Gryphon Commander Preamplifier with Commander PSU

Commander preamp with Commander PSU

How Gryphon built the perfect preamp

Since the company was founded almost 40 years ago, the philosophy of Gryphon Audio Designs from Denmark has remained constant: the relentless pursuit of sonic perfection without commercial compromises in design, construction or cost. All Gryphon products are designed with the same perfectionist spirit: uncompromising engineering at the service of music. The impeccable build quality is complemented by our original, extremely refined 'Nordic Noir' aesthetic and the absolute simplicity of operation.

The Commander is the culmination of four decades of Gryphon philosophy, design goals and engineering know-how: the most advanced preamp ever built. The starting point for the Commander was Gryphon's extraordinary Pandora, widely regarded as one of the finest preamps in the world. The Commander shares the dual mono layout of the Pandora layout with separate chassis for signal and power circuitry. Pandora's single-ended Class A input buffer has been retained as it offers the compelling advantage of routing the signal through the smallest possible number of electrical components - two transistors two transistors and a single resistor - resulting in an exceptionally transparent, fast, natural and open sound leads. Neither of the two preamplifiers works with global negative feedback.

Of course, the Commander offers great advances in many areas that are important to the sound. This includes a high-precision, extremely low-noise voltage reference in conjunction with the analog series regulators that feed the amplifier stages. The Commander's voltage reference has approximately 50 times less noise than the already excellent reference used in the Pandora! A pair of fully discrete, linear power supplies feed each channel's analog circuitry, while a third drives the digital control circuitry. Absolute mechanical separation and electrical isolation between digital and analogue sections.

The unmistakable finish of the Gryphon Commander and accompanying Apex power amp symbolizes the authority and vibrancy of their music reproduction, which sets new standards in such important aspects as timing, bass control, dynamic expansion and transparency. The Commander's power supply includes four custom-built toroidal transformers - two per stereo channel - designed for minimal noise. Two of these (one per channel) feed the dual mono preamp circuits, while the second pair is reserved for upcoming Gryphon source components, ensuring a future-proof upgrade path.

Extensive use of aluminum cabinet components provides a solid foundation for performance, resulting in an extremely strong, resonance-free enclosure that minimizes both mechanical and electrical damage and provides optimal working conditions for the Commander's delicate amplifier circuitry. Unique to the Commander is the layer-damped bottom plate - a 'sandwich' of three individual layers of Kerrock, bitumen and steel - which reduces resonance to an absolute minimum. All amplifier and analog power supply boards float above this base plate on specially designed isolators, providing a pristine, nearly vibration-free environment for the Commander's delicate circuitry. A quartet of Gryphon Atlas Spikes under each driver brings resonance control even closer to theoretical perfection.

Needless to say, every part of the Commander is of the finest quality: from the Charcroft Audio ultra-precision resistors used in the volume control, to the premium, oversized Mundorf MCap® ZN film capacitors, specified for local power supply decoupling, to the four custom built 36VA toroidal transformers - no expense has been spared to ensure a performance and build quality that defines the state of the art.

The Commander's 4.3” TFT capacitive touch display is housed in an extra thick 4mm thick glass window and has been designed to offer a highly intuitive user interface. Volume can be controlled using either the front display or the included Gryphon IR remote control. System customization is made easy with the extensive Commander menu control of features such as power-on level, left/right channel balance, maximum volume, source level adjustment, input naming, display brightness (including Auto Dim On/Off), dedicated AV pass-through for facilitates integration with home theater systems, output levels and green bias adjustment for use with Gryphon power amplifiers. A unique design feature is that the Commander's display changes with the listener's distance from the system; in this way, volume and other settings remain consistent regardless of the listening position.

With the Commander you are in control! Take command of the best audio system on earth: only from Gryphon.

Technical features

Features and Specifications Commander Preamplifier and PSU

• Exterior design by Flemming E Rasmussen
• Electronics design by Tom Møller
• True dual mono configuration
• Zero negative global feedback
• Microprocessor-controlled 85-step relay, volume attenuator featuring Charcroft Z-Foil Audio ultra-precision resistors and ultra-low capacitance relays for best sonic performance.
• Super fast discrete Class A input buffer developed for best possible sonic performance.
• Fully discrete balanced dual differential Class A Line Stage circuitry followed by a very fast symmetrical current amplifying Class A stage
• DC servo coupling
• Premium massive Mundorf MCap® ZN capacitors used for local power supply decoupling.
  MCap® ZN's loss factor is ten times lower than of metallized Polypropylene-film capacitors. Additionally, the mass inertia of the tin foil prevents oscillations in the benefit of transparency and spatial recreation.
• 4-layer printed circuit boards with pure copper traces up to 70my thickness
• Minimal internal wiring
• Four separate custom made 36VA toroidal transformers, two for each channel
• Massive power supply capacitor bank for each channel
• Separate linear power supply for both digital and individual left/right channel analog circuits
• Fully regulated extremely low noise power supply for all voltage amplifying stages
• Local shunt regulators which ensure low noise over a large frequency bandwidth
• Commander Power Supply chassis with additional DC voltage outputs for future external Gryphon sources.
• Gold-plated Neutrik XLR sockets for four balanced (Source) inputs and two (Main) outputs
• Gold-plated Gryphon RCA phono sockets with Teflon insulation for 2 (Source) inputs, one Tape output and one Single-Ended Preamp (Main) output
• Fixed-level AV throughput bypasses volume circuitry for ultimate integration with surround systems
• Adjustable channel balance, source level matching, start-up volume and maximum volume level
• 12VDC link In/Out for remote power On/Off control
• Green Bias control for Gryphon Power Amplifiers
• Large 4.3” TFT capacitive touch information screen for intuitive control, presented in 4mm glass
• Firmware upgrades easily via USB stick through rear panel
• Separate mechanical chassis for power supply and amplifier circuits
• Decoupled Kerrock™, bitumen and steel sandwich “Contstrained Layer” chassis bottom isolates and damps sensitive amplifier and power supply Printed Circuit Boards. Prevents smearing of the fine audio details.
• Standby power consumption = 0.5W
• Designed and built in Denmark

Specs:

• Input Impedance, balanced: 18KO
• Input Impedance, single ended: 12KO
• Output impedance: 7O
• Bandwidth (-3dB): 0.1Hz to 1.5MHz
• Gain: +18dB
• THD + N: 0.003% @ 1kHz and BW 10Hz – 30KHz, balanced output
• Total Power Supply Capacity: 2 x 90,000uF
• Power consumption: = 0.5W (standby), 90W (idle)
• Dimensions Preamp unit, WxHxD: 48×23.6×45.5 cm, net unit weight. 30.5kg
• Dimensions PSU unit, WxHxD: 48×23.6×44 cm, net unit weight. 38.2kg

MENU controlled functions:

• volume
• Change max level
• Change start level
• Balance, Left/Right. (6dB in 1dB steps)
• Output level: “Normal” or “-6dB”
• Display Intensity: (100%-75%-50%-25%, Auto Dim and Auto OFF)
• Green bias setup
• Infrared source (Front or Rear Panel)
• Input level match
• Input Naming
• Dedicate Input 4 (XLR) or input 5 (RCA) to Volume-Bypass AV-input
• RestoreSettings