Athena 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. 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. Flemming E.
ibration tools.” Therefore, every 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. of the musical event, forcing us to work to a higher standard in our efforts to maintain the integrity of the original musical performance.
While the printed circuit boards in more conventional audio products utilize conductor tracks a mere 35 um thick, Gryphon employs at least 70 um traces of the highest purity. All Gryphon designs are realized with an absolute minimum of negative feedback, which when present in large amounts can actually increase TIM distortion. All Gryphon preamplifiers are designed with zero, or extremely low, negative feedback.
the whole, our designers can optimize performance in each section, before moving on to the next step. This ensures simplicity, a short signal path and a unity of purpose with a single, welldefined objective: musical purity. and provides crucial shielding from a polluted world of low and high-frequency radio waves, power-line radiation and other electrical interference. Meticulous attention to such issues makes a significant contribution to the relaxing, open and transparent Gryphon sound.
Rasmussen’s background in fine arts and industrial design gives every Gryphon product a distinctive, luxuriant finish which arises organically out of the audio circuit design and the user interface for a truly unique integration of form and function. before being subjected to Gryphon’s custom-developed transport simulator which simulates the inevitable shaking that a product will encounter in transit.
will continue to improve during the first 40 – 50 hours of normal use. After this period optimum performance will be reached approximately 45 minutes after turn-on. With the exception of Class A power amplifiers, we recommend leaving your Gryphon components powered up at all times. elsewhere in the system. Instead, any error should be corrected at the source, so that interconnects and loudspeaker cables can be selected solely on the basis of sonic neutrality.
ing this process. You might want to remove your wristwatch, rings or other jewellery before handling the preamplifier. Please keep the carton and all packing materials in a dry place for safe future transportation. Advise ALWAYS turn the preamplifier on, BEFORE turning on the power amplifier. ALWAYS turn the power amplifier off, BEFORE turning off the preamplifier.
Front panel and remote functions Menu-activated functions The level selected using the Volume wheel, position is shown numerically in the display. The Gryphon Athena incorporates several functions which are accessed via a Menu system. MUTE turns sound off without using the volume controls. To access the Menu, press Menu. MENU will appear in the display and the Athena will mute its output. CONTINUE will blink in the display. To enter the Menu, press Monitor.
and NAME INPUT will appear in the display. To exit the Menu, press an Input button so that EXIT blinks in the display, then press Monitor to return to normal playback and to the normal display. Any settings which you have changed are automatically stored in memory. 1.a. If you have choosen custom naming, the selected input number will appear in the second line, followed by a colon (:) and a cursor marking the first position in the 8-character name which you can create.
to the input, turn the volume wheel through the standard name list in the following order: selected maximum volume setting is now stored in memory. CHANGE MAX LEVEL will appear in the display. Press Menu to select the next menucontrolled function. CD – DVD – DSD – TUNER – TAPE – PHONO – DAT – MINIDISC – AUX Setting Start-Up Level When the name which you wish to assign to the input is displayed, press Monitor. The name is now stored in memory and will be displayed each time you select that input.
Input level Match Assigning Input 3 as a Dedicated AV Connection Within the level match menu you must choose the input that you wish to adjust. This is done with the up/down function. After you have selected your input you can increase the level in 1 dB steps from 0 dB to + 8dB. Default is 0dB on all inputs.
Monitor. WARNING! NO ATTENUATION will blink in the display for 5 seconds, after which you will be asked to confirm that you wish to configure Input 3 as a dedicated AV connection which bypasses the Athena volume control. ARE YOU SURE? will appear in the first line of the display. NO and YES will appear in the second line. NO will blink. Setting Display Brightness You can select and store in memory the desired level of brightness in the front-panel display.
Restoring Default Settings Monitor while CONTINUE is blinking. You can delete all of your custom Menu settings and return to the factory pre-set default settings. Doing so deletes all input names, sets Maximum Level at 50, sets Start Level at 00, sets Brightness at 100% and sets Input 3 as a normal audio input. When RESTORE SETTINGS appears in the display, press Monitor. RESTORE? appears in the first line of the display. NO and YES appear in the second line. NO will blink.
ing injuries to persons or property. To qualify, the enclosed warranty registration card must be filled out and returned to the manufacturer within 10 days of purchase. Warranty The Gryphon Athena is warranted against failures arising through faulty workmanship and materials for a period of 5 year from date of purchase. The warranty is not transferable. This warranty is only valid in the country where the product was purchased.
