Owners manual
A Message from the Founder
By Flemming E. Rasmussen,
CEO, Gryphon Audio Designs
As the thirtieth anniversary of Gryphon Audio Designs looms
large on the horizon, it is as good an occasion as any to look
back and reflect on how we came this far, on what we have
achieved and what we have learned.
It is now widely acknowledged that Gryphon has built its reputation on a singularly iconoclastic approach to the design of luxury High End home audio equipment, perhaps best
described in the kind and generous words of audio critic Ken
Kessler, “a code of perfectionism, the likes of which I’ve only
ever seen at the Bugatti atelier in Alsace or at the great watch
houses in Switzerland. It is the result of not accepting the notion of compromise, on any level.”
In retrospect, the history of Gryphon Audio Designs has been
an exploration of the complex art of simplicity, taking as our
conceptual foundation the words of Albert Einstein, widely referred to as Einstein’s Razor: “The supreme goal of all theory is
to make the irreducible basic elements as simple and as few
as possible without having to surrender the adequate representation of a single datum of experience.”
Fortunately, during the Gryphon’s lifetime, dedicated music lovers in ever increasing numbers have come to demand more
from their home entertainment systems in recognition and
appreciation of the crucial musical contribution of natural, undoctored, realistic sound that conveys the integrity and full
emotional impact of the original performance.
More and more, serious listeners recognise the validity of the
Gryphon approach: A loudspeaker must not be an instrument
or an interpreter with a voice of its own, only a neutral conduit
that lets us hear what is there, no more and no less, for better
or for worse.
This is the wellspring of inspiration and motivation that led to
the ultimate loudspeaker system, the Gryphon Pendragon, reaffirming our commitment to being the best that we can be
with the definitive full-range system to be partnered with equipment and a room truly worthy of such a loudspeaker.
Pendragon is a name historically associated with the ancient
kings of the Britons, most famously, Arthur of Camelot. The figurative title Pendragon or Pen Draig means head or chief dragon, symbolising the bearer’s uncontested leadership.
For the most ambitious reference loudspeaker system in the
history of Gryphon Audio Designs, there can be no more fitting name.
Flemming E. Rasmussen
Ry, Denmark, March 2013
The Final Frontier
Having earned a global reputation for technological mastery
and unsurpassed excellence in audio amplification and CD
playback, it was a natural evolutionary move for Gryphon
Audio Designs to broaden its scope and apply the uncompromising Gryphon philosophy to the final link in the chain. But
this decision was by no means made on the spur of the moment.
The Gryphon loudspeaker story begins with a chance encounter between Gryphon head honcho Flemming E. Rasmussen
and Danish loudspeaker legend Steen Duelund, a Danish mathematician who dedicated his life to the advancement of
loudspeaker theory. Duelund was a man on a mission whose
many theories and discoveries continue to inspire professional
designers and DIY speaker builders long after his passing.
On a strictly informal basis, they began an in-depth exploration that would take full advantage of Rasmussen’s 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
Duelund’s revolutionary 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 became making that happen with a real loudspeaker in a real room. The
first step was to acknowledge that the greatest challenge fa-
Steen Duelund
cing loudspeaker designers was the simple fact that dynamic
drive units are by nature flawed and compromised.
Many driver designs defy all sound design principles, because they are the result of penny-pinching exercises under
heavy market pressure to deliver “acceptable” performance at
the lowest price. There is little motivation to allocate resources
to making drivers truly the best that they can be.
In order to succeed in their mission, now assigned the working
title Project 30, Rasmussen and Duelund returned to first concepts, literally building by hand individual drivers with baskets that did not introduce compression, handmade
multi-laminate cones, exotic home-brew coatings, adjustable
wire suspension to replace the conventional spider, heavyduty 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.
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 ill-founded
dogma formulated by 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 at all times 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 centre of each driver.
The finished loudspeaker 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.
