Antileon Evo Stereo

The Gryphon Antileon EVO Stereo is a high-end Class A stereo power amplifier designed to control demanding loudspeakers through substantial current delivery and independently specified power supplies. The Antileon Signature and the original Antileon established the series in High End audio, and the Antileon EVO continues that development in stereo and single-channel configurations.

Amplifier power is the mathematical product of voltage and current, with wattage calculated as voltage in volts multiplied by current in amperes. Two amplifiers with different combinations of voltage and current can therefore produce the same published wattage, although their ability to generate high instantaneous current has a direct bearing on loudspeaker control and audible performance.

The Gryphon Antileon EVO is a true high-current design with high peak-to-peak current capability. This allows it to work with reactive loudspeaker loads and gives the loudspeaker the current required to operate properly, including demanding designs with low sensitivity, low impedance and large phase angles.

The amplifier uses pure Class A bias, with full power available instantaneously at all times, regardless of the load. This approach requires heavy transformers, high electrical consumption, substantial heatsinks, considerable heat dissipation, and costly components and manufacturing. The power supply uses large transformers and banks of high-current capacitors to provide the electrical reservoir that becomes the audio signal. Heavily regulated, stiff supply voltages and high current capability are used to support amplifier control, speed, musical clarity and resolution.

The Antileon EVO follows the high-power Class A approach rather than newer, more efficient topologies intended to reduce weight, size and manufacturing costs. Copper and steel costs have increased, placing pressure on the size of transformers and capacitor banks used in amplifiers. The design retains these substantial components instead of reducing their capacity to lower raw material costs.

Gryphon also offers the Antileon EVO as a single-channel monoblock. Unlike a stereo amplifier converted to mono by bridging its 2 channels, the Antileon EVO monoblock uses parallel coupling rather than series coupling. This halves distortion, doubles damping factor, halves output impedance and doubles current capability, allowing control of loudspeaker loads as low as 1 Ohm.

In the monoblock configuration, 2 physically independent audio channels occupy separate chassis, removing interaction and interference between the channels. The result is infinite separation and the holographic imaging associated with Gryphon amplifiers. Separate power supplies on independent chassis ensure that an extreme instantaneous current demand in 1 channel has no effect on the other.

The monoblock also doubles transformer capacity and the number of transistors and power capacitors operating in each channel. High current remains available on demand, supporting consistent performance at realistic concert hall levels and with difficult loudspeaker loads.