Mephisto Owner´s Manual
Table of Contents: Introduction....................... The Gryphon....................... The Man.............................. Made in Denmark............... Musical Objectives.............. The Gryphon Master Tape Collection............................ Design Principles................ Exterior Design................... Manufacture and Assembly. 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 7 8 Using Your Gryphon......... AC Voltage.......................... Burn-In and Warm-Up.......... Balanced Connections........ Choice of Cables..
and concert hall dimensions are necessary components. Dynamics and an unambiguous sense of instrument location even in the loudest passages are also high priorities. To achieve these objectives, Gryphon products offer exceptional speed and agility along with seamless coherence in the time domain. Introduction Welcome to the global family of proud owners of fine audio components from Gryphon Audio Designs of Denmark.
Following the immediate success of the Gryphon brand, all import business was phased out in 1993, so that Rasmussen could dedicate his efforts entirely to Gryphon. The Man Gryphon Audio Designs is the brainchild of Flemming E. Rasmussen and the fulfillment of a lifelong dream to allow the purest essence of the live music experience to be recreated in the home environment. Made In Denmark Every product from Gryphon Audio Designs is designed and built in Denmark.
Gryphon product exists for one simple purpose: to bring the user closer in the never-ending quest for a more natural and convincing musical illusion. Design Principles With state of the art technical equipment and some of the finest minds in the audio engineering field at our disposal, the Gryphon brand name continues to define the highest audiophile standards of subjective and technical performance.
Beginning with our very first product, “The Head Amp” all Gryphon products have featured extremely wide frequency bandwidth, because the ability to reproduce ultra-sonic frequencies with no difficulty ensures linear phase across the audible frequency range. fiers apply zero or minimum negative feedback judiciously for improved linearity and bandwidth.
tone controls, balance controls and other unnecessary components have been banished from the signal path. and transparent Gryphon sound. Unique, non-invasive protection circuitry offers reliable, fuss-free protection without compromising signal purity and signal path simplicity, with no conventional relays in the signal path to degrade or compress sound.
of 40 round trips from Denmark to Australia before leaving the factory. Manufacture and Assembly At our laboratories and manufacturing facilities in Denmark, we maintain full control over every aspect of development and production, and the members of our conscientious staff diligently follow each Gryphon model from initial concept to early prototype, through to final quality control. AC Voltage Your Gryphon unit is especially made for the AC voltage of the country to which it has been shipped.
Balanced Connections Care and Maintenance All Gryphon products use the AES standard for balanced connections. 1. Ground 2. Positive 3. Negative We recommend the use of dedicated balanced cables. Avoid the use of adaptors as they degrade performance. Gryphon products are handcrafted by individuals who take great pride in the high level of fit and finish which we achieve. To maintain your Gryphon components in pristine condition, please follow these simple instructions.
Sonic excellence The Gryphon Mephisto The Mephisto impresses immediately with its ability to cruise effortlessly through even the most demanding musical passages, regardless of volume level. As a result of the constant high power reserves available at all times, the amplifier simply does not "see" the speaker, so the speaker's reactive load cannot degrade amplifier performance.
The Gryphon Mephisto utilizes a completely independent transformer and power supply for control circuits, effectively preventing digital noise generated by these circuits from reaching the amplifier circuits. Gryphon proprietary speaker terminals accept bare wire, spade lugs, banana connectors or any combination. Circuit Topology Power is the name of the game and the Mephisto is equipped to take on even the most vicius and nightmarish of speaker loads.
amplifier to be able to increase bias and stabilize thermally to instantaneously track the dynamics of the input, it would have to be able to predict what is going to happen next on the recording. Auto-biasing can by nature only respond to something that has already happened and the bias will rush up and down in a desperate attempt to follow the last note.
Watts pure Class A. This bias level will be maintained even when music is absent or when the amplifier or preamp is muted. If the user turns the volume control down below position 45, the Preamplifier will automatically instruct the amplifier to reduce bias to 50 watts of pure Class A. Bias L is selected manually from the front panel. To leave L bias you must select M or L bias on the front panel. If Green bias is activated, GB will be lit for 5 sec.
AC Power Installation Unpacking VERY IMPORTANT Before installation, you must ensure that sufficient current is available from you domestic AC power supply: Obviously, the purpose of packing materials in the transportation of heavy amplifiers is to protect the product on its perilous journey from manufacturer to proud owner. Unfortunately, in our experience this often results in sprained backs and bleeding fingers at the moment of truth: the uncrating og the beast.
AC Fuses AC Polarity Mephisto Fuseholder: 220-240v. 2x 5 AT 100-120v. 2x10 AT Do not run, thin, coiled, extension cords. The Mephisto is a true dual mono construction and we must stongly emphasize the importance of symmetrical AC power polarity for each channel. Asymmetrical AC polarity will seriously degrade soundstage recreation and other important aspects of the Mephisto performance. l. AC Power Cords Fuses - fuse holder placed just below display at front behind small heatsink.
Bias setting has no effect on overall power that remains unchanged,. the bias is only changing the portion of the power that runs in Class A 2. MUTE Use this function when changing speaker cables or interconnects without turning the amplifier off. listening conditions and speakers with normal sensitivity. In this setting 175 watts of Class A/B power is available. 3. CHECK This function allows you to check that all indicators are operational. The bias selector determinesthe degree of Class A operation.
L bias for idling, you must use the stand-by switch on the front panel. Remember, the Green bias system is not in the signal path and has only reference to the preamplifiers microprocess that is entirely outside the signalpath. The Mephisto responds to preprogrammed switching points at the volume control, based on our experience with most speakers. It is however, possible to lower the switching positions if you have efficient speakers or if you wish to play at 100% Class A even at low playback levels.
Mephisto will power down immediately: Normal operation can resume when the error condition is corrected. TURN-OFF PROCEDURE: 1. Turn off power amplifiers. 2. Turn off rest of the system. PLEASE ALWAYS TURN OFF OR MUTE THE POWER AMPLIFIER BEFORE CONNECTING OR DISCONNECTING ANY CABLES IN THE SYSTEM. OVERHEATING: When excessive heat is detected, the thermal sensor will react and the amplifier will go in standby mode. Normal operation can resume when the temperature is within safe operating limits.
ing: Left channel is overheating. secure air circulation around the unit. Start amplifier again after 5 min. Temp R. indicators are flashing: Right channel is overheating. See above. TROUBLESHOOTING If you need support you must contact the dealer where you purchased the unit. Requests for support directed to our service department will be forwarded to your dealer. We can not offer direct support.
it will void the warranty and most certainly only provide a diffence, not a real improvement of musical realism. We are fully aware of the fun of playing with AC conditioners, bricks, platforms, cables and so on. We appreciate much of it, but please listen to our intentions before you go ahead and if you do, do yourself (and us) the favor of now and then going back and listening to the "naked" design as it was intended.
