Gryphon Pandora Refernce Preamplifier

GRYPHON

PANDORA REFERENCE PREAMP

In Greek mythology, Pandora was created at the behest of Zeus as the first woman on earth. Her name means 'the all-gifted' because the gods endowed her with numerous precious talents. From Aphrodite she received beauty, divine grace, charm and harmony, from Apollo the gift of music, from Hermes the power of subtle persuasion, from Athena the soul, and from the Graces love, tenderness, beauty, goodness, pleasure, creativity, artistry and Sensuality.

Gryphon has captured all of these virtues in the Pandora four-chassis preamplifier, with the left and right channels housed in separate chassis and the audio signal protected from interference by dedicated dual-mono power supplies in individual chassis.

The dual mono aspect of the design is taken to the extreme with separate detachable power cords and separate power switches for each channel.

Thanks to creative engineering and unrestricted freedom of design and execution, the Gryphon Pandora is able to reveal more of the recorded source than any other preamp. Only the best components have been used, selected for both technical and tonal considerations, including Japanese Takman resistors and Charcroft Z-Foil resistors. The signal transmission between the preamplifier and power amplifier takes place in fully balanced mode, resulting in low signal losses and minimal distortion.

Also introduced with the Pandora is a newly designed single-ended Class A input buffer stage, consisting of just two transistors and a single resistor to preserve the transparency, speed and openness of the audio signal.

Conceptually, a preamp has two main functions: traffic control and volume control. The Gryphon Pandora dispenses with conventional tone controls, balance controls, mono switches and other superfluous circuitry to reduce coloration between channels and in the signal path to an absolute minimum.

In good condition, contacts in the signal path have little impact on sound quality, but this condition rarely lasts long. To avoid signal loss through oxidation, all switches, relays and the volume control are equipped with gold-plated contact surfaces. The source selection relays (three balanced inputs, two unbalanced, one tape loop) are also hermetically sealed to prevent contamination of the contact surfaces. The relays ensure the shortest possible signal path and are subject to only minor wear.

Perfect adjustment

The Gryphon Pandora volume control is a microprocessor-controlled 85-step attenuator that allows for extremely precise adjustment of the desired listening level. Selected resistors and relays ensure a long service life and perfect adjustment at all levels. The volume control on the front is a heavy wheel with double ball bearings for a smooth operation.

Extraordinary ease of use

The Gryphon Pandora's exterior simplicity hides a multitude of custom settings that are easily accessible without cluttering the front panel. The Gryphon Pandora is equipped with a microprocessor controlled menu of useful features that provide an exceptional level of convenience and ease of use without adversely affecting audio performance: input naming, maximum level adjustment, start level adjustment, left/right channel balance (6dB in 1 dB increments), input level adjustment, fixed level AV throughput, display brightness (100%, 75%, 50%, 25%, off), green bias adjustment, and restore default settings.

Green Bias

When the Gryphon Pandora is connected to a Green Bias enabled Gryphon amplifier via Gryphon's proprietary Green Bias Link, the Gryphon Pandora can control the available Class A output power, reducing power consumption and enabling the amplifier to operate in less critical applications runs a little cooler. This feature controls the amp's bias in relation to the preamp's volume control, providing just the right amount of Class A power when you need it, with massive reserves of power immediately available.

Absolute signal purity

With two 90,000 microFarad capacitor banks, the Gryphon Pandora generates enough power to drive many integrated amplifiers or power amplifiers. The overkill power supply ensures rock-solid control, headroom and signal purity in all imaginable conditions. In addition, the Pandora power supply has outputs for driving external components such as the Gryphon Legato Heritage phono stage, both as a standalone unit and as modules built into the Pandora.

Beyond compromise

For a product that would never see the light of day, the Gryphon Pandora has received exceptional attention to detail and innovation. Pandora is a unique example of the performance of source components, speakers and interconnect cables.

Gryphon Pandora offers a tonally natural musical presence, a rich, varied palette grounded with appropriate weight and body, and rendered with precise scale in the original acoustic space.

Technical specifications

- Exterior design by Flemming E. Rasmussen

- Electronic design by Tom Møller

- No negative feedback

- True dual mono configuration

- Fully discrete DC-coupled Class A circuit topology

- Microprocessor-controlled 43-stage, fully balanced relay volume attenuator for best sonic performance based on a minimalist contingent of ultra-precision resistors

- Discrete, unbalanced, high-speed Class A input buffer for the best possible sonic performance

- Optional PCM/DSD DAC module with a USB, 2 x SPDIF, 1 AES and 1 optical input. PCM up to Fs = 384kHZ, DSD up to DSD512

- Optional MM/MC Gryphon PS2 phono stage module based on the legendary Gryphon Legato phono stage

- Local shunt controls for optimal noise reduction

- Input level adjustment to avoid abrupt volume changes

- Ultra short signal path

- Minimal internal wiring

- Gold-plated Neutrik XLR connectors for two balanced sources and 1 output