Odyssey Audio Khartago Amplifiers
Odyssey Audio Khartago Amplifiers
USER REVIEWS
[May 23, 2020]
EVadvocate
Strength:
Value for money! This is a very stout and well built amp. It’s a German design but manufactured in Indianapolis. It is strong, smooth and refined. Klaus says my stereo Khartago SE has twice the capacitance of the standard version and is good for 130w/ch. into 8 ohms. I have notoriously difficult to drive Magnepans and this thing makes them sing loudly and doesn’t break a sweat doing it. The Khartago is custom made for you and Klaus can even bias the amp for the specific voltages of the listening room in your house! The whole experience is time consuming and the anticipation builds until the (heavy!) box arrives with manual and test cd included. If you have a medium sized room this is all you’re going to need. If the upgrade bug hits you, get another. Klaus will modify your Khartago to mono free of charge! Oh and it has a 20 year warranty! Like my Maggies, this is a great audio product built in America and sold throughout the world! Weakness:
Case is a bit too long to fit in all AV furniture. Very heavy, like 30lbs! ClassA/AB design means it draws 35watts at idle. And it’s addictive to listen too Price Paid: 995
Purchased: New
Model Year: 2020
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[Jul 18, 2006]
Bob
AudioPhile
Strength:
Power, these are rated lower than most hi powerd amps (180per channel) but they drive my speakers like 400Watts. Also the over all sound - Non fatigue-ing. Price, they are the best value I found for my hard earned money
Weakness:
None Having a new pr of Magnepan MGIIIa speakers (Factory refab) I needed and amp to drive them. After doing days, weeks of research before I part with my hard earned money. I found Odessey. I purchased a pr of Kharago Mono's specials.
Customer Service Great, Similar Products Used: BK Ex442
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[Mar 07, 2006]
jdssound
AudioPhile
Strength:
Overall musical accuracy, easy to listen and discern differences between like instruments like brass and woodwinds, string and electric bass lines, but maintain the important musical presentations, not thin, but full bodied sounds. Great company, the one and only Klaus, and the company reputation and warranty. For its price point, I thought the chassis and parts are first rate. The transistors sound very tube like all the advantages with none of the tube replacement hassles and cost. The chassis size is much more manageable, stackable etc. doesn't get hot like class A amps, but runs class A / AB 150 watts per mono-block.
Weakness:
None that I know of, these amps have been the most satisifying of any purchase past or present period, 30 plus years!!!! The Khartago amplifiers are well deserved the Sound Stage 2004 award for sound excellence and great value! I have been using the mono-block configured amplifiers with the upgraded wiring, transformer and WBT outputs for about 6 months. The time to allow these amps to be used continously is worth the investment. The preamp used is the Anthem 2L SE, great match with the tubes to add the extra air, depth and low bass was a great match. I have used many pieces of equipment over the years, that use tubes, transistors or the hybrid of each. I have found the synergy of these two to work and sound extrodinaire. My speakers range from two-way horns to multi-driver DCM model 7 types, both sound excellent with the Khartago amps. Image and stage width is deep and wide enough, though not quite the equal of an all tube system, though this is done very well. The harmonics and details are its strengths, from top to bottom the amps do not disappoint. The transitions from loud to soft are done most excellent, musical accuracy is right on. I can fully understand why this amp is highly recommended for musicians and alike. Customer Service The best in the business, 20 year warranty with on going contact if needed. Hard to match anywhere, price point, quality of sound and reputation Similar Products Used: Threshold SA2 amplifiers. Bryston 4Bst, now used as a bass amp Anthem 2L se preamp I have used the Tempest preamp, good match |
[Feb 05, 2006]
BKrueger4690
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Sonic clarity and detail! Value for the dollar! Customer service! Guarantee (You won't want your money back!) Warranty (20 years? are you kidding?) Satisfaction! You deal with the owner, and he appreciates you! The products are all based on solid, tried and true designs and it shows.
