Gryphon Apex Mono Power Amplifier

Apex Mono

Gryphon has always been committed to achieving the highest possible audio performance - in terms of musicality, transparency and realism. With Apex Mono and Apex Stereo, Gryphon Audio Designs takes pure Class A power amplification a giant leap beyond what was previously thought possible. Gryphon Apex advances everyone in the never-ending quest for a more natural and compelling musical illusion.

Years of experience in the development of Antileon EVO and Mephisto as well as continuous research in the areas of circuit topology, component quality and reliability culminated in the Apex: the new flagship of the Gryphon Audio Designs brand.

To go into detail...

The material specifications of the Apex illustrate its cost-effective design: The Apex Mono features 128 high-current bipolar output transistors (64 per chassis), 2,080,000 µF (>2 farad) capacitor banks (>1 farad per chassis), four separate custom-built 2,000VA Toroidal transformers (two per chassis) all housed in a superbly finished, stratified case. The Apex Stereo tips the scales at almost 450 pounds, while a pair of Apex Mono tips the scales at 900 pounds!

With the enormous reserves of power at their fingertips at all times, the Gryphon Apex amplifiers simply don't 'see' the speaker; in other words, the Apex's virtually unlimited power and current reservoir makes it immune to loudspeaker characteristics. No speaker load, no matter how reactive, can affect the performance of the Apex. This means that no matter what speaker you choose, the Apex will always deliver its ultimate sound quality. Unlike other high-performance amplifiers, Gryphon's uncompromising Class A topology offers this tremendous power combined with ultimate sophistication and delicacy in musical presentation.

It is Gryphon's fundamental philosophy that all electronics in the playback chain should strive for neutrality, neither adding nor subtracting from the recording, no matter how 'pleasant' such distortion may be. By its nature, the Gryphon Apex is a product for the lucky few who can afford such a statement: a product for the connoisseurs seeking absolute purity in the reproduction of music.

In short, the Apex was created for music lovers whose respect for the musicians, producers and mastering engineers inspires them to seek the truth contained in the original recording.

Performance is everything:

In the world of high-end audio amplification, that statement is literally true. With almost 1800 RMS watts into one ohm (mono), the Gryphon Apex is ready to handle even the most demanding speaker loads. The output section of the Apex uses bipolar output modules (128 per mono pair, 64 per stereo amplifier), which are not only characterized by their extreme reliability, but also by their unparalleled sonic performance. These transistors can deliver very high peak power per channel without overloading. Each transistor is individually bridged with ZN film capacitors.

Apex's driver section features a separate, optimized power supply powered by individual windings of custom-built toroidal transformers. Gryphon's unique and sophisticated mechanical design ensures optimal thermal tracking between drivers and output devices. This driver section has its own generous bank of the best capacitors available for the application.

Apex's power supply also uses capacitors specially selected for this design. No global feedback is used and DC coupling is done via a DC servo circuit. The internal wiring in the signal path has been reduced to an absolute minimum. Input wiring is Gryphon Vanta single crystal solid core silver/gold wire. The inputs are all balanced, while Gryphon-designed speaker terminals make their debut in the Apex.

The Gryphon Apex uses a fully independent transformer and linear power supply for the display and control circuits to prevent digital noise generated by these circuits from contaminating the amplifier circuits. The new and proprietary Gryphon speaker terminals can be used with bare wire, spade terminals, banana plugs, or any combination thereof.

Pure Class A

True Class A operation has always been a Gryphon hallmark. And why? Because no other circuit topology can match the sonic perfection of pure Class A operation. Unfortunately, true Class A operation is even rarer today than it was when the legendary DM100 was introduced in 1991. Growing consumer awareness has forced some manufacturers to make outrageous, unsubstantiated claims of Class A performance ratings that have more to do with marketing than to do with technology. There are a growing number of so-called 'new' Class A topologies that rely on automatic biasing and supposedly allow the amplifier to recognize when the bias should be increased to ensure consistent Class A performance!