At this stage, a respected German audio reviewer visited
Gryphon. In the Gryphon listening room, he auditioned Gryphon amplifiers using the company’s usual reference loudspea-
kers, a well-known American full-range system. Suitably impressed with what he heard, he happened to notice some large
enclosures concealed beneath a sheet off to one side. His curiosity aroused, he persuaded Flemming to hook them up for
an off the record listening session with the clear understanding that this was not a commercial product.
To make a long story short, the reviewer had a revelatory experience and rumours quickly began to circulate about a mystery speaker that Gryphon were keeping to themselves.
Despite the unique quality of the project, Rasmussen decided
not to pursue it as a commercial venture, using the loudspeakers only as a valued tool in the company’s electronics development work. The decision was based on the fact that the
many hand-tweaked, non-standard components made it a slow,
expensive and exceedingly complex system to build. Too
many of its geeky, off-the-wall solutions were conceived and
executed without regard for the real-world problems of consistent, day-to-day production and long-term reliability. Moreover, this was at a time in the High End industry when
electronics manufacturers and speaker makers politely played
in their own sandboxes, rarely invading each other’s turf.
Today, things have changed considerably.
The Cantata Reference Monitor System
By the millennium, Gryphon had become firmly established as
a major international player with a range of amplification components and CD players widely regarded 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.
Still, demand for a Gryphon loudspeaker continued to grow, as
distributors, dealers and enthusiasts wanted to share in the
great secret. Electing not to fall into the same trap as so many
others who rush to market with a “me, too” loudspeaker system in an attempt to cash in on the goodwill of an established
electronics brand name, Rasmussen decided to address an
unacknowledged problem that he had frequently observed:
Most audiophiles select loudspeakers that are simply too large
to work well in their room and wind up fighting a losing battle
against room acoustics with inadequate tools.
Rasmussen already knew what they would have to learn from
bitter, expensive experience: Not even the best amplifier and
room treatments can turn things around once you have installed the wrong speaker in the wrong room. To help enthusiasts
with limited living space overcome these obstacles, a more
The Gryphon Cantata
compact loudspeaker became Gryphon’s top priority, because
it was felt to fill the greatest need.
Driven by his decade-long vision of a loudspeaker that would
finally get things right, Rasmussen conceived the Gryphon
Cantata to set new standards for sonic performance in a twoway system of modest dimensions. With Steen Duelund’s theories as inspiration, acoustician Lars Matthiesen Rasmussen set
about the task of translating theory into workable, practical solutions. Rasmussen and the Gryphon design team created the
product’s conceptual and physical framework, while Rasmussen and Gryphon chairman Valdemar Børsting were responsible for final voicing. Exploiting Gryphon’s home court
advantage in the field of electronics, it was natural to incorporate a high tech active Q control, a concept introduced in the
1950’s by Linkwitz and Greiner, but never successfully implemented.
The Cantata received a rave reception from press and owners
alike, winning numerous awards, including Product of the Year
from UK magazine HiFi+. Gryphon was immediately accepted
as a loudspeaker manufacturer and praised for tackling the
endeavour with innovative flair and bravery.
Gryphon Poseidon
The development and, in particular, the actual production of
Cantata with its innumerable tailor-made components gave
Gryphon valuable experience and the courage to revive and
complete Project 30. Auditioning confirmed that the system
had been well ahead of its time. Equally important, Gryphon’s
accrued experience and good working relations with driver
manufacturers now meant that the project could be fully realised to an even higher standard.
Special drive units would still be required, but Gryphon’s unquestioned High End stature and the success of the Cantata attracted the interest of an internationally respected Danish
driver manufacturer willing to build drive units to Gryphon’s
strict specifications. Jensen Capacitors manufactured inductors and capacitors to Gryphon’s specifications. A German manufacturer supplied a surround that matched the cone
geometry. The list of specialists involved continued to expand.
As was once the norm in the High End, Gryphon is still run by
enthusiasts able and willing to take risks and push back boundaries, not because the marketplace demands it or because
anyone asked them to, but out of sheer curiosity as to what
awaits in the uncharted territories where no one has gone before.
Consequently, Project 30 began to grow in scope and ambition, bearing out Flemming E. Rasmussen’s bold declaration,
“The reason we make products is to finance our research and
development. This is our true passion.”
