Mr Spock
demokratischer - sektor
- Μηνύματα
- 19.084
- Reaction score
- 53.831
Gryphon Audio Designs' new Ethos —pronounced EE-toss by its Danish manufacturers—is marketed as a CD player and digital-to-analog converter. It's decidedly au courant in that it includes two 32-bit/768kHz ES9038PRO Sabre DAC chips—one for each channel—with each holding eight individual DAC chips; offers optional upsampling to either 24/384 PCM or DSD128; and decodes up to 32/384 PCM and quadruple DSD (DSD512) via its USB input, or up to 24/192 (and no DSD) via AES/EBU or S/PDIF. It does not decode MQA or the high-resolution layer of an SACD disc, and it has no Ethernet port. Aspects of its styling are eye-catching and resolutely retro: Its strikingly lit, top-loading disc mechanism resembles an LP platter, access to which is gained by lifting a tonearm-like handle. The gold-plated puck that holds the CD in place (as on most or all toploaders) evokes nothing so much as a CD record weight.
Lest I come across as a perpetually smiling Girl Scout cookie salesperson, whose innate optimism could convince a diehard nutritionist that sugar and white flour are health foods, rest assured that the antiglare tint on my plastic lenses is yellow rather than rose. Regardless, my response to the sound of the Gryphon Ethos CD player and digital-to-analog converter requires more smileys and flowery GIFs than this space can reproduce. The Ethos is one open, marvelously detailed, and fresh-sounding unit that makes listening to music an absolute joy
Filter 1, wideband spectrum of white noise at –4dBFS (left channel red, right magenta) and 19.1kHz tone at 0dBFS (left blue, right cyan), with CD data (20dB/vertical div.).
spectrum with noise and spuriae of dithered 1kHz tone at –90dBFS with 24-bit data (left channel blue, right red) and 16-bit data (left cyan, right magenta) (20dB/vertical div.).
Description: Single-box CD player and D/A processor with user-selectable filters and upsampling. Digital inputs: 1 USB B, 1 AES/EBU (XLR), 1 S/PDIF (BNC). Analog outputs: 1 pair single- ended (RCA), 1 pair balanced (XLR). Digital output: 1 AES/EBU (XLR). Formats/sample rates supported: PCM to 32- bit/44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192, 352.8, and 384 kHz. DSD via USB: DSD64, 128, 256, and 512. BNC and XLR inputs limited to 24/192). Frequency range: CD mode: 10Hz–20kHz; DAC mode: 10–96kHz, depending upon sample rate. Output voltage: 1V or 2V single-ended, 2V or 4V balanced. Output impedance: 7.5 ohms single-ended, 15 ohms balanced. THD+N (20Hz–20kHz B-weighted): <0.003% at –6dBFS, <0.01% at 0dBFS.
Dimensions: 18.9" (480mm) W × 6.93" (176mm) H × 17.8" (453mm) D. Weight: 30.13lb (13.7kg).
Finishes: Brushed anodized aluminum and black polished acrylic.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: 0110046 (listening), 0110009 (measuring).
Gryphon Ethos CD player-D/A processor | Stereophile.com
What kind of creature is this? Gryphon Audio Designs' new Ethos ($39,000)—pronounced EE-toss by its Danish manufacturers—is marketed as a CD player and digital-to-analog converter. It's decidedly au courant in that it includes two 32-bit/768kHz ES9038PRO Sabre DAC chips—one for each channel—with...