To put it bluntly, you can't outsmart physics. There are no technical shortcuts when it comes to pure Class A, so Gryphon repeats without apology: TRUE, REAL CLASS A means heavy transformers, very large heatsinks, large quantities of expensive parts and costly assembly. While Gryphon welcomes and supports all efforts to conserve energy and global resources, research into achieving Class A performance from Class A/B topologies makes it clear that there simply is no substitute for the sheer magic of pure Class-A.

However, based on a thorough analysis of typical listening situations, Gryphon invented 'Green Bias' ('Green' represents less environmental impact). Green Bias offers REAL, PURE CLASS A with significantly lower power consumption than conventional solutions.

Green Bias in the new Gryphon Apex allows the user to choose the amount of Class A required to drive their speakers fully in Class A at any given time, taking into account factors such as speaker sensitivity, room size, musical Dynamics and the overall volume level are taken into account. Green Bias enhances programmable bias by giving Gryphons lucky system owners the ability to have the preamp automatically control the bias.

While Green Bias does not achieve the extremely low power consumption of Class A/B, or even the low power consumption of misleading 'auto-biasing' systems, it offers significantly lower power consumption without compromise. PURE CLASS A performance is guaranteed! Apex users who own older non-Green Bias Gryphon preamps can manually invoke the programmable bias system from the Apex front panel.

Eternal beauty

The Apex's beautiful 'Nordic Noir' cabinet is crafted from the finest materials available and features advanced damping technologies to optimize resonance, while the use of non-magnetic materials virtually eliminates electrical interference.

In every aspect of design and construction, the Apex is meant to be treasured for a lifetime. It's an amp that probably can't be surpassed in performance.

Technical features

Features, mono version:

• Exterior design by Flemming E Rasmussen
• Electronics design by Tom Møller
• Pure Dual Mono configuration
• Zero global negative feedback
• 128 very high current bipolar output transistors (64 per mono channel)
• 2,080,000 µF (>2 Farad) capacitor bank (1,040,000 µF per mono channel)
• Four separate, custom made 2000VA toroidal transformers (2 per mono channel)
• Extremely low capacitance Class A J-FET input buffer
• Balanced dual differential class A input circuitry followed by a very fast symmetrical voltage amplifying class A stage
• Fully regulated low noise power supply for all voltage amplifying stages
• DC servo coupling
• Frequency-independent damping factor
• Gryphon silver internal signal and power wiring
• Premium, massive Zn foil capacitors used for local power supply decoupling, with a loss factor ten times lower than of metallized Polypropylene-film capacitors.
• 4-layer up printed circuit boards with pure copper traces up to 105 um thick
• Two separate, custom made 2000VA toroidal transformers
• Individual, mechanically-decoupled left/right transformer castings
• Separate linear power supplies for both digital and analog circuits
• “Soft Start” turn-on prevents triggering of fuses or circuit breakers in home electrical systems
• One Gold-plated Neutrik XLR socket input signal pass-thru for each channel
• NEW Gryphon Gold-plated, Custom-built binding posts
• AC polarity indicator
• 12VDC link for remote power on and off
• Automatic Green Bias setting via Green Bias link or manual Low/Mid/High bias switch
• Firmware upgradeable via USB stick
• Non-intrusive protection system
• Standby power consumption < 0.5W
• Designed and manufactured in Denmark

Specifications, MONO version (one channel):

• 1 x 225W @ 8Ohm, 1 x 450W @ 4Ohm, 1 x 880W @ 2Ohm and 1 x 1690W @ 1Ohm at 115V/230V ac supply
• Output impedance: 0.010 ohms
• Bandwidth (-3dB): 0.3Hz to 330KHz
• Power Supply Capacitance: 1,040,000uF
• Gain: +31.0dB
• Input Impedance, balanced (20-20000Hz): 10KOhm

Dimension:

• 593mm X 371mm X 886mm (W x H x D), 202kg net., each Stereo or Mono cabinet.