In August 2004, the final fruit of Project 30 was unveiled, Gryphon Poseidon. Lavishly built by even the most extravagant
High End standards, the exquisitely finished Gryphon Poseidon offered expressive musical communication and a gripping
sensation of involvement in the performance as it unfolds.
Gryphon Poseidon redefined loudspeaker performance in
such crucial areas as sonic continuity and integrity, allowing
the listener to create a more vivid mental image of the musical
event with a greater sense of wholeness and consummate
ease.
Followed by the more accessible Trident, Atlantis and Mojo systems, Poseidon immediately established Gryphon Audio Designs as a force to be reckoned with in the field of High End
loudspeakers.
Enter the Pendragon
Now, Gryphon Pendragon builds on what has gone before, exploring the complex art of simplicity even further in the service of music.
The Pendragon is a three-way loudspeaker system consisting
of four separate enclosures, all 199 cm tall, coincidentally (?)
the same height as Mr. Rasmussen himself. The distinctive
string grille design is courtesy of Sonus Faber of Italy and is
used with their kind permission.
The sculptural towers are built just down the road from Gryphon by a woodworking company specializing in custom design
work for recording studios and musicians. Their staff includes
several musicians, who combine a perfectionist approach to
their craft with an open mind to untraditional solutions. Rasmussen frequently tested the limits of their open-mindedness
in executing an undertaking on the grand scale of the Pendragon, while maintaining structural and aesthetic integrity.
Assembled using proprietary techniques, Pendragon offer a
service unique in the audio field: access to virtually unlimited
personalised custom finish options not only at the time of original purchase, but also at any later date to keep pace with
evolving personal style and interior décor.
Available panel options are limited only by the customer's
imagination. However, requests may not include rain forest
wood or any endangered, restricted or illegal materials.
assembly of bass towers
The Quest for Simplicity
No single drive unit is capable of properly reproducing the
entire audible range from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. No diaphragm can
move fast enough to reproduce 20 kHz overtones and, at the
same time, move enough air to reproduce deep bass at concert hall levels.
For this reason, loudspeaker manufacturers devote considerable resources during product development to selecting specialised drivers for each frequency section and, more
importantly, to designing a crossover network to coerce them
all to work together. To do so, the frequency spectrum is sliced
up electronically and each piece is directed to the appropriate
driver where things are hopefully reassembled to form a coherent acoustic event.
It is at this point that so much can go wrong.
Are the selected crossover components good enough to do
their job without signal loss or distortion?
Are the drivers sufficiently similar in tonal quality and speed
that they can create the illusion of a single coherent source of
sound?
Does the crossover network properly compensate for the drivers’ varying sensitivities so that the resulting sound is correctly balanced from top to bottom?
Have the crossover points between the drivers been properly
tuned for undetectable, seamless transitions with no frequency
dips or peaks or phase anomalies?
Is the cabinet designed to prevent resonances and delete-
rious interaction between the drivers?
The Gryphon Audio design team possesses unique experience in the solution of such arcane audio problems, having learned the most valuable lesson of all: that eliminating a
problem before it arises is always far better than trying to
solve it.
Or, to put it in the vernacular – An ounce of prevention is worth
a pound of cure.
In accordance with this guiding principle, Gryphon Pendragon
eliminates the cabinet altogether in the mid/high frequency
range. Instead, an extremely rigid panel houses a vertical
array of four Air Motion Transformer (AMT) super-tweeters
alongside a single, two meter tall dipolar planar magnetic
thin-film ribbon transducer.
Passive x-over
With ideal sound reproduction and mechanical behaviour
across more than seven octaves from 200 Hz to 18 kHz, the
Gryphon Pendragon ribbon eliminates multiple crossover filter sections in the critical mid frequency range, preserving
spectral and temporal integrity.
The 200 Hz crossover consists of the finest Duelund parts and
solid silver components encased in a heavily damped aluminium block suspended freely behind the panels. At the extreme high frequency transition between the ribbon and the
AMT super-tweeter array, the ribbon rolls off naturally with no
lowpass filter section in the signal path.
