Gryphon Siren Phonostage

Description

Overview

The Siren is the reference phonostage from Danish high-end specialist Gryphon, sharing the sculptural design language of the Apollo and Commander electronics. It is a two-box design built without compromise for the vinyl enthusiast who wants the quietest possible foundation for a fine turntable and cartridge.

Design & build

Siren separates its audio circuitry from a massive dual-mono power supply in a second chassis. The main unit is controlled through a 4.3-inch capacitive TFT touchscreen behind a 4mm hardened-glass panel, and each box measures 480 × 236 mm across the front. The audio unit weighs 30.4 kg and the power supply 38 kg — casework befitting Gryphon’s reference status.

Sound & performance

The design is true dual-mono, fully balanced and fully discrete, with zero global negative feedback. Separate left- and right-channel supplies, plus a third dedicated to the digital control circuits, keep noise exceptionally low — the deep, quiet background against which the finest detail of a record can be resolved.

Key features

Siren offers four user-selectable inputs, three on balanced XLR and one on RCA. Moving-coil gain is switchable between 58dB and 68dB, and moving-magnet between 38dB and 48dB, with loading and capacitance set from the handset to match any cartridge.

Technology

The circuit boards are four-layer designs with 70-micron copper on every layer for low impedance and stable grounding. Keeping the digital control supply entirely separate from the analogue stages — back to the mains cords — preserves the clean, black background on which the phonostage’s performance depends.

Specifications

Type: two-box reference phonostage. Topology: true dual-mono, fully balanced, fully discrete, zero global feedback. Inputs: four (three XLR, one RCA). MC gain: 58 or 68dB at 1kHz. MM gain: 38 or 48dB at 1kHz. MC loading: 20–1600 ohms in steps; capacitance 0/220/440pF. Control: 4.3-inch TFT touchscreen and handset. Weight: 30.4 kg (audio) plus 38 kg (PSU). Dimensions: 480 × 236 mm (both units).

Who it’s for

Siren is for the serious record collector building a reference system around a fine turntable, who wants complete configurability and the lowest possible noise floor. It sits naturally alongside Gryphon’s Apollo and Commander electronics. Pricing is on application.

Why buy from Hidden Home Technology

A phonostage of this class rewards careful matching to the turntable, arm and cartridge. We can demonstrate the Siren, advise on cartridge loading and system synergy, and arrange delivery and installation across the South. Browse our phonostages or speak to our team.

The wider view: Gryphon Siren reviews in brief

The Siren is Gryphon’s reference phono stage and the analogue partner to its Apollo turntable and Commander preamplifier. It comes in two boxes, with the audio circuits in one and a dual-mono power supply of 38 kg in the other. The circuit is fully balanced and dual mono with no global negative feedback. There are three balanced inputs and one single-ended, each with its own stored gain and loading, set from the touchscreen or the remote.

Michael Fremer reviewed it for The Absolute Sound in September 2026 with three cartridges of quite different character. He heard no hum at all and a background so quiet that layers of low-level detail came into focus. Dynamic peaks were enormous, yet a pianist’s smallest gestures came through with ease and a natural flow. It let each cartridge show its own personality, and records he expected to sound too rich kept all their edge.

He tried hard to catch it out and reports that it “passed every test I tried to trip it up with”. With Gryphon’s own Black Diamond cartridge it gave him some of the best vinyl playback he has heard, and he could find no fault with it on any of the three.

The practical side is about space. Both boxes are full width and heavy, so it needs a sturdy rack with room for two. Fremer notes that its power supply is the same unit that comes with the Commander, and that a Commander owner’s supply is ready to power the Siren too.

It suits a serious turntable and a fine moving coil cartridge, ideally in front of Gryphon electronics. The Apollo turntable and the Commander are the pieces it was designed beside, and we can plan the whole analogue chain with you.

What the reviewers say, in a nutshell

• The Absolute Sound, Michael Fremer, September 2026. Silent backgrounds, huge dynamics and a natural flow with every cartridge. He found no fault.