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The Gryphon Pantheon
Speaker System
Version 1 August 2014
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Pantheon set-up, top view
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Pantheon set-up, side view
Note how curve on speaker front is
matching the circle.
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The Gryphon Pantheon
loudspeaker system
Pantheon – Fabled island with advanced
technologies given by the sea god
Poseidon to his mortal wife
Welcome to our world
Words by Flemming E. Rasmussen, CEO and
Founder of Gryphon Audio Designs
Nearly two decades have passed since the first Gryphon
saw the light of day. It wasn't
a case of planned parenthood,
more an inevitable love child the fruit of a long-standing
love affair with music and
audio.
Gryphon embarked on a long
journey back then, made long
not by detours, but simply
because our destination is so
far away. I have always believed that we experience music
with our hearts as much as
with our ears. For me, the ultimate test is very simple - the
music must reach out and
touch the heart. Looking back
over those twenty years, I
must confess that Gryphon
has always developed the
audio products that I personally needed and wanted.
Nothing was ever built to
meet a demand defined by
market research. Some might
find that arrogant and perhaps it is, but I prefer to see it
as an honest approach, while
accepting that not everyone
shares my point of view.
Fortunately, the passing years
have proven that there is a
sufficiently large group of likeminded individuals around the
world who have come together in this common quest.
I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank all
of you who have shared this
journey with me.
Down through the years,
Gryphon has expanded from a
single Head Amplifier to
encompass the full audio
spectrum with the definitive
music playback system. This
didn't happen because we can
do everything ourselves, but
because we recognize quality
when we encounter it and
have the ability to assemble a
team of dedicated specialists
for each new project. The
Gryphon company - like its
products - is greater than the
sum of its parts.
There is certainly a family
resemblance across the
Gryphon range and by that we
mean more than mere technology. We like to think that
Gryphon is not perceived as
Class A amplifiers, upsampling
CD players or silver cables,
but more as a degree of quality, a sense of "rightness" that
brings it all home for you. And
you don't reach that place by
following your ears, only by
following your heart.
In responding to queries as to
why Gryphon took the major
step of expanding into the
field of loudspeaker design,
the temptation is to take the
easy way out with a flippant
reply like "Because it's there."
But the simple fact is that,
having earned a global reputation for unsurpassed excellence in amplification, it was a
natural evolutionary move to
broaden our scope and turn
our attention to the other links
in the audio chain.
Beginning with source compo-
Flemming E. Rasmussen
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nents, Gryphon designed the
world's first single-chassis CD
player with onboard upsampling. The third generation of
this innovative technology, the
Gryphon Mikado, has won
numerous awards around the
world. The next logical step
was to apply the uncompromising Gryphon take-no-prisoners approach to the final link
in the chain. But this decision
was by no means made on the
spur of the moment.
In fact, the Gryphon speaker
adventure began nearly 18
years ago with a chance
encounter between Gryphon
founder Flemming E.
Rasmussen and Steen
Duelund, a Danish mathematician who has dedicated his
professional life to loudspeaker theory.
Duelund's theories on constant phase in crossover networks can be summed up in a
single statement: "All drivers
must be in phase at all times
at all frequencies." Following
this theoretical "Eureka," the
hard part then becomes
making that happen in a real
room with a real loudspeaker.
Initially on a strictly informal
basis, an in-depth exploration
was undertaken that would
take full advantage of
Gryphon's assembled expertise and extensive experience
in design and manufacturing
to transform Duelund's theories into real-world products
with scant regard for such
minor details as pricing, parts
availability, prevailing attitudes and preconceived notions.
Imperfect Drivers
The first step was to acknowledge that the greatest challenge facing loudspeaker
designers was the simple fact
that dynamic drive units are
by nature fundamentally flawed and compromised. Many
driver designs defy all sound
design principles, because
they are the result of pennypinching exercises under
heavy market pressure to deliver "acceptable" performance
at the lowest price. There is
little motivation to allocate
resources to making drivers
that are truly the best that
they can be.
In order for the mission to
succeed, Rasmussen and his
hand-picked design team
began from scratch with driver design, literally building by
hand drivers with baskets that
did not introduce compression, hand-made multi-laminate cones, exotic home-brew
coatings, adjustable wire suspension to replace the conventional spider, heavy-duty
magnetic systems, ventilated
pole pieces, machined phase
plugs and special surrounds to
optimize the transition between cone and baffle. All edges
were beveled for a deliberate
aerodynamic profile. Double
wiring was employed on the
cones to ensure perfect symmetry. The list of breakthroughs goes on and on.