The high frequency system’s innate wide and even horizontal
dispersion with virtually nil vertical dispersion creates a large,
stable sweet spot with none of the floor and ceiling reflections
that muddy the sound of conventional multi-way systems. Eliminating this major source of interference allows Gryphon
Pendragon to achieve new levels of room-independent clarity
and resolution.
Bass Foundation
Significant effort and resources have been focused on delivering extended deep bass with articulation, force and authority,
completely independent of the acoustic environment.
To keep pace with the extraordinary speed and openness of
the dipolar drivers with none of the discontinuity that plagues
more conventional “hybrid” speakers, the Pendragon bass
tower offers elegantly simple, original Gryphon solutions to a
number of complicated problems.
Deep bass is, perhaps counter-intuitively, the most difficult
part of the audio spectrum to reproduce with both accuracy
and seamless integration with the upper frequency range. A
full-range speaker with bass drivers built into the main enclosure has its own set of demons to exorcise as does the currently popular approach of tacking on a so-called “subwoofer”
for bottom end duties.
Each Pendragon bass tower houses eight custom designed 8”
drive units and a built-in, specially designed Gryphon Class
A/B power amplifier capable of 1,000 Watts continuous output.
For extended headroom, available peak power is approximately 4,000 Watts or 4.5 horsepower.
Unlike compromised, “universal” amplifiers, the Pendragon
bass amp has been conceived and built exclusively for optimal integration with the system’s custom-built drive units,
rigid cabinet and flexible, user-adjustable room integration
controls, for a level of performance unachievable by any standard mix-and-match approach.
Pendragon bass driver
The Pendragon amplifiers incorporate 18 high current bipolar
output transistors, a 200,000 microFarad capacitor bank, DC
servo-coupling, zero global negative feedback, no output relays, output coupling via massive copper bussbars, decoupled
transformer castings, military spec. double-sided printed circuit boards and Holmgren toroidal transformers with internal
magnetic shielding.
In addition to the advantages of an active bass system with
purpose-built amplification designed for optimal operation
with the drive units and with the array of adjustable parameters, active bass allows the owner to select a dedicated amplifier for the high frequency panels without having to worry
about the power demands of the massive Pendragon bass system.
Conventional passive loudspeakers must be designed for
compatibility with a wide range of commercially available
power amplifiers and active subwoofers are typically driven
by an off-the-shelf “digital” power module that could fit in one
hand.
By way of comparison, the purpose-built, onboard Pendragon
power amplifier weighs in at 70 kg per tower!
Naturally, ideal integration with the Pendragon high frequency
panel is assured.
To achieve this ambitious goal, the amplifier incorporates sophisticated Q Control circuitry to fine-tune bass response as
well as additional adjustments to ensure ideal room interface.
The bass remote control allows adjustment of bass level, Q, low
cut and other parameters directly from the listening position.
The bass module offers Standby mode and provides effective
driver protection via a comprehensive, non-invasive system
that monitors all functions more than 100 times per second.
The singular bass performance of the Gryphon Pendragon system heightens awareness of rhythmic subtleties and nuances
Amplifier module for 1 bass
tower
as it immerses the listener in music’s rhythmic power.
Passive Upper Frequency Panel
By physically separating the bass and upper frequency sections, Gryphon Pendragon elegantly sidesteps issues that inevitably arise in a full-range cabinet or in a satellite/subwoofer
configuration.
Reproduction of deep bass from a dedicated cabinet completely eliminates bass vibrations, resonances and internal bass
pressure waves in the upper frequency enclosures, for cleaner,
clearer mid and high frequencies. By reducing the enclosure
to its most basic form, a floor-standing open panel, Gryphon
Pendragon takes mid and high frequency clarity and articulation to an entirely new level.
By eliminating fundamental issues of mass, inertia and internal
resonance, the Gryphon Pendragon ribbon and AMT drivers
are able to respond accurately and instantaneously to even the
subtlest of micro-dynamic changes, conveying all the expressiveness, richness and complex textures of the greatest recordings, laid out across a vast, natural soundstage with pinpoint
stereo imaging.
