Gryphon POWERZONE 3.20

A new approach to power conditioning

Gryphon Audio’s POWERZONE 3.20 represents a new approach to power conditioning. Gryphon is considered a premier luxury brands in the high end audio universe: McIntosh Labs is a Rolex (luxury to the carriage trade) whereas in design and execution Gryphon is closer to a Patek-Philippe. Both high quality, just different.

It is no surprise then that Gryphon enters the power conditioner market with the most expensive (at least that I know of) and most novel product of its kind to date. 

There are two Gryphon POWERZONE PZ 3 models: the 3.10 offers eight state-of-the-art Furutech AC Sockets and 20-Amp current capacity and has an MSRP of $14,000.

The PowerZone PZ 3.20, designed for the most ambitious systems, offers two independent banks of four outlets each, for a total of 8 AC outlets and up to 40 Amps of Total Current Capacity. MSRP $17,500. It is also very sleek in black, with a low, staggered, double level profile.

There is no on/off switch because, according to the designer, no components inside can be affected by aging, so an unnecessary switch would only degrade the sound, and though the unit generates no heat, it’s said to perform better in neutral environmental conditions. All cables and plugs connected to it can, according to the designer, always benefit from a 'break in period’.

Both POWERZONE 3 models implement star grounding. Significantly, all three “Legs” of the AC signal—positive, negative and ground—are treated equally within the PowerZone, with each of the three “Legs” benefitting from conductive environments specifically adapted to their unique needs (whatever those might be). All internal wiring is executed with Teflon insulated 12 AWG silver-plated, OFC Copper with Teflon. Consistency of performance is achieved by using WAGO connectors (WAGO connectors are known for their high reliability, as the clamping mechanism creates a secure and consistent electrical connection), ensuring that every AC Socket is electrically and thus claimed to be, sonically identical.

The PZ3.0 demo at the recent Chicago AXPONA audio show was so impressive that I returned two more times to have a listen. At the demo I heard a very high quality Gryphon integrated amplifier (Diablo 333) and Ethos CD/DAC feeding the model EOS 5 speakers. Add the STandArt rack and interconnects and you are at about $130k before adding the POWERZONE 3.

For the demo the amp and CD player were first both directly plugged into wall outlets. They were then both unplugged from the wall, power cords changed, and re-plugged into a POWERZONE PZ3.10, which was plugged into the wall outlets. The Gryphon sales rep pointed out that the pre-POWERZONE insertion power cords were "top of the line" while the ones used with the Powerzone were of lesser quality—the point being that the POWERZONE's effects could easily be heard reproducing the same music even with lesser level power cords.

With the POWERZONE out of the system, the sound seemed wonderfully coherent and musical—after all consider the system!—but with the POWERZONE in, the sound of the music changed significantly. All the instruments became clearer and better focused. Bass noticeably improved. It was like going into an eye exam and seeing through a great lens only to have the lens flipped to reveal what you didn't previously see. I brought a friend with me each time I revisited the room. Both times the musical improvement left us shaking our heads.

U.S. Gryphon rep Anthony Chiarella, brought the POWERZONE to my New York City apartment to evaluate so I could hear if the unit had the same transformative effect on my reference system at home as I'd heard at AXPONA.

After a month of listening the following thoughts came to mind:

One, in absolute terms, did running my system through this device, alter and improve it, as it did at the AXPONA demos, and two, what is the technology's cost/ benefit ratio.

The answer to the first question was, yes it did.

That then opened up a Pandora's box of questions in my mind, to wit: have we been creating our systems backwards?

Think about it. Up until 1995 (when I started working at Lyric HiFi) we, as audiophiles, were fed the notion that the cables we connected our hardware with (speaker and interconnects) were so important that 10% of the system cost should be spent on them. This was not based on anything more than an industry wide salesman's approach to simplify the choices to the consumer. Back then, premium power cords and power distribution boxes were in their infancy.

We were also told that the source components i..e. turntables, CD players, FM tuners etc) were the critical links in the audio chain. Today, more than a dozen high end audio companies offer various solutions to power transmission problems.

How could a power product—especially a passive one like this— so profoundly change the sound and presentation of the music?

I Really Needed to Understand

The technical aspects of the design and creation of the POWERZONE 3 are complex. The following is, in large part, taken directly from the Gryphon white paper.

“The Gryphon POWERZONE 3 introduces a unique and entirely different way of improving the signal passing through it. In an electrical circuit, current flow is attended by micro-vibrations on a molecular level; basically, all current flow is, by definition, the transmission of energy through micro-vibrations. Following Paul Hafner’s theory and approach, the vibration of electrons in the conductor creates a series of minute resonances generated by the signal passing through it. Paul’s specific approach differentiates a Dynamic (variable) signal from a Static signal.

