fast,clean,awesome power, and very detailed, Klause was very helpfull before and after the sale.

long wait time, but worth the wait

i purchased the Odyssey Stratos Monoblocks. See my review there.

Similar Products Used:

Mcintosh separates, Mcintosh 6500 integrated, ATI 1505 used in biamp mode, Classe 200

Never cease sounding like music...ALL of the information that arrives...passes through practically unscathed.

I have found no weaknesses.

This is a follow-up to an earlier review.

My Stratos monoblocks have been running continuosly for 2 months now, and continue to sound better during each listening session. I am hearing details, in my music collection, that I never knew existed, before. My listening sessions start out trying to deliniate the qualities of what I am hearing, but usually degenerate (quickly) into periods of enjoying the actual performances and listening into the music itself. Let's face it...that's why most of us go to the lengths that we do, in order to recreate the musical experience. In 20+ years of pursuing the audio 'sickness', I have never enjoying listening to music as much as I have in the past 2 months.
Klaus Bunge has been wonderful to work with, and certainly is enthusiastic about his products (as well he should be). He has offered several suggestions to make things even better.
In fact I going to try switching to the Groneberg Quatro Reference cables that he has recommended (Klaus hopes to add these cables to his line of products shortly). He says that they present an excellent impedance match to the Stratos amps, and should further enhance sound quality. If that does occur I think I'll have a complete 'eargasm'!
I'll keep you posted as I become better aquainted with the new improvements.
I can't imagine the frame of mind the "1 rater" entered with, but it seems obvious to me that he has never heard any of the Odyssey amps, or he would realize that he had just bought a 'BMW' for a 'VW Beetle' price.

Similar Products Used:

Audio Research (D200 and VT60)

Huge soundstage
Grain-free midrange and treble
Nice bass impact

None at this price

I have had the Odyssey Stratos 2 channel and 3 channel amps for about two weeks now. The sound is a vast improvement over my previous setup (Anthem Amp One and Acurus 100X3). Previously unrealized bass impact and headroom, while retaining the smooth character of the valved Anthem. The build quality is superb!

Similar Products Used:

Anthem, Acurus, Audio Refinement

total perfomer: power, punch, clarity, articulation. musicality, etcetcetc

none

Ditto, ditto, " to the other reviews. This is a must try amp for everyone - there is no excuse not to if you are in the market. I am no engineer, so i asked Klaus a few questions before i told him to ship ( I did get the 95 dollar 120000 capacitance upgrade). As others have said, i have also listened to my old CD's with renewed appreciation. The even frequency response at all levels is incredible. the articulation in extremely soft, as well as extremely loud passages is incredible. i now find soft,fast stacatto passages where i once thought the passages were long notes or lagato! REALLY.

Kraftwerk never sounded better. Symphony Fantastique (try the 4th & 5th movements for a real test) simply fantastic.
The dynamics of Rossini, fully exploited. Lyle Lovett, lovely (the music that is). Yo Ma-Ma put in new light. The Judds, a joy. Travis Tritt, terrific. Santana, surreal. Vangelis (album:Direct) and Jarre (album:Rondevouz), tests for any system, handled with aplomb - unequaled in my listening experience. And, the last i will mention by name, the Sheffield Labs Track and Drum Record were handled to perfection.

The break in necessity is just as described in earlier posts, but a process i have been through before with other equipment. different from the other systems is the continuing improvement of the sound in the Stratos. I have listened to the same passages several times during the break in (which is continuing), finding improvement on each subsequent listening when I thought there could be none.


Buy it. It's redundant, but i, too, say: at the price point with a TWENTY year warranty you can't go wrong, particularly with a TWO WEEK, "no questions asked" return!

Similar Products Used:

many

Power, very musical, beautiful piece of equipment, price, built like a bank vault, twenty year warranty

None

After much research , much of it from the reviews at this site, I decided to go with the Stratos . I was using a Jolida 302B (another very fine product) but that will become part of the system for the bedroom. I ordered the Stratos in jet black with the jet black casing since it is setting in plain view between the speakers.

This is without a doubt one of the best amps on the market. I could not believe the difference in sound . The music simply sounds like it should instead of something being reproduced. I am currently using B&W 604's (Maggies are on the way) and they are an excellent match. Female voices are heavenly, bass has slam and even when driving high volumes, the amp runs cool and unstrained. (I chose the 120K capacitance upgrade)

Short of the three week delivery time, I cannot find a single fault with this purchase. And the price is rediculously low. For this kind of quality you will easily pay double at any retail HiFi outlet. Believe me, I have looked, listened and priced everything in the Houston area and nothing comes close, all things considered.

I cannot imagine spending more for an amp and getting anything that sounds or looks better. Highly recommended for any home system.

System:

B&W DM604's with Gronenberg speaker cables
Ah Tjobe '99 CD Player (Wired directly to the amp)
DH Labs Silversonic Interconnect.