Weakness:
After you place your order it's like trying to sleep on the night before x-mas waiting for Santa to bring you your presents! The wait isn't that long, but oh the anticipation! It is truly worth it though! I'm a trained musician. I got my start in music at the age of five, so needless to say I have a highly trained ear. I've also owned many different stereo components in my 43 years. Each time I made a purchase I'd go from store to store making sure I bought the exact best deal/sound I could find on the component I was looking for. Needless to say these treks were extremely time consuming. When I decided that it was finally time to buy the "ultimate" system that I had always wanted I started to do research. I started by repeating my previous tact by going to all the local places and auditioning their various components. With that information in hand I then came here to the forums and looked at the reviews for each component. It was during this exercise that I stumbled across the reviews for Odyssey Audio. Well if you have read the reviews yourself you've probably noticed what I did...this equipment is highly appreciated by those that actually own it. When I actually purchased my system, all of the Odyssey equipment was rated at 5 of 5 by everyone. None of the equipment that I'd found locally was rated anywhere near that high by the people that owned it. Think about this...when you buy something, don't you want it to be the best stuff and tell everyone about it? I always think that reviews by people that own stuff tend to be slanted a little higher than they ought to be due to that fact alone. I'll also tell you that it was a leap of faith buying this stuff without actually hearing it first, but ultimately all of the positive reviews won out (the money back guarantee didn't hurt either!), and I called Klaus. I might also mention that I found WWW.AudioCircle.Com extremely convincing as well! Klaus was extremely helpful! He even talked me out of the higher end Stratos stereo amp and convinced me that the Khartago monos would actually provide better performance at the same price! This wasn't a sales pitch either as I do have the technical background to understand the arguments for mono block amps! Ultimately it became clear that Klaus wanted what provided me the best sound for my wants/needs. I was extremely impressed with his knowledge and helpfulness. It was definitely knowledge and help that I hadn't gotten locally. I decided to purchase the package deal that Klaus was offering. After having this stuff for a year, I can honestly say chalk one up for the wonders of the internet! This stuff is nothing short of phenomenal! The highs are crisp yet crisp in a warm way. The mids are full yet there is no brashness at all. The bass is as full as it ought to be with plenty of punch. Each note, instrument, and sonic range is detailed and separated. You will not find any "muddy" areas in the bottom end, nor any ear fatigue in the midrange or high end. The stereo sound is full and involving. The components are so clean that I can turn the volume completely up and not hear an ounce of hiss! The only noise you ever hear from this equipment comes from the recorded material. When listening to CDs that I have had for years, I am constantly hearing notes, passages, and even recording anomalies that I have never heard before, and these are on some of my favorite CDs!! For instance at the beginning of AC/DCs Back in Black I can here the drummer keeping time with his foot on his bass drum pedal, and at the beginning of Stevie Nicks' After the Glitter fades I can here the pianists foot on the pedal of the piano. Don't be alarmed, as this doesn't detract from the music! What it does do is completely amaze me! My friends are floored as well, not to mention a little envious! If you are in the market for an awesome system, call Klaus at Odyssey Audio. You have absolutely nothing to lose, and you'll greatly appreciate Klaus' knowledge, honesty, customer service, guarantee, and most of all his product! He'll even answer questions after the sale about matching other components to his equipment! Tell me where else you are going to find that!!! In short, I absolutely love the Odyssey Audio system. It is truly the real deal, and a phenomenal deal at that! Similar Products Used: Adcom, Yamaha Boston Acoustics |
[Aug 01, 2005]
soundman007
AudioPhile
Strength:
read above
Weakness:
None, however, my nameplate came off the rear but I didn't like it anyway. If you are an aspiring audiophile or even seasoned, you owe it to yourself to hear the Khartago. I went the upgrade path; however, I'm sure even the stock version is special. I've owned several high-end components (Classe, Creek, Meridian, Audible Illusions, etc.) and I can tell you it's in the same league. You can easily hear spatial clues with an accurate portrayal of the performance. The bass is solid and taught with clean and extended treble. At the moment I am using an Audio Alchemy DLC preamp and I can hear all of the above. Out of curiosity, I switched back to my previous amplifier only to discover how flat and lifeless it was. I now plan to upgrade the preamp, knowing there is more to hear with this great amplifier. I'm leaning towards the FT Audio passive or the Sonic Euphoria PLC; they just might be biggest bang-for-the-buck if you are looking for resolution and transparency. Happy listening! Similar Products Used: Classe, Creek, Michael Yee Audio |
[Jul 29, 2005]
10-4
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
musical. smooth. powerful. super bargain
Weakness:
none $ 775.!!! $ 775. for Pete's sake. I have listened to a lot of amplifiers for under and around $ 1000., but this one takes the cake, and then some. How can you describe a bargain like this? Read the reviews below, those people tried. The great reviews of the Khartago don't do the amp justice. It is even better than that. Smooth and huge sounding, power and control, fast, dynamic, "letting the music shine through like a clear window of the music's soul", to keep it poetic. I own power hungry Magnepan 1.6's, and the Khartago not only controls them, but shows a match made in heaven. Very highly recommended without hesitation and without any iota of buyers remorse. Similar Products Used: in 20 years: a lot |
[Jan 15, 2005]
WILLIAM C WALDECKER 3RD
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Read my review. The customer service at odyssey audio is first rate. Klaus is bright..funny..and has a passion for all things audio...