In a typical circuit, the transmission of a variable signal through a conductor creates uncontrolled resonance, analogous to aerodynamic turbulence, due to the random crystalline structure of the conductor through which the signal passes. The objective, then, is to optimize the flow of current within the signal path. By sending the power through focused and idealized crystalline conductor structures, PowerZone optimizes the electrons’ vibrational flow and minimizes spurious resonances and the distortions they create. This is achieved by the proprietary Hafner Tech™ conductor approach, a Patent-pending design comprised of adapted crystalline structures that facilitate this vibrational flow in an undisturbed way. As a result, because there is no loss of energy, this technology will produce no additional noise or heat. The objective of these conductors is to create a neutral, optimized environment through which the AC power can pass without introducing stress, confusion and distortion to the signal but enhancing the speed and precision of the transmitted current. Conceived by Paul Hafner, Founder of Quantum Acoustics SRL, Gryphon PowerZone components utilize a series of Hafner Tech™ Conductor Modules which have been purpose- engineered to achieve idealized transmission of the audio power signal. Based upon the principles of Quantum Acoustics Resonant Feedback Theory, these modules benefit from carefully adapted geometric structures at molecular level which guide the electrons’ vibrational flow. This is accomplished without any current limiting, filtering or active signal processing in order to preserve the integrity of the AC Signal. Hafner Tech™ Modules are potted in resin to mitigate vibration and deliver the sort of heirloom build quality expected of all Gryphon Components. Audio components powered by a properly guided current flow will deliver vastly superior performance: the current will suffer less artifacts and restrictions resulting in a faster, smoother, more precise and cleaner performance. Even Room Acoustics will have a less deleterious influence upon sound quality, as rooms tend to disproportionately amplify the negative resonant characteristics of reproduced sound”. 

This is a lot to take in (I'd say a lot to swallow_ed.) and it makes me wonder at what level of resolution (and associated expense) one has to invest to get the most out of this, as well as other, power conditioners

And Now...the Music

Many times reviewers use words like “relaxed” to explain what they are hearing. I take it to mean less strident and sometimes less confused or congested. Maybe that results from less compression, which can manifest itself via any of the components.

Other than a DAC change and a very recent subwoofer addition, my current system has been stable for three years. All the music I listen to and use as a reference is very well known to me. I have also been using another company's reference power conditioner throughout this entire time. My audio room was rewired with three 20 amp circuits. Also, my New York City apartment building was recently rewired during a condo conversion upgrade. 

I inserted the POWERZONE 3,  I let it sit for a week plugged in and with all the outlets engaged. I then began listening. 

What Changed? 

Dean Martin’s album Dream of Dean (Legacy/Sony 88843045811) always sounded intimate but now you can clearly hear his inhales as the vocals sound like they are coming from the back of the throat. The upright bass is more delineated. It's simply ‘More real”.

The track ‘Tempted’ from the band Squeeze: East Side Story A&M SP 4854, is from a non audiophile album copy that I bought new for $5.99.(those were the days!) 

The track now sounds like I am at the mixing console, so cleanly defined is the instrumentation. The bass is now so solid and foundational.  It sounds like I'm listening to a master tape, not a vinyl reproduction. In fact, the bass from all the music I have played is now much more prominent and well defined.  I have often read where seasoned audio reviewers talk about their foot tapping with the music being played on their systems. I never before had that response but now I found my foot tapping for the very first time!

When listening at lower volume at night, I felt I needed more bass from my Magico A3's—even after adding the subwoofer. With the power amp now plugged into the POWERZONE 3 the bass increased in both level and articulation. I have now removed the sub from the system. I have all eight outlets PowerZone outlets engaged.

Reviewers often claim plugging a power amp into a power conditioner constricts dynamics. Most manufacturers swear theirs does not and does not diminish the power required to deliver sudden transient demands. I kept the power amp plugged into the POWERZONE 3 so it would work on everything in the system.

I sensed no constriction whatsoever using the dual power cord model PZ 3.20, which features two separate 20 amp circuits using two 20A IEC jacks and supplied power cables.

My Power Cords Are All Reference Quality

I have been using a PS Audio P20 power regenerator for the last 3 years. It is a beautifully built device that worked flawlessly during its 3 year residency. The theory behind it is that the incoming A.C. from the wall carries a multitude of distortion and voltage fluctuations. The P20 uses an internal amplifier to regenerate the power and output cleaner (i.e. protected, pure, regulated, distortion free) A.C. power, and distributes it to its dozen outlets. A very cool visual display tells you the incoming voltage and distortion level along with other useful information, as well as the outgoing, reconstructed  voltage and distortion levels.  It sure looks like it was doing its job: the outputted sine wave is perfect. 

