Just curious -- did you consider PASS INT-250? I have it with B&W 803D2s and like the sound. I'm planning on migrating to 802D3s, so will be interested in hearing about what you eventually settle upon. Diablo 300 and PA 3100 HV would be contenders if I were change my amp.

What are owners finding to be the minimum distance that the rear of the speaker must be from the front wall?

I used a Mark Levinson 585 integrated with 802 D3's. Wonderful synergy.

@aardvarkbark - yes I did audition in long back. So far I prefer T+A over pass.

@jmw31 - I'm going to audition the Gryphon amps this week and the dealer has a demo unit of 585, would be interesting to compare as well.

Once you've auditioned Diablo and ML, I sure would appreciate hearing your thoughts on what you like/dislike about all four -- INT-250, PA 3100 HV, Diablo 300 and 585 -- when paired with 802D3. What was warm, what was analytical, what produced defined bass vs bloated bass, how vocals sounded, soundstage, etc. You're months ahead of me on this same path.

i am also looking for the Gryphon Diablo 300 ,but in the shop we have you can't compare with Mc. they say that Gryphon is better than Mc but i want a proof?

It drives me crazy when dealers say things like this. I view it as different not better. What is key is to make sure their is synergy with he rest of your system. I once had highly regarded preamp, amp and speakers in a 12K system. Well the preamp did not play well with the other components and it sent me on a long journey through a variety of preamps before I found one that complemented the rest of the system.

Always listen at home in your system.

Hi everyone, after the audition yesterday (Diablo 300 and the new Essence) I put a deposit on the Essence power amp (will take up to 3 weeks for delivery). For me the new Gryphon Essence is on a different level compare to T+A PA 3100 HV and the Diablo 300...it is much better in every single aspect I can think of, especially better grip on the bass, soundstage, depth of the midrange (which I like the most) and so on.

As you can see I didn't go for the Essence preamp as it doesn't offer a) Roon b) MQA c) Airplay and all my listening sources are digital. Just can't live with a 3 box solution and being bothered switching on/off the equipment in different orders.

T+A PA 3100 HV - impressive bass control, very smooth sound, insightful, detailed, very neutral and balanced. Best looking amp in my shortlist, especially the Titanium version! Downside is the remote control is heavy, big and lots of useless buttons (I just don't get it, the amp looks gorgeous how come T+A designed such a remote in my opinion)

Gryphon Diablo 300 - 'Authority' is one of the best ways to describe it as many people have said! The soundstage, bass control and dynamics are extremely well (equivalent to T+A PA 3100 HV), the midrange is much warmer than T+A due to Class A for first 10W. However, the treble for some female vocal tracks was a bit too harsh for me when the amp was trying to tame the diamond tweeters and I did move around to double check if it was the speaker toe-in issue which wasn't.

T+A is like a Porshhe, very precise and does everything right but can slide around when you want to have fun. The Diablo is like the Mustang very dominant and wild but lack of the fine details when you need them.

Personally I would choose T+A PA 3100 HV over the Diablo 300 and change the speaker cables to get a bit more warmth of the midrange.

Pass - didn't have a chance as it's hard to find a dealer here in the UK for demo

ML 585 - I heard about it months ago driving 803 D3s at the dealers place. I wasn't impressed if I compare the amp with Devialet Expert 440 CI pro (current amps), T+A PA 3100 HV and Diablo 300. It was like, ok, just sound different whereas T+A and Diablo was like I need to get one of them.

Thanks for taking the time to share these thoughts, gabber, I appreciate it!