Similar Products Used:

Carver

Not many at this price point...but I'd have to single out the stock power cord.

This Amp can blind side you with it's performance! It's very smooth and silky, while providing punch and detail. I've has mine for about Six months now and it's well on it's way to being broken in.

But,(and there's always a "But"!) anyone who wants to get the most from it, ABSOLUTELY MUST replace the stock power cord. This is no fault of the Amp itself. Until recently I didn't think that there was much room to improve the performance; However, when I changed to an after market cord, the Amp was able to really sing! The Bass became smoother and rounder, mids more relaxed, and the highs have more air and sparkle. This change was not sublte, but rather dynamic! I can't stress this enough.

I was going through all kinds of contortions about my system, because I knew the Amp could do more...should I replace the CDP, tried several DAC's, got a better Preamp, nothing much improved what I was hearing...and never once thought about changing out the Stratos. With the mere $160 investment in a quality power cord this Amp just totally opened up!

I don't know if Klaus sells better quality cords, but if he does I suggest you buy one. If not, I bought a Magnum -6 form "EmpiricalAudio.com" for $160. It's worth every penny. I used to like the Stratos alot, now I love it!

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This is my first separates Amp. Have done much, much comparison shopping, auditioning before purchasing...many MidFi brands and models.

Very powerful, great soundstage, Klaus.

Tough to find used, waiting list to get a new one.

This amp is the real deal! Great power, great bass.
Everything you've read in the previous reviews is true!
I finally found one used from Canada (thanks Dr. David!)
but even at full retail, this amp is a steal! My Hales
have never sounded better. I am considering buying one of
Odyssey's Tempest pre-amps to go with the Stratus. This
amps gets five stars because they don't have six!

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Adcom 565 mono-blocks, NAD 2700 thx, ATI 1506

sounstage,harmonics-customer service

slow delivery on speakers

this is a follow up review to my previous post-Ipurchased an entire system from klaus i.e.-legato speakers,cables,amp,and preamp from odyssey. I have listened to many systems in the 5k-20k range and must say this is one of the most listenable stereos on the market.
I already posted on what a great amp this is-but these speakers are in a class by themselves. The speakers are made
in germany-so expect a couple months for them to arrive.
My first impression was that they sounded good, but not what i expected from a $3500 pair of speakers. After 6 weeks of constant playing they finally opened up and now s
sound as good as any of the systems i have listened to.
If i could single out the strong points, I would say
depth of soundstage and perfect harmonic balance.
Good luck to klaus-let me know when you want to sell those
belcantos.

Similar Products Used:

van alstine,parasound

Value beyond excuse, Accurate reproduction of the original performance

This is the one instance where size matters, this thing is almost too big

I have waited almost 4 months to review this bad boy because each week that went by revealed a new layer of information previously veiled. As many others have experienced, it tends to be rather bright out of the box. In fact, I experienced this quality for several weeks. My saving grace was my ability to tone it down with the aide of a wonderful little knob Richard Vandersteen likes to put on the back of his 2C's. Thank you Rich. Due to subtle audio changes over the weeks I was soon able to return to 0 db in the mids and highs without excessive brightness.

Rather than beat a dead horse, I can only describe what many others have raved about from a slightly different perspective. After 45 years of having "heard" music and critically listening for about 30, there came a point in my experience when what was heard became secondary to what was felt. When a system is matched properly, the music envelopes you in a way that transcends mere listening; you are no longer aware that you are listening, you just are! You temporarily suspend all notions of whats missing from the arrangement and merely feel the sounds around you. The Stratos has the ability to, properly matched, facilitate this experience.

I have heard a few live performances recently that when compared to what I hear in my living room have not proven to be dramatically different. The depth and decay of this amp is really quite remarkable. Instruments sound like they are being played, including the associated byproducts of human effort required to move sound through the air.

This review would be incomplete without thanking old Klaus for his supportive way in helping all of us reach the aforementioned state. If I ever have the opportunity to meet him, I may just have to give him a hug ...

Associated Equiptment:
Vandersteen 2C's
AHA New Tubes CD
Audio Experience (Tube Hybrid) Pre
Audioquest / Straightwire Interconnects

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Adcom for past 13 years

Sound, bulit, customer services, price, Klaus - Da Man!

Difficult to move them around. Due to the WEIGHTS.

After researching for a couple of months, and home auditioned several power amps for a whole week. I decided on the Odyssey Stratos.

First. Klaus at Odyssey Audio is a great guy to deal with. He'll talk about anything concerning audio or music with you.

Klaus actually takes his time, and try to answer all the questions, instead of just to make anolther sales. He seems to prefer to have a satisfied customer than make another quick sales.

Klaus had even recommand something that he does not carry, if he think that would be a better choice. Klaus even talked me out of spending more money on item that he sell, by letting me know that what I already own will work just fine with the Stratos!