Four Air Motion Transformer (AMT) drivers and a two-meter
tall ribbon in an open baffle configuration provide ideal coverage of an exceptionally wide frequency range extending from
16 Hz to 32 kHz.
Thanks to its line source dispersion characteristics, the Pendragon ribbon generates a continuous, perfectly coupled, cylindrical wavefront across its entire frequency range for a
uniquely coherent, wide and deep soundfield.
As a consequence of this ideal wavefront form, sound pressure
level at a given distance drops off by only -3 dB, half the rate of
conventional speakers (-6 dB), for a more full-bodied, consistent, room-filling listening experience.
The ribbon is mounted in a three-layer frame of heavy-gauge,
self-reinforced steel to ensure solid construction, free from any
inherent resonance. A symmetrical magnet system consisting
of a push-pull configuration of ceramic magnets fitted on both
sides of the diaphragm provide linear drive of the diaphragm
whose moving mass is actually less than the air load.
Laminated with aluminium strips that act as a planar spiral
voice coil, the ribbon’s large radiating area moves only a very
small distance even at high volume with minimal distortion
and perfect control. Due to the ribbon’s open construction and
large surface area, heat dissipation is not an issue, resulting in
high power handling capabilities with consummate ease.
The extreme high-frequency range is handled by an array of
AMT super tweeters
four extraordinary Air Motion Transformers that move air by
driving an extremely low-mass folded sheet in a semi-perpendicular motion via a powerful magnetic field. Following extensive research into materials and diaphragm geometry, the
Pendragon AMT employs a heat-resistant Kapton film base,
aluminium conductor traces and an innovative fold geometry.
Because of their large surface area and pleated structure, the
Air Motion Transformers move a large air volume with minimal
diaphragm motion for lightning fast transients with flat frequency response well beyond the audible range with negligible
distortion and a total absence of compression.
The AMT array incorporates an attenuator for ideal fine-tuning
and integration with the acoustics of the listening space. ( +1 –
neutral – 1 db )
The Pendragon high frequency panel presents a purely resistive load, significantly reducing demands on the partnering
amplifier, although the system’s unrivalled transparency and
resolution deserve to be mated with the finest amplification
and source components.
The radical passive crossover network design ensures ideal
phase at all frequencies, a perfect result achieved only by
Gryphon loudspeaker.
The Pendragon system's low-frequency cut-off is room-dependent and is also a result of the user-selected Q setting, but useable room response from the system's 26 drivers will cover the
range from 16 Hz to 40 kHz.
The transparency, speed and spine-tingling musical realism of
the Gryphon Pendragon system set new standards for audio
virtues such as resolution, timbre and soundstaging, illuminating the music in ways previously experienced only occasionally in glimpses or fragments of a speaker’s overall
performance, but rarely in a true full-range system.
Like every Gryphon product, Gryphon Pendragon is designed
by Gryphon founder and CEO Flemming E. Rasmussen and
manufactured in Denmark. The Gryphon Pendragon towers are
our proudest statement, our declaration of love to music and a
finely crafted sculptural element to grace even the most luxurious of surroundings.
Pendragon set-up
Unpacking
The Pendragon system arrives in 4 large and heavy wood crates.
The system will be set up by your dealers or Gryphon distributor. Do not attempt to unpack the system yourself .
We know the almost uncontrollable urge to get the system up
and listening, but the Pendragon is a complex system that requires a predefined set-up by experts with special tools and severe
damage can be done to your investment – and back - if mistakes
are made.