I plugged my power amp directly into the wall as well as into the P20's dedicated power amp outlets at various times and heard no sonic differences in terms of restricting instantaneous transient demands. My system sounded very good with the P20

The POWERZONE, however, produced a very different experience! The first comment one of my closest friends made— he also has a very sophisticated audio system and is very familiar with mine—was “Where did the bass come from?”

As I listened more, things became more apparent.

Playing Peter Paul & Mary In Concert (Analog Productions AAPF1555) was fascinating. During the song “500 miles”, I could for the first time clearly hear the foot stomps on the stage. I couldn't before. Album after album produced, what I can only describe as a "more comfortable" playback. Familiar recordings delivered increased width and depth, similar to what I'd heard at the AXPOPNA demo. Nothing about this was subtle!

When another close friend asked me to describe the sound I simply said that my system now sounds ‘delicious’.

Conclusion

The cost/benefit ratio:

My system hardware retails for about 100k not including cables and power products. Make that 150K, with, but before the POWERZONE 3 at $17,500

Like speaker cables and interconnects, power products are based on theories and how those theories work in tandem with your system is impossible to predict. There are many roads leading the way to one's sonic nirvana and the basic quality of electricity delivered to your audio room and how it is reconditioned with power distribution systems can be as varied as there are solutions.

The Gryphon POWERZONE 3 is an effective and elegant addition to the world of power conditioning products and choices.

If your system has evolved enough and your bank account is flush enough to consider a device like this, I urge you to demo this one in your system! I can't imagine returning it.

Q&A with the POWERZONE 3 designer Paul Hafner

JF: All high end power conditioners are made from designers theory's to solve power delivery problems that can affect the performance of one’s audio system. I have heard the Power Zone at AXPONA and have now had it in my system for a month. What issues does the power Zone address that others don’t?

PH: The most important thing is that it does not force the signal. It simply helps it flow in a natural way, by using a better adapted environment. So, in fact, it addresses all aspects of the signal by letting them evolve in an undisturbed way and reach balance.

JF: How did you arrive at the theory that the randomness of electrical transmission can affect audio products?

PH: By making an analogy with fluids and the effects of turbulent flow versus linear flow.Music transported through electrical signals is in fact a wave and should behave like a wave with all associated resonant characteristics and environmental influences.

JF: It seems that the traditional idea that great audio sound comes from the front end of an audio system ( Turntable, digital player, streamer) has been turned on its head with the advent of so many high end conditioners now available. If it all starts at the wall outlet, have we been approaching this backwards all these years?

PH: The traditional idea is definitely not wrong. I don't think it starts at the wall outlet, but at multiple points converging towards the result (the reproduced sound). Power (the wall outlet) is an important point, but in fact it's only a tool for the resulting amplified reproduced sound. The front end is at least as important and will most probably be addressed in further developments.

JF: Did the application and construction of your devices meet or exceed your expectations?

PH: I have been passionate about the emotion that music brings to the listener since childhood.I have developed 3 evolving technologies based on my ideas, each better than the previous one.Every time that I hear a new layer that gets me closer to the music, I am moved, so yes, each step exceeded my expectations.

JF: There is always a cost benefit ratio, especially in the world of high end audio. As the Gryphon Power Zone products sell for $14,000 & $17,500 in the United States, with commercial power cords included, does the performance levels increase with premium power cords? 

PH: Yes, it does. My technology does not substitute a good quality component, but it simply helps it perform better.

JF: It is ironic that better power conditioning can make everything sound better but no one who buys a $2,000  amp, $1,500 turntable and $5,000 speakers is going to spend $14-17k on a power product. The retail prices of the hardware of the Gryphon system that was used to demo the Power Zone at AXPONA was about $100k. My system hardware retails for over 100k. Is this the target consumer?  With so much of the ultra high end out of reach, will lower priced Power Zones be able to take advantage of your creation? 

PH: Probably.

JF: Thank you Paul

 My current audio system:

Turntable:  VPI 40th anniversary

Cartridge:   Ortofon A95

Phono Stage: Pass labs XP27

Pre Amp: Pass Labs XP 32

Power Amp: Pass Labs 30.8

SACD player:  PS Audio Perfect wave transport

DAC: PS Audio DirectStream DAC 2

Streamer:  PS Audio Air Lens

Speakers:  Magico A3

Speaker cable:  Wireworld Gold Eclipse

Interconnects:   Audioquest Dragon, Wireworld Platinum Eclipse 8

Power Cords: Audioquest Dragon, 

Triode Wire Obsession,  Nordost Tyr

Digital Cable:  Wireworld Platinum Starlight