“Let me express my appreciation of your products by telling you the following story: Some time ago, I’ve decided to replace my old integrated amplifier of Japanese breed by a new one.

Luckily I found a shop who was willing to play along and let me evaluate all the equipment I wanted at my home. So – I began with some well known american products, integrated, pre & power amps, monoblocks, and so on. The improvement in sound quality over my old system were simply dramatic – I rediscovered my CD collection and with a slight sadness I realized what I’ve been missing on enjoyment all those years.

One day in the shop (I’ve spent lots of times there..) a piece of equipment cought my attention: it was a Gryphon Bel Canto preAmp. At that time, the name of Gryphon did not mean much to me apart of a slight reminiscence of Greek mythology. The striking beauty, the sheer elegance, and the “purist” design (what a great design it is, though!) awakened my interest. I asked the shop owner, what kind of brand this was – and he replied simply “it’s a Gryphon, it’s the holy Grail of audio equipment” (he said it in French which added much to the elegance of his words..). The Bel Canto was one year old, looked brand new and the price asked was albeit higher than I originally decided to spend for my new system, but within reach. So – I took it home and listened to it. And did I listen to it! Yes, I bought it. In addition, the shop had two used Gryphon monoblocks (DM100) coming in, which I absolutely wanted to try out at home.

After two weeks waiting, they were there, ready for me to try them at home. It was then I realized what Gryphon audio equipment does to the ear: with the other equipment (some good names) the sound was great, differences among the different brands were noticeable, but all had their qualities. The pleasure of listening to music was there, with the best, it solicited me to sing along with the artists. Then I listened to Gryphon (same source, same cables, same speakers as with all the rest), and I stopped singing along – I just listened, and I listened in awe. I listened not only with my ears, but with my eyes (staging), my skin (goosebumps), my heart (emotion). This is what LISTENING to music is all about; if I want to, I can still sing along, but the pleasure if simply listening to music is unequalled by any other equipment I have tried out. Needless to say, I bought the monoblocks as well, I have rearranged my living room (it looks now like an audiophile’s living room), and I simply enjoy listening to music at home.

Congratulations to all of you for the creation of such fine audio equipment – I find the marriage between technical excellence and sheer beauty of the design of Gryphon equipment a particularly successful one!”

– Pierre Fridez, Switzerland