The 4 boxes include
1 Pendragon Master cabinet
4 short stands
1 display unit
1 remote control
1 assembly guide
1 Pendragon Slave cabinet
4 short stands
1 accessory box
1 Gryphon anniversary book and brochure
1 Delaers assembly guide
1 x Pendragon Accessory box inside Slave box
1 data cable
2 power cords
24 screws M6x60 with washers
for woofer stands
16 screws M8x50 for blinding of
transport plate holes, woofer
4 screws M6x80 with washers for
blinding of transport plate holes,
mid-high tower
1 hex socket key, 6 mm
1 hex socket key, 5 mm
2 x Pendragon Mid/hi Tower Box
1 Mid/hi panel
1 Passive x-over
1 pair of gloves
A box in a Box
The differences between rooms are often bigger and more
profound than the differences between speakers. This is the
reason why a speaker with a great subjective review can disappoint greatly when placed in another room. Often it is more
a test of how a certain speaker interacts with a certain room,
rather than the actual quality of the speaker.
In short, you listen to the combination of speaker and room.
In real life it is easier to buy a new speaker than to buy a new
room. Depending on the individual situation – is it a dedicated
sound room or is it a living room with other considerations to
take and respect – but acoustics can be greatly improved in
most rooms and can basically be divided into 2 directions –
absorption or diffusion.
a. Absorption is reducing the sound level at certain frequencies.
b. Diffraction is scattering reflections and removing negative
effects of reflections from the walls that interfere with the direct sound from the speaker system
At Gryphon we are biased towards diffusion as we find that absorption in its extreme is killing dynamics and live feeling and
is often pushing the system to hard because of the loos of
sound level. Damping may be required to control an excess of
energy in a certain frequency area,. Diffusion can not do that.
The Pendragon is a dipole speaker system where the midrange and tweeter panels is radiating sound forward and
backwards. Consequently it is interacting with the back wall
more than a box speaker.
It is not possible to give plug and play directions to any speaker system,. A large degree is the individual – and often minute – adjustments of position of speaker and listening
position that is crucial for optimum performance.
In the following we will describe a starting- point set-up based
on our experience and it should only serve as a guideline.
Keep in mind that the set-up that sound right – is right.
As speakers run in,. minor adjustments may be required for
final set-up.
The bass is a huge challenge in set-up and reason for much
aggravation,. However, the Pendragon active woofer with its
adjustments to the room is making that part more easy.
In our reference room ( 60 sq m ) we do not have any damping
( absorption ) behind the speakers but some diffusion on this
and more on the rest of the walls. Often some damping on the
back wall may be the right solution – the live / dead end philosophy – If ceiling is low, damping at first reflection is suggested. For a ultimate-take-no-prisoners- approach, the
traditional table in front of the listener should be avoided as it
can generate reflections just as the close ceeling.
The Pendragon may at first sight look very much as some of
the old 4 column systems such as the Infinity IRS models that
was outstanding at its time. They were usually set up with very
little respect to the woofer towers that was just placed somewhere behind the panels and just supposed to provide some
oomph to the sound.
The Pendragon is a different generation of speakers and shines with its seamless integration between bass and the MT panels that was the weakness of the older generations of 4 tower
systems. So forget about the old school set-ups
1/3 2/3
Notes on sound reflections.
Behind speaker:
The farther away the system is from back wall, then less diffusion ( if any ) is required.
Side walls
Diffusion should be used ( if any ) at sidewalls where first reflection will enter – in this example between 1/3 and 2/3
Behind listener
If distance is large little or perhaps moderate damping can be
applied. If it is closer diffusion can be applied, could be combined with damping.
Speaker Toe-in ( se fig. 1 )
Note that the system is set up in a curve so all drivers are on
same line and pointing direct at the listener.
Toe-In
If the room is narrow it may be necessary to use the bass towers on the outside of the MT panels to increase distance from
panels to sidewalls. In this case it is advisable that the AMT
super tweeters are kept on the outer side of the
midrange/tweeter panel.
In a short room, a set-up where the “focus” of the speakers is
slightly behind the speaker may be required.
Reducing toe-in – opening up – may increase soundstage size,
opening to much can reduce focus and often headroom.
Adjusting lean angle
The feet on the panels can be adjusted in height; a back lean
will often result in a higher placed soundstage. If you are seated low, a forward lean may be required.
The bass towers are not sensitive to this.
