Gryphon Zena Preamplifier

Gryphon Zena preamp

Now, on its long-awaited debut, the Gryphon Zena True Dual Mono preamp is reaping the rewards of the significant advances made in the evolution of the state-of-the-art Gryphon Mirage.

The Zena preamplifier is based on an exclusive, fully discrete, DC-coupled Class A topology with no global negative feedback and with an extended frequency bandwidth of 1MHz, resulting in high slew rates, extreme transient fidelity and a zero-height phase shift for correct focusing with fine micro-detail in the area.

The Gryphon Zena replaces the Athena's ball-bearing volume wheel with touch-sensitive up/down buttons to create a volume attenuator consisting of 43 discrete steps in 2dB increments, with no more than two resistors in the signal path at any one time volume controls are located.

The Zena's numerous component upgrades include an ultra-precise array of SMD metal foil resistors and hermetically sealed, gold-plated, ultra-low capacitance Pickering-Reed relays.

Equally crucially, the Zena volume attenuator is fully balanced without converting the signal from the XLR inputs to an unbalanced signal prior to attenuation, as was the case with the Athena. This simplification of the Zena signal path represents a major step forward in sound quality.

The Zena uses shunt regulators in the power supplies for the volume attenuator's active circuits to ensure a DC power supply with extremely low output impedance over a wide frequency band and optimal noise rejection.

To allow use in a surround system without degrading the Gryphon Zena's stereo performance, the preamp now has an enhanced AV pass-through feature, allowing either input 2 (XLR) or input 3 (phono) to be 0dB AV pass-through can be configured to allow ideal integration into the owner's multi-channel installation.

The Zena uses Wima polypropylene capacitors across the electrolytic capacitors in the series regulated power supplies and in parallel across the aluminum organic polymer capacitors in the shunt regulated power supplies of the volume attenuator circuit. In the analog power supplies, Schottky barrier diodes with low Von voltage are used.

There is no internal wiring, the only wired exceptions being a short ground lead, the display ribbons and the AC wiring, which is routed in a shielded channel from the rear IEC socket to the power switch to minimize 50/60 Hz interference.

Like the top-of-the-line Gryphon Pandora preamp, the Zena dispenses with tone controls, balance knobs, polarity inversion, headphone jacks, mono switches and other superfluous circuitry to keep cross-channel and signal path discoloration to an absolute minimum, delivering the ultimate clock fidelity demanded by British audiophiles referred to as PRaT, which is more politely referred to as Pace, Rhythm and Timing.

A flawless, minimalist Scandinavian industrial design in various shades of black combined with a sleek user interface and all the features a serious 21st century music lover could ask for.

The Zena also offers 12V DC input and output for improved system control of powering the system on and off.

For the ideal suppression of vibrations and resonances, the solid Zena housing rests on specially developed cylindrical feet on the front and two pointed cones on the back.

From the minimalist front panel, setup is controlled via a menu displayed via a dimmable, graphical, green/blue glowing touch-sensitive panel with simple, responsive operation.

Microprocessor controlled, fully adjustable menu items include input naming up to 8 characters, maximum level, start level, input level adjustment by up to 8dB, AV throughput, display brightness (100%, 75% , 50%, 25%, Off), the default recovery, and the Gryphon Green Bias.

Green Bias

When connected to a Green Bias enabled Gryphon power amplifier via Gryphon's proprietary Green Bias Link, the Gryphon Zena preamplifier can control the available Class A power output, reducing power consumption and keeping the amplifier slightly cooler during less critical listening periods running. This feature adjusts the amplifier's bias in response 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.

No slave to convention, the Gryphon Zena remote is a design exercise in understated elegance: a long, square-section aluminum body with a black satin finish. A built-in kickstand at one end lifts and tilts the remote so it faces the user. At the other end is the Gryphon logo in white. The idiosyncratic but practical device with its responsive aluminum keys is a pleasure for the user.

Modular options

The Gryphon Zena is Gryphon's first preamplifier to offer the option of installing either a phono stage or a DAC module at initial purchase or at a later date. If your system consists of both analogue and digital sources, the DAC module can be installed and the Gryphon Sonett phono stage can be purchased as a standalone supplement.

Phono Stage Module

The optional PS2-S and PS2 Phonostage Modules for incorporation into the Gryphon Zena or Diablo amplifier series are our ambitious effort to offer much of the performance of the state-of-the-art Gryphon Legato Legacy phonostage at a more affordable price. Haute Fidelité (France) praised the Phonostage module for 'one of the best defined vinyl renditions we have ever experienced in our listening room.'

DAC module

The Gryphon DAC module, which can be optionally installed in the Zena preamplifier, is based on the highly acclaimed Gryphon Kalliope D/A converter with the renowned ESS Saber ES9018 chipset. Critics around the world have praised the groundbreaking design and performance of the Kalliope:

'Astounding realism and absolutely analogue aura. A complete success!' - Haute Fidelite, France

'It's hard for me to imagine a more musically accurate DAC on the market today.' - Enjoythemusic.com, USA

The module features asynchronous USB, AES/EBU, optical and two coaxial S/PDIF connectors. The USB input accepts signals with resolutions up to 32-bit/384kHz PCM and DSD512; the other inputs are limited to 24/192 PCM signals. Gryphon's DAC module allows activation of selectable PCM and DSD filters via the preamp's menu system. On the PCM side, slow roll-off (short group delay) and sharp roll-off (long group delay) digital filters are available, while for DSD a first-order analog filter can be bypassed or set to 50, 60, or 70 kHz ( 50 kHz is the default).

The Gryphon Zena listening experience

The Gryphon Zena preamp combines succinctness, neutrality and total transparency, allowing it to reveal any change from auxiliary equipment throughout the signal path. The placement of instruments and voices in all three dimensions is stunning, with clear illumination of even the farthest corners of the soundstage.

Sophisticated harmonic brilliance and weight, sharp picture definition, powerful ambient reproduction and realistic transient response are just a few of the many exceptional advantages that Gryphon engineers employed in the development of the Gryphon Zena preamplifier.