Gryphon Zena Owner's Manual

v.1.0

Zena

Owner´s Manual

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Table of Contents:

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

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

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

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

Musical Objectives ................................. 4

Design Principles .................................... 5

Exterior Design ....................................... 7

Manufacture and Assembly .................... 8

SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS ..................... 8

Placement: ............................................. 8

AC Voltage ............................................. 8

Burn-In and Warm-Up ............................ 9

Menu-activated functions ....................... 9

Balanced Connections ......................... 14

Choice of Cables .................................. 14

Care & Maintenance ............................. 15

OPTIONAL PS2 Phono module ........... 16

Optional Zena DAC module ................ 17

Remote Codes ..................................... 23

Warranty & Support .............................. 24

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

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 life-long 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 sound-staging, 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 abiding passion for music.

The Gryphon

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 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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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 Gryphon product

The Gryphon Head Amp 1985

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exists for one simple purpose: To bring the user closer in the never­ending 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 razor-sharp 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 have over the years used a
unique library original master tapes of recordings made during the
Golden Age of studio engineering from 1956-1976.

Unlike conventional commercial releases, the 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 multi-stage 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 um thick, Gryphon employs at least
70 um traces of the highest purity.

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 house of Gryphon, this is where all
Gryphon products are developed.
Manufacturing is in the hands of a select
number of highly specialized danish
companies.

We take the ”Made in Denmark” very
seriously.

Gryphon is located in beautiful tranquil
surroundings.

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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 sound-staging and imaging.

All Gryphon designs are realized with none or 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. Only the Gryphon Antileon
series of power amplifiers have a minimum amount of negative
feedback for improved linearity and bandwidth.

Gryphon research into the detrimental effects of magnetically induced
distorted (MID) has led to the elimination of magnetizable materials
wherever possible. To eliminate the effects of stray magnetic fields,
non-magnetic 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.

Unique, non-invasive protection circuitry offers reliable, fuss-free
protection without compromising signal purity and signal path
simplicity, with no conventional relays in the signal path to degrade
or compress sound.

The ground path has been carefully laid out in order to achieve
superior sonic performance with no loss of stability. Component
layout has been designed to ensure the shortest conceivable signal
path.

Section of exploded-view drawing

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Exhaustive investigation underlies the selection of every component
part and many original, proprietary components are custom-built
exclusively for Gryphon. Because what is left out is just as important
as what goes in, an absolute minimum of internal wiring is included.

By lavishing attention on each aspect of the circuit and fully
understanding the purpose and behavior of every single part of the
whole, our designers can optimize performance in each section,
before moving on to the next step. This ensures simplicity, a short
signal path and a unity of purpose with a single, well-defined
objective: musical purity.

In the interest of ultimate fidelity, tone controls, balance-controls and
other unnecessary components have been banished from the signal
path.

Exterior Design

From the very beginning, every Gryphon product has offered
stunning audio performance, sumptuous styling and superb user­friendliness, catering to the needs of the discerning audiophile who
demands musicality, convenience and aesthetics, all without
compromise.

In every Gryphon product, form follows function in a unique synthesis
of aesthetics and practicality. Gryphon stands for sophisticated
technology with a high standard of industrial finish that also
incorporates the best of handcraftsmanship.

The peerless finish, build quality, ergonomics and pride of ownership
that contribute to the totality of the Gryphon concept can only be fully
understood and appreciated up close and in person.

Rasmussen’s background in fine arts and industrial design gives

every Gryphon product a distinctive, luxuriant finish which arises
organically out of the audio circuit design and the user interface for a
truly unique integration of form and function.

Close-up detail of the Zena front/top

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Manufacture and Assembly

At our laboratories and manufacturing facilities in Denmark, we
maintain full control over every aspect of development and
production, and the members of our conscientious staff diligently
follow each Gryphon model from initial concept to early prototype,
through to final quality control.

Printed circuit boards are assembled by a supplier of precision
military and medical equipment with strict standards of quality control
and pre-inspection of components. Chassis parts are manufactured
by a specialist chosen solely for the outstanding quality of
workmanship. In every aspect of every Gryphon product, the same
stringent standards of excellence apply.

Each unit is individually tested, after a 48-hour burn-in sequence,
each product is undergoing both electronically and audio
performance tests again.

Placement:

Do not place the Zena on or near any source of heat such as power
amplifiers. Do not place any object on the top covering the ventilation
holes of the Zena. Do not place the Zena in an enclosed space such
as a cabinet unless ample ventilation is provided. If these guidelines
are not observed, overheating may result.

Mains Switch:

To power your Zena fully ON/OFF use the main switch. The switch is
located in the bottom on the right side just beneath the acrylic front
panel.

AC Voltage

Your Gryphon unit is especially made for the AC voltage of the
country to which it has been shipped. If the voltage has been
changed, the warranty is void and the product may be unsafe or
malfunction.

Correct AC polarity contributes greatly to optimum performance. If
you are not using a three-pin, non-reversible power plug, please
experiment with the orientation of the plug for optimum performance.

The main ON/OFF switch on the
Zena is placed on the bottom right
side of the unit near the front.

If the blue LED to the left of the
ON/STD symbol is flashing 3 times
in STB mode, it indicates wrong
/defective AC mains voltage.

SAFETY
INSTRUCTIONS