I ended up buying a stereo Stratos, with the 120k cap upgrade, and the Stratos mono, for a 80% music, 20% HT set up.

Both have the silver face plates. Very beautiful and classy looking.

The Odyssey logo is sandblasted onto a glass piece, which is inserted in the THICK (0.4 inch) solid aluminium face plate. The Stratos lettering is laser engraved below the glass plate cut out. Very nice touch.

On the back, is a gold plated plate with the serial number, and your name engraved on it. Another nice touch.

The amp is massive. Around 54 lbs. With MASSIVE heat sink on both sides. Running the full height and length from the front to the back!

All the edges are smooth. No sharp edges at all.

These amps are built to survive the WW3!

The power on/off switch is in the back. The amps are recommanded to leave the power on at all time. I'd suggest you follow this recommandation.

The speaker binding post, and the input connectors are very high quality, gold plated monster size affairs. No cheapies here.

You won't believe this amp costs so little.

Now. How do they sound?

First out of the box. they're a bit bright and flat. But not bad. Just let them run for a few hours, and the sound will start to improve.

After about 2 days, with the power on at all time. The high start smoothing out and extending out. The mid range becomes
sweeter, the bass starts to go deeper.

Then, by about 2 to 2.5 weeks. The soundstage and imaging will really start opening up big time. The width, height and depth of the soundstage will just amaze you. More details will come out as well.

And the bass and imaging! You have never heard what your speakers can do until you have had your speakers driven by the Odyssey Stratos at this stage and beyond!

Everything will keep improving with everyday passing by.

By 2.5 to 3 months. Another major improvment. You'll be in sonic heaven if the rest of your gears are up to par.

The Stratos are totally transparent. Fast, detailed. Very extended and balanced , never bright, but not rolled-back. The bass is extremely well controled, articulated and musical. The mid is to kill for.

Imaging is rock solid. The soundstage is envloping the whole listening room. The seperation of instruments and voices are vividly 3-D. You can really fell and visualize the exact location of each voices, in both left-right and front-back directions.

With the bass , drums and percussion instruments. You can actually feel the impact, the pressure before hearing the sound.

The attacks and decays of the notes are dead on. No overhang of any kind. The Stratos really have an iron grip over the speaker cones movement.

I'm not going to use the superlative words to describe the Odyssey Stratos.

BTW. The Odyssey Stratos runs very cool. Never more than a few degree over room ambient temperature. Even they're heavily biased to Class A. They're Class-A/AB amps.

If you're in doubt. Just call Klaus and arrange for a home audition. And find out for yourself.

This should be the standard for what a musical sounding solid state amp should be!

This amp may not be perfect. But they do everything just right.

But for the price. The Stratos are beyond reproach. Even when compared to other much higher priced amps.


The Stratos can handles most kinds of speaker loads and music exceptionally well.

The Odyssey Stratos can dance like Margot Fontain (at her prime), and delivered the brute force of a thermo automic reactor when called for. All without breaking out a sweat.

And the amps run cool. No matter how I pushed them.

The sound is so transparent and holographic. You'll want to rediscover all the finer details that you have never heard of, or known to be even exsists in your music collection.

Go read the reviews from TAS (The Absolute Sound. issue#128), soundstage.com, and all the rave owners reviews at AR, AA, harmonicdiscord.com , and so on.

All the rave reviews are true.

The Odyssey Stratos are truly world class amps. I guess because the amp is based, lisenced by the Symphonic Line in Germany.

And the SL has almost 20 years of development and refinement in it. The blue blood line shows.

The Odyssey Stratos are like wearing purple while going bare foot.

The Odyssey Stratos are also very easy to match with other gear. I've paired them with the preamp section of an old McIntosh tube int. amp. The pre section of a NAD A/V receiver, the Creek OHB-12 passive, and now the nOrh ACA dual mono preamp.

They all works very well, but the ACA + Stratos REALLY SHINES.

I have not heard the Odyssey Tempest preamp. But from a couple of people I know who have the Tempest/Stratos combo. They're very impressed too.

My current 2 channel music only set up consists of the Odyssey Stratos nOrh ACA preamp + nOrh CD-1 tube CD player, NAD TT533 TT w Goldring 1042 cart, with two Monitor Audio ASW 110 subwoofers, and a pair of nOrh SM 6.9 speakers. (SM = synthetic marble.) really compliment each other. They help to unleash each others, and brought the performance level up by a few notches.

IC and cables: nOrh Silver IC for all analog connection between preamp and sources. Groneberg Quattro Reference IC (from Odyssey Audio.) between Odyssey Stratos and nOrh ACA preamp. Supra IC for all coax. Supra Ply 3.4/S speaker cable for all speakers connection.


Odyssey Stratos- http://odysseyaudio.com/
nOrh- http://norh.com/
Supra- http://www.jenving.se/


You can read more