Gryphon Ethos
“BEAUTY AND THE BEST”
Gryphon believes that audio should be as pleasing to the ear as to the eye, as beautiful to behold as it is to hear. The culmination of this philosophy is Ethos CD. Unique in the world of High-End consumer electronics, Ethos is a genuine “Audio Artwork” that enhances the opulence of luxury living spaces. Handcrafted from precision-milled aluminum and acrylic, Ethos’ delta-shaped chassis with arched aluminum CD lid has been praised by countless critics as “The Most Beautiful Audio Component Ever Made.”
Ethos’ internals are equally remarkable: from the selection of the finest CD Transport mechanism available, to the specification of the most advanced Digital-to-Analog Converters and Digital Filters, to the creation of discrete, monaural power supplies for every active circuit, Ethos CD is actually two State-of-the-Art components sharing a single chassis, designed to be the ultimate CD Player as well as a world-class DAC.
FEATURES
- Exterior design by Flemming E. Rasmussen
- Electronics design by Tom Møller
- Exclusive, CD-only CD-Pro8 transport with all-metal chassis
- Extensive mechanical decoupling of the CD transport
- Dedicated ESS SABRE ES9038PRO 32-bit D/A converter for each channel
- Each ES9038Pro incorporates eight individual D/A converters in Dual Differential coupling for optimal performance
- User-selectable, 7 different PCM and 3 DSD digital roll-off filters
- User-selectable, asynchronous PCM sample rate conversion to 384kHz and PCM to DSD conversion to DSD128.
- Temperature-compensated, ultra-low jitter crystal oscillators with better than 5 parts per million accuracy
- USB input compatible with following audio formats via PC/MAC: PCM: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192, 352.8 and 384 kHz, up to 32 bits DSD via USB: DSD64 (up to 3.072 MHz), DSD128 (up to 6.144 MHz), DSD256 (up to 12.288 MHz) and DSD512 (up to 24.576 MHz)
- No USB driver required for LINUX or MAC OSX
- USB driver available for Windows
- Super-Capacitor (12.5 Farad!) power supply for USB module – for true battery source
- Digital BNC and XLR inputs compatible with PCM: 22.05, 24, 32, 44.1, 48, 64, 88.2, 96, 176.4 and 192 kHz, up to 24 bits
- Balanced 110 Ohm XLR AES/EBU digital input
- Single-ended 75 Ohm BNC S/PDIF digital input
- Balanced 110 Ohm XLR AES/EBU digital output from CD transport
- Galvanic isolation of all digital BNC and XLR inputs and outputs for minimal jitter
- Comprehensive noise regulation of all digital circuits
- Modular digital audio sections for possible future upgrades
- True Class A, fully discrete analogue circuitry with zero negative feedback
- First-order PCM analogue filters and user selectable second-order DSD analogue filter with silvered Mica capacitors
- Analogue output stages with low noise +/- 23 VDC regulated voltage supplies for low THD and noise suppression
- Custom-built 32 VA toroidal transformer for each analogue channel
- 20,000 microFarad power capacitor banks for each analogue channel
- True Dual Mono analogue and DAC configuration
- Balanced XLR analogue outputs and single-ended phono outputs
- Ultra-short signal path with minimal internal wiring
- Four-layer 70 mm thick copper trace PCB’s
- Vacuum Fluorescent Display with variable illumination
- Personalised naming of each input
- Solid aluminium top plate
- Gold-plated CD clamp
- Polished acrylic base
- Brushed, aluminium arm
- Side-mounted heatsinks
- Gryphon designed Atlas adjustable feet
- Constrained layer damping vibration control
- CD well with LED lighting
- Automatic standby mode with user-selectable interval
- Standby power consumption less than 0.5W in accordance with EU regulations
- 12V link in
- Infrared remote control
- EU CE approval
- Designed and built in Denmark