Several years ago I was privileged to visit the beautiful city of Copenhagen in Denmark. As a child, I vividly remember seeing a miniature figurine of the ‘Little Mermaid’ in my grandma’s living room (which I now own). The actual statue is Copenhagen’s smallest attraction and is only 4 feet tall. It was originally inspired by a fairy tale from Hans Christian Andersen and created by Edvard Eriksen in 1913. Certainly getting to opportunity to see this iconic artwork has left an indelible print.
Denmark has become synonymous with sophisticated design, particularly with respect to furniture and luxury goods. Most people are familiar with the name Bang & Olufsen in association with high-end audio equipment. However, I have recently discovered another brand called Gryphon Audio Designs who have created some phenomenal products. In fact, their Ethos CD player is so impressive that I have included it in the second edition of my ‘Luxury Design for Living’ book.
Gryphon Audio Designs is the brainchild of Flemming E. Rasmussen. This pioneer is fulfilling a lifelong dream to create the purest live music experience in a domestic environment. Prior to establishing the company, he taught photography and painting for a decade before becoming a chief designer in the textile industry. The Ethos CD showcases Flemming’s design skills and is probably the best looking CD player I’ve ever seen. This product has a refined modernistic metallic appearance that would perfectly accessorise the world’s finest architectural homes.
If you are looking for something unbelievably special the Ethos from Gryphon Audio Designs is the ‘Rolls Royce’ of CD players. Beneath the sophisticated façade is an abundance of state of the art technology designed by Chief Engineer Tom Møller. For example, Gryphon has equipped this device with ESS SABRE ES9038PRO 32-bit DAC chips, capable of full 32-bit processing in a dual-differential, dual-mono topology. Impressively the Ethos offers the listener fast transient response and consistent tonal accuracy. Ultimately this translates to a harmonious three-dimensional sound with exceptional clarity.
