Gryphon Trident II - Manual (Page 18)

Most audiophiles understand that getting the bass exactly "right" is usually
the single greatest challenge in setting up a speaker system.
Especially at the bottom end of the audio spectrum, room interaction has pro-
found impact and the desired balance is extremely difficult to achieve.
Speakers with dual sets of input terminals invite people to experiment with
bi-wiring using different cables for each frequency range or with bi-amping
using special bass amps.
Gryphon actually coined the expression "vertical bi-amping" way back in the
day, suggesting the use of two identical stereo amplifiers, one for each spea-
ker, rather than traditional horizontal bi-amping, where one stereo amp hand-
les left and right upper/mid frequencies, while a second amp, often of a
different power rating and brand, handles left and right bass.
However, in many of the old school systems such as the big infinity´s, the
choice was often a favourite tube amplifier for the upper/mid and a big and
bold solid state amplifier for the bass, because of the widespread notion that
power was all that mattered in this application. To a surprisingly large extent,
that misconception lives on today.
Specialist Bass Amplification
When a manufacturer designs an amplifier, it is for an existence where it will
face all kinds of speaker loads and ideally drive them all equally well. Since
speaker systems are very, very different to drive (sensitivity, impedance,
phase, tonality) such an amplifier must be universally compatible. Rather than
being a dedicated specialist, it must offer "one size fits all" functionality. And,
naturally, it must be at its best from the very highest frequencies to the very
lowest.
Now, imagine instead designing an amplifier that is conceived and born with
a single purpose in life - to drive one specific speaker and never anything
else. It will also be required only to give its best within a very narrowly defi-
ned frequency band. This is the specialist amplifier at its ultimate extreme
and, when it is properly executed, any "normal" amplifier will inevitably fall
short in comparison.
Because this amplifier is integrated in the "system" from its conception, it can
also offer highly desirable features such as remote adjustment of bass level
from the listening position, low and high cut filters and a less known, but eq-
ually valuable feature: user-selectable bass system Q, an extremely important
factor as matching system Q to the listening room’s own Q is the gateway to
superior bass performance.
We all know the frustrations of struggling to control the bass by moving the
speakers around the room to get the best bass performance. Unfortunately,
that position often also provides the poorest soundstage or a less coherent
tonal balance.
Gryphon has always been a firm believer in smaller bass drivers with bigger
"motors" (built to Gryphons specs) as vastly superior to the traditional large
bass drivers that often are slow to start and slow to stop, resulting in "over-
hang" or an area where the driver is doing something other than what it is in-
structed to do by the amp. To ensure that the cone surface area is sufficient to
generate the appropriate quantity and quality of deep bass, multiple bass dri-
vers are employed.
With Gryphon’s special, (fully analogue) bass amplifier, capable of delivering
1,000 Watts continuously to the drivers, the bass drivers are held in an iron
grip at all times. This system responds with such exceptional speed that con-
ventional bass systems appear sluggish and "wet" in comparison.