Fried pork and potatoes

Founded in 1985, Gryphon Audio Designs is a high-end audio manufacturer located in Denmark. The internet tells me that the county’s national dish is something called Stegt flæsk med persillesovs og kartoffler, which is fried pork in a creamy parsley sauce and potatoes. But I digress.

Gryphon makes components, speakers, power products, stands, footers, and cables.  The components feature design features such as dual mono architecture, pure class A operation, wide bandwidth, and zero negative feedback.  AVDI, the local distributor here in the Philippines, sent to me for review the company’s PowerZone 3.20 AC power optimizer ($17,500/all prices USD). To give you an idea of this component’s mettle, it procures power from an AC wall receptacle via two power cords. Thus, included with the shipment were two of the company’s Vanta power cords ($7,000 each).

Rather than employ traditional filtering devices, the PowerZone models use something called HafnerTech modules. These modules, which have been developed by Romanian engineer Paul Hafner, contain proprietary conductors that are said to have extremely low vibration and resonance during electrical transmission. Hafner’s studies showed that signals passing through typical crystalline structures (like those found in typical conductors) generate internal turbulence, much like the flow of air over an uneven surface.

To counter any such turbulence, Hafner designed his conductors with the goal of optimizing them for what he states is extremely smooth electron movement. Hafner claims that the result is an AC circuit that has extremely low energy loss, heat, and noise. Gryphon seals these conductors in the HafnerTech modules, then connects them to AC outlets using 12-gauge, silver-plated OFC wire that’s surrounded by Teflon insulation. A star-grounding layout is said to reduce electromagnetic interference (EMI) and thus noise.

Each of the PowerZone 3.20’s two AC cords are connected to a dedicated HafnerTech module. The modules feed a combined total of four Furutech GTX-D duplexes, thus allowing the 3.20 to accommodate a total of eight power cords. Its total current capacity is 20A.

By using two HafnerTech modules, the PowerZone 3.20 allows amplifiers to be physically isolated from sources, thus allegedly reducing interference. The 3.20’s rugged chassis is also said to enhance its performance. It’s manufactured from thick layers of steel and aluminum and lined with a mechanical damping and decoupling compound that Gryphon calls SmartStack.

For those whose power needs are less substantial, Gryphon offers the PowerZone 3.10 ($14,000). Its total current capacity is 20A. It uses one AC power cord, and thus one HafnerTech module, to obtain power from the AC wall receptacle. Like the PowerZone 3.2, it features four Furutech AC duplexes and accommodates eight power cords.

I’ve got the power

I used the PowerZone 3.20 to power a system consisting of a dCS Rossini Apex Player and Master Clock, an Intel i7 NUC that serves as a Roon core, an Origin Live Voyager turntable, Gryphon Trident II loudspeakers, Essence mono amplifiers, and a Pandora preamplifier. The system is wired with mostly Tellurium Q cables and resides in an acoustically-treated room.

This audio system normally run off a PS Audio P20 mains regenerator, which is said to deliver up to 2,000W of AC power. Unlike passive conditioners, the P20 is alleged to rebuild the waveform without noise, fluctuations, and distortion. I purchased it after months of chasing a problem that grounding and upgrades didn’t solve. The sound shifted from day to day — sometimes dull, sometimes brittle — with a constant hum in the background. Eventually, I identified the issue: my home, which is located in a mixed-use commercial and residential neighborhood, shares a pole-mounted transformer with a nearby factory. Its machines apparently introduce noise and voltage swings on the power line, which the PS Audio P20 successfully addressed.

I mention my home AC power issues because they allow me to hear what mains conditioners can do under difficult circumstances and thus gain insights that might not be apparent in other home settings. Further, with the PS Audio P20 in place, the operation of my home’s AC circuit likely approximates that which are akin to that found in the average home.

Absolute power

To begin, I unplugged the PowerZone 3.20 and connected the system directly to the wall. The music sounded thin, flat, and grainy — symptoms common to poor mains power. Then I switched everything to the PowerZone, using the Gryphon Vanta power cords to plug it into the wall’s AC duplex. This improved things slightly, but the problems that remained made it clear the Gryphon won’t likely fix severe AC issues. Plugging everything back into the PS Audio P20 restored the system’s sound.