Weakness:
Waiting for Klaus to build them. Actually they were well worth the wait! I was going to wait for the full break in period but i could not contain myself so here are my initial impressions of the Khartago monos. Build quality is top shelf. Features include one heavily gold plated RCA input per amp I am biwiring so Klaus provided 2 sets of speaker outputs nickel plated wbt posts for the lows goldplated posts for the highs the faceplate is minimalist with a small blue light in the center and a laser etched Odyssey Khartago graphic I opted for the standard black anodized. I must say that it is a very handsome piece of equiptment! Inside the units Klaus upgraded my toroidal transformers to the plitrons that are in the stratos.Vibration dampening feet come standard weight is a stout 32lbs each the power switch is located on the rear of the units it is recomended that you leave them powered up they also come standard with audiophile grade power cables i took delivery of my monos on 1/13/05 toay is 1/15/05 after only two days break in the sound of the monos far surpasses my well regarded rotel rb1080 amplifier that is rated at 200wpc with a damping factor of 1000 it should take 4 to 6 weeks for the monos to reach thier full sonic potential imagine that!! I am using gronberg quattro reference speaker cables biwired to a pair of Paradigm Reference Studio 100 v3 loudspeakers and the results are already stunning!! Here are the specifications as provided by Klaus for the monos rated power 2x150 watts into 8 ohms class a/ab rms.total harmonic distortion[not audible].frequency range 1 hz-500.000 hz (-3 db)monos.120.000 uf capacitance. Current 100 amps wow! Damping factor 8oo continuous at 8 ohms.offset bias 1 m volt all transistors are matched within less than 1% tolerance each side resistors are exclusively metal film the units come with soft-start delay circuitry to avoid large currents during start up each unit has 1 external and 4 internal fusesand the circuit acts on ac/dc offset and overload the units are also internally wired with groenberg quattro reference cable. I originaly planned to purchase a Stratos extreme but after telling Klaus the model loudspeaker I intended to use he suggested that the Khartago would be a better synergistic match and boy was he right!! After only two days I would highly recommend the monos to anyone.twenty year warranty. Uncompromising German design. Superb build quality .Superior sound quality. Need I say more...sincerly William C Waldecker 3rd. P.S Klaus is obsessed with provding ultra high end equipment at midfi prices.Do yourself a favor! Take advantage of it!! In four to six weeks I will give a final review of these already amazing amplifiers! thanks. P.s.s does anyone want to buy a slightly used rotel rb 1080. Just kidding! Similar Products Used: Rotel-BK-Parasound |
[Oct 11, 2004]
Denverboy
AudioPhile
Strength:
At $ 750 it exceeds every performance standard. Risk free trial. 20 year warranty. Customer service. Klaus is the best.
Weakness:
Are you kidding ? This is my second Odyssey amp with a Stratos stereo amp. There is not much to say about the Khartago that has not been said about the Stratos. The sound is amazingly similar which makes sense because the amp board is the same. Everybody talks about the performance miracles of the Stratos. I know, I have one for 6 months, but the Khartago has the same character. Fast, detailed, dynamic, very neutral and very smooth. It is more a twin of the Stratos than a smaller brother. But talk about bargain. The Khartago is $ 750. Unbeatable. Similar Products Used: Stratos, and many others |
[May 14, 2004]
@homedad
AudioPhile
Strength:
One heck of a nice amp, and especially at this price.
Weakness:
Blue light on front looks good but might be too bright for some. I was having a difficult time getting my Triangle Celius' to sound right with my B&K Avr 202 as well as with some barrowed amps, so I phoned Klaus at Odyssey Audio to inquire about their highly regarded speakers. He asked me what my system consisted of and told me to keep my speakers and try a good amp. So, I ordered the Khartago. This amp is very well built and has taken my system to a whole different level. Now that the Khartago is broken in I am very impressed with it. The highs are smooth, the soundstage is deep and wide and the instruments and vocals are well defined. Another thing I like about this amp in my system is the slight warmth it adds without losing detail. This makes for a nice match with the Triangles. Needless to say, I am very impressed with this amp and with the quality of the products Klaus sells (I have a pair of his interconnects as well). Also, Klaus is a rare find in customer service. He tells you what he thinks is best for you and not for his bottom line. Similar Products Used: B&K, Parasound, Rotel, NAD, Krell, harman kardon. |
[Apr 23, 2004]
Kevin P
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Everything. Bigger and heavier than expected. Dollar to performance ratio is off the hook. 20 year warranty. According to Klaus it is the same main board with the same parts as in the Stratos and has the same overall signature of the Stratos
Weakness:
Not enough people know about the amplifier. The sales price is so reasonable, one might not take the amplifier serious enough Fantastic. Fantastic. Fantastic. Fantastic. Fantastic. It is hard to find words for the cost to performance ratio here. The sheer musicality of this amplifier puts many other and costlier products to shame. I paid $ 750 for a $ threethousand plus German design. I hope that Odyssey will get the word out for this jewel. The editors choice award in www.soundstage.com ezine was a good start. I have to agree with the reviewer, the musicality and threedimensional positioning is fantastic for an amplifier at any cost. I am not an expert, but in my experience the Kahrtago is the best deal at the moment in high end audio. Try it and prepare to be amazed. Similar Products Used: McCormack, Bryston, PS Audio, Quicksilver, Conrad Johnson Sonograph, Classe |