Spikes
Due to the weight of the system and consequently, its solid
contact to the floor,. Spikes are not offering any performance
gain, unless the floor is very lively or the carpet is thick and
soft.
The woofer towers
In the old school systems, the woffers was often underestimated and view as devises that should provide some “umph” to
the sound,. They lived their own life , often unhappily married
to a inferior muscle amp with PA qualities ( a contradiction of
words perhaps )
The Pendragon is a speaker system and shines with its rare integration between the piston drivers and the planar drivers.
This is achieved by using a number of special developed drivers that due to its size are lightening fast to respond to command. Large drivers are heavy and takes time to start and most
of the time has trouble stopping thus creating the dreaded
“overhang” – the woofer is playing something that it was not
told to by the amplifier. By using this responsive drivers in a
large numbers in combination with a Gryphon amplifier designed specifically to this purpose – rather than a all-round
performance - a exceptional degree of bass control is achieved down to the notes that are more felt than heard. The signature of a deep bass system in absolute control is the absence
of bass unless the bass is required – it is never a constant
“rumble” creating a illusion of a bass that is not telling if it is a
cello or a bass – at best, it is just a deep sluggish tone.
The Bass tower electronics
Each tower has a amplifier capable of delivering 1000 watts to
the drivers.
It also has some adjustments to support precise integration
with panels and the room.
One of the towers is the master and the other is the slave.
The master tower houses all the intelligent circuits that responds to the remote control or other functions, these commands are communicated to the slave with a data-only cable
between them. This set-up with only one master in charge secure that no misunderstandings can occur.
Master tower control.
Adjustments applies to both towers automatically.
Warning:
Be aware that there is 1000 watt amplifier in each tower that
can deliver a huge output in very low frequencies if instructions are not observed. Please be very careful when handling
this system
Vol+/VolBass level up or down.
Q+/QOptimizing bass performance to the specific room.
Low cut
Use this with turntable use to prevent overloading the system
with low level noise from turntable ( rumble) or to prevent disasters with a dropped tone arm
MUTE
Always if you change cables – or turn the towers off.
In & out puts
XLR in
Connect to balanced output from balanced preamplifier XLR AES standard- ( pin 2 positive, Pin 3 negative, Pin 1 shield )
XLR out
Can be used to loop to Mid/Hi amplifier if preamplifier do not
have 2 outputs.
XLR/RCA
Toggle Switch between balanced or single ended connection
CONNECT ONLY PENDRAGON TOWER TO PREAMPLIFIERS
WITH ABSOLUTELY STABLE DC OPERATION. NEVER TURN
PREAMPLIFIER ON OR OFF OR MOVE TOWER UNLESS THE
PENDRAGON MASTER IS TURNED OFF.
RCA/in
Connect to single ended output from preamplifier
RCA out
Can be used to loop to the Mid/Hi amplifier if your preamplifier do not have 2 sets of outputs.
Ports
Display
Connect LED display here
Data Interface
Link between Master and Slave
Error
Indication of malfunction
12 v. Link
Auto power-on if connected to a Gryphon link system
Stdby
Flashes when starting up. Blue led on front of bass tower is indicating that tower is ready
AC power
Do not use filters or “sound enhancing” AC devises.
FUSE
Replace only with fuses of same value and type
No serviceable parts inside.
On/Off
Mains switch, both towers must be turned on.
Tweeter fine tuning.
The toggle switch on the passive x-over offers a finetuning of
tweeter level to match HF damping in the room.
Switch up is + 1db.
Switch in neutral is neutral
Switch down is - 1 db
OR if your preamplifier
only has 1 set of outputs
SERIAL No.__________________________________________
Warranty
The Gryphon Pendragon is warranted against failures arising
through faulty workmanship and materials for a period of 3
year 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, postage/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 performed only by authorized Gryphon dealers or distributors.
The warranty does not cover damage due to misuse, accident
or neglect. This warranty is not valid if the operation voltage
of the product has been changed.
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 filled out and returned to the manufacturer within 10 days of purchase.
Service, warranty claims or questions
Please contact the dealer where you purchased the product
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