Curious to hear how the PowerZone might perform together with PS Audio P20, I plugged the entire system into the PowerZone 3.20, which I connected to the P20 using the Vanta power cords. The result was immediate. The noise floor dropped, small details emerged, and the sound gained smoothness, nuance, and energy.

Cueing up my CD rips on Roon, choral passages were more pleasing and intelligible. An example of this are the crescendos on “Stilla Natt” from Håkan Hagegård’s Aftonsång Och Julepsalm and “Kornet Har Sin Vila” from the Stockholm Cathedral Choir’s Now The Green Blade Riseth, which can sound harsh in some audio systems.

Faint details also stood out more with the PowerZone 3.20. Take for example, the subtle decay of the triangles in Bizet’s “Les Toreadors” from the 1979 album Carmen, Peer Gynt by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra (2005 Telarc SACD, DSD rip). Similarly exposed were the finer points of a subterranean rumble at the start of János Starker’s 1965 performance of Suite No. 1 in G Major, from Bach: Six Suites; Sonatas in G major and D major (2004 Decca SACD, DSD rip).

On vinyl, “Your Latest Trick” from Dire Straits’ 1985 record Brothers in Arms with MASTERDISK RL on the runout area, and "Deacon Blues" from Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab’s 1985 reissue of Steely Dan's 1977 album Aja sounded smoother and more relaxed with the PowerZone 3.20. And turning up the volume made the music feel even more immersive and immediate.

To ensure the changes I heard were real, I removed the PowerZone 3.20 and played those tracks again. Unsurprisingly, the improvements vanished. I repeated each setup and revisited the same recordings across multiple days to confirm the sonic differences that I heard.

Final thoughts

At US $17,500, the PowerZone 3.20 is clearly intended for finely tuned, high resolution systems. As with my fairly unique power situation, it won’t fix bad power. Also, it won’t turn modest components into something they aren’t. But in an otherwise very good system, it may expose subtleties that seasoned listeners would find rewarding. What the 3.20 does best is refine — not by making sweeping changes, but by revealing the final layers of detail and adding that last bit of magic.

I’ll miss having the PowerZone 3.20 in my system.  For a few unforgettable days, the music felt more alive, more immediate, and closer to me than ever. I’m sincerely grateful for the opportunity to spend time with it.

Product: Gryphon PowerZone 3.20 Power Optimizer

Price: $17,500 USD

Warranty: 5 years parts and labor

Dimensions: 486 mm (W) × 125 mm (H) × 285 mm (D)

Weight: 11.9 kg (26.2 lbs)

URL: https://gryphon-audio.dk/the-collection/power/powerzone-3/

Manufacturer

Gryphon Audio Designs

Ry, Denmark

www.gryphon-audio.dk 

Philippines Distributor/Local Dealer

Audio Visual Driver International

Mandaluyong City, Philippines

https://www.avdi.com.ph

Associated Equipment

• Digital Sources: dCS Rossini Apex Player and Master Clock, Roon server on Intel i7 NUC, Synology DS-1812+ NAS

• Analog Source: Origin Live Voyager turntable with Ikeda IT-407SS tonearm and ZYX Ultimate Astro cartridge, Origin Live Agile tonearm and DS Audio W3 optical cartridge with matching phono preamp of the W2

• Preamplification: Gryphon Pandora Preamplifier with the Gryphon Legato phono boards

• Amplification: Gryphon Essence Mono Amplifiers (pair)

• Loudspeakers: Gryphon Trident II with Gryphon Atlas spikes

• Power Conditioning: PS Audio P20 Mains Regenerator, plugged into an Oyaide R1 outlet

• Cables: Tellurium Q Silver Diamond XLR, RCA, and power cables, Tellurium Q Black Diamond speaker cables, Esprit Audio Lumina power cables, DIY power cable

Component Racks: Solidsteel HF-4, Gryphon StandArt

•  Listening Room: acoustically-treated