sound system
and for this reason is often
referred to as the final frontier.
Few people have the luxury of a

common “solutions”…
A.

The room can be treated in sev­eral ways by using passive
and/or active absorbents, bass
traps, diffusers and other
devices. Unfortunately, these
methods are usually expensive,
an eyesore in the living room
and of limited success. In most
cases, they simply change the
flavor of the problem.

B.
In recent years, sophisticated
“room correction systems” have
been introduced. The term
Room Correction is quite mis­leading insofar as none of these
systems actually correct the
room in any real sense. They
electronically manipulate the
sound of the audio system in
order to obtain a better meas­ured match to the room, much
like previous generations of
equalizers that merely changed
the tonal balance of the sound.
Unfortunately, they typically
introduced a whole new set of
problems and are not usually
used in high end sound systems.
Lastly, a number of correction

6

systems are basically computers

The most severe problems usu

-

ally occur in the bass region, typ

-

ically due to designers’ over-

imaginative attempts to circum

-

vent the laws of physics. Most

people prefer a speaker with full

frequency response from the

delicate high-frequency shimmer

of a triangle to the lowest notes

of a church organ. All speakers

should ideally provide superior

high frequency performance, but

speakers with full output at low

frequencies require large drivers

and consequently large cabinets

with huge internal volume. Low

frequencies also require move

-

ment of large amounts of air in

the room. There is little to be

done about these physical facts,

as long as we look at the loud

-

Another often overlooked fact is

that, although a speaker may be

capable of extended deep bass

performance, its performance

can be easily compromised by

This is a fact that cannot be

changed, and when a large

speaker is used in a room that is

too small, room overload occurs

and the compressed air expands

like waves in water. This is

caused/supported by an

acoustic phenomenon called

“room gain”, the room’s automat

-

ic amplification of lower frequen

-

that digitally manipulate the
sound for the same reasons.
These systems are more sophis­ticated and can address the task
with great precision. However,
many critical listeners agree that
the digital conversions and
extensive signal manipulation
involved have a high price, and
not just the one on the price tag.

C.
The most popular solution is to
experiment and mix products
with different flavors and espe­cially to seek out a speaker that
has a complementary sonic sig­nature to that of the listening
room. At best, “neutral” perform­ance is obtained by forces react­ing in different directions, hoping
for tonal equilibrium. This is an
art approaching alchemy and the
proud owner’s fragile house of
cards collapses if any of the
components, especially the lis­tening room, is changed. For
many audiophiles, this ongoing
quest to find the sonic Holy Grail
through constant experimenta­tion is what it is all about.

Most music lovers simply want
to listen to great music with great
sound without needless hassle.

The Bass

speakers in isolation.

adverse room conditions.

Gryphon Audio Designs in the
outskirts of the small town of Ry

7

cies by 12 dB per octave.

and details without the delay and

“overhang” often found in larger

Again, there are no free lunches

and the trade-offs with the small

speaker are reduced bass and

lower maximum output than larg

-

Critical listeners with vast experi

-

ence in listening to different

speakers often comment that

they wish that they could com

-

bine the soundstage, disappear

-

ing act and speed of the small

speaker with the bass response

The Gryphon Cantata

At Gryphon we have over the

years made similar observations

and faced the challenge of small

rooms at shows and elsewhere.

We are often asked what speak

-

ers we use and which speakers

we recommend. Our answer has

always been that we recom

-

mend the speaker that sounds

best in the room in which it will

be used. When we use the term

“best” we mean correct and real

-

istic in musical terms, essentially

neutral, but with all the dynamics

and excitement of listening to

live music. We find headroom,

ambience and tonal coherency

to be key elements in the live

The result is what is generally
termed “standing waves”. This
acoustic amplification of bass is
heard as an overwhelming
emphasis on the lower frequen­cies. In audio lingo it is referred
to as a “boomy” bass.
This type of bass may impress
some friends and annoy neigh­bors but it can hardly be
described as high end sound
and is certainly not acceptable to
the educated listener.

drivers.

er speakers.

HIGH PURITY COPPER FOIL AND
PAPER WOUND, WAX IMPREGNATED
AIR-CORE INDUCTOR DESIGNEDBY
STEEN DUELUND

Smaller Speakers

Many people prefer compact
speakers because they usually
do not suffer from these prob­lems, but only because their
small enclosure and drivers can­not generate enough energy to
provide deep bass and conse­quently excite the room. The
smaller speaker often has supe-

rior midrange and high frequen-

cy response simply because

the smaller enclosure provides

ideal working conditions.

Smaller speakers also

often offer a superior

soundstage, allowing

the speaker to disap-

pear as the sound­stage extends well beyond the
physical positions of the speak­ers.
The generally smaller drivers are
faster and reproduce transients

of the larger speaker.

music experience.

8