Every aspect of driver design,
assembly and function was
thoroughly investigated without prejudice and with scant
respect for received wisdom,
which often proved to be illfounded dogma formulated by
Steen Duelund 1943 -2005
Lars Matthisen, Chief Acoustic
adviser at Gryphon, carrier of the
Duelund flame.
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individuals promoting their
own specific agendas.
The end result was drive units
with extremely low Q, high
power handling, no dynamic
compression and a linear pistonic range that pushed back
the limits of driver design.
In order to live up to the
uncompromising design goal
of perfect phase all the time at
all frequencies, the enclosure
incorporated a concave curved front to form a direct angled, time-aligned system with
identical distance from the listener to the acoustic center of
each driver.
The finished loudspeakers can
only be described as an open
window, utterly transparent to
the original recorded event
with equally remarkable dynamic headroom that re-creates
the true power and full weight
of live music, both in details
such as a drum rimshot and in
the effortless expansion of an
orchestral crescendo in a
large-scale symphonic piece.
Gone were the sluggishness
and "whitewashed" uniformity
typical of loudspeakers with
complex crossovers where
60% of the components are
dedicated to the thankless
task of compensating for the
basic imperfections of inferior
drivers. In such speakers, the
crossover becomes a virtual
"black hole," sucking up energy instead of conveying it to
the drivers. The result is a
neat and tidy musical presentation with everything apparently in its place and a listening experience that quickly
becomes tedious and uninspiring.
By the millennium, Gryphon
had become firmly established
as a major international player
with a range of amplification
components and CD players
widely regard as among the
very best in the esoteric world
of High End audio. Gryphon
innovations included the world's first single-chassis CD player with onboard upsampling
and critical system enhancements such as the acclaimed
Exorcist, the world's first system demagnetizer, as well as
a range of cables and accessories.
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Owner's Manual
When You Have Purchased
the Pantheon System
Yourauthorized Gryphon dealer delivers and installs the
Pantheon system. His staff
has been meticulously schooled in the proper unpacking of
the system and in the set-up
of the system. Your dealer will
return after a two-week
break-in period for final
adjustment.
After three months, your dealer will come back for a final
check-up.
This service is included in the
price of the Pantheon system
and is crucial to optimizing
system performance.
The Listening Room
This section outlines ideal
room dimensions and speaker
placement. Specific acoustic
conditions may permit some
deviation from these recommendations. Pantheon curved
baffle is designed so that the
sound from all drivers integrates at a point 5 m in front of
the high frequency driver.
(Think of the drivers as rows
of spotlights all angled to illuminate the same spot.)
The cabinerts should be at
least 1 m from any side wall.
We recommend as much distance from the backwall as
possible.
Imagine a circle on the floor
at a diameter of 10 meters
with the listener in the middle.
The Pantheon should be set
up following the line of this
circle forcing all the drivers to
point direct at the listener at a
distance of 5 meters. This is
the basic designformula and
not all locations will allow this.
We have tested Pantheon in a
number of different room
sizes from very small rooms to
halls. What is important is in
all cases to set the speakers
up with a toe- in pointing
direct at the listener.
Note: plush furnishings provide high acoustic damping,
requiring greater system output.
Pantheon was developed in a
50 sq.m. room with typical
acoustic damping corresponding to most modern residential spaces.
We do NOT recommend room
treatments for added damping
behind the loudspeakers.
Some damping behind the listening position is recommended, especially if it is close to
the rear wall.
Diffusion is generally a far
better acoustic solution in that
it removes unwanted reflections without restricting dynamics or exerting excessive
influence on tonal balance.
Because Pantheon design
requires angling the cabinets
in towards the listener, the
influence of side walls is minimal. The curved baffles also
reduce reflections from floor
and ceiling. If the ceiling is
low, a diffuser placed at the
point of the first reflection
may be useful. A rug on the
floor between listener and
speakers will help. The conventional coffee table in front
of the listener is typically the
source of most problems with
unwanted reflections.
We strongly suggest that all
effort are made to optimize
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the acoustic properties of the
room before any electronic
manipulation ( Room correction ) is considered. - ( no
electronics are correcting any
rooms, they manipulate the
sound to compensate for poor
acoustics).
We consider this to be the last
resort.
Because of its design and
comprehensive adaptability,
Pantheon is nowhere near as
demanding as other large speakers. However, because of
Pantheon extreme phase linearity, you will discover that it
is more revealing than any
other loudspeaker.
Be prepared for a radical revision of everything you had
previously learned about loudspeakers or heard from them.
Unpacking
Do NOT try to lift a cabinet
out of the crate. Instead,
remove the lower screws and
remove tyhe upper part of the
box, lift strait up and be careful not to scretch the speaker.
CAUTION! Pantheon is a very
heavy loudspeaker and should
only be moved by 2-3 people
to avoid damage or injury.
Set-Up
Pantheon is designed to form
two hemispheres - one horizontal and one vertical. The
vertical hemisphere is defined
by the curvature of the front
baffle.
The cabinets must be angled
in so that they are aimed at
the same point (ear level for a
centrally placed listener), forming a curve in front of the
listener.
PROPER PLACEMENT IS
CENTRAL TO THE PANTHEON CONCEPT AND REQUIRES PATIENCE
AND ATTENTION. TRADITIONAL
WISDOM IS NOT THE ANSWER
HERE.
The difference between the
merely outstanding and the
ultimate is a fine line.
Break-in
The Pantheon requires at least
100 hours of break-in. Do NOT
use special break-in discs.
Often, they tend to result in
break-down instead. Choose
dynamic music instead.
Michael Jackson is a popular
choice for burn-in purposes,
...
Tweak alert
Pantheon is the fruit of an
extremely protracted, very
open-minded development
process. We assure you that it
is not possible to improve this
system by replacing a few
lengths of wire or a capacitor.
Remember - most critical
components are not just specially selected - they are specially developed specifically
for the Pantheon.
X-over biasing
By biasing the electrolyte
capacitors with a dc voltage,
connected to the joined node
of a bipolar coupled electrolytic capacitor, the following
advantage is obtained. The
electrolyte capacitor’s “memory effect”, which is disturbing
the zero crossing of the music
signal, is removed or at least
reduced. In other words, the
music signal is passing the
biased bipolar capacitor with
less coloration than an unbiased electrolyte capacitor.
To check if the biasing is actiev you can test it on the
switch on the backside. A lLED
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Flemming E. Rasmussen and
the Pantheon design crew
take immense satisfaction in
this new addition to the history of the company.
When the privileged owner of
the Pantheon sits back and
experiences how music rises
above technology as walls
fade away and a direct connection is made to the very
souls of the performers, we
know that our work is done
and we take great pride in it.
We have made the loudspeakers disappear, leaving in its
place the only thing that really matters... Music.
will light up indicating that the
bias is actiev. If the LED do
not light on, it is time to replace the battery.
The speaker will still perform
with a dead battery.
The batteries will last 1 - 2
years.
Checking the batteries is actually consuming more power
than the constant biasing.
Battery type:
PP3
9 volt ( x 2 )
Pantheon Speaker system
performance:
Frequency response:
26Hz - 32.000 kHz +/- 3db.
Room dependent
X-over freq: 280/2300Hz. 4th.
order acoustical Duelund CP
Sensitivity:
89db /2.83v.
Nominal impedance 4 ohm
W: 29 cm,
D: 61 cm (+2,5 cm incl. terminals),
H: 146,5 cm
shipping weight: 122 kg each
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Warranty
The Gryphon Pantheon is warranted against failures arising
through faulty workmanship and materials for a period of 3
years from date of purchase. The warranty is not transferable.
This warranty is only valid in the country where the product
was purchased. All claims under this warranty must be made
to the distributor in the buyer`s country by returning the unit
securely packed in the original box with all accessories, posta-
ge/freight prepaid and insured. The unit will be repaired or
replaced at no charge for parts and labor.
This warranty remains valid only if the serial number of the
unit has not been defaced or removed and if repairs are per-
formed only by authorized Gryphon dealers or distributors. It
does not cover damage due to misuse, accident or neglect.
The distributor or manufacturer, Gryphon Audio Designs,
Denmark, retains the exclusive right to make such judgement
on the basis of inspection.
The retailer, distributor or manufacturer of the Gryphon shall
not be liable for consequential damage arising from the use,
misuse or failure of this product, including injuries to persons
or property.
To qualify, the enclosed warranty registration card must be fil-
led out and returned to the manufacturer within 10 days of
purchase.
Alternatively, you may choose to register your Gryphon on our
website:
www.gryphon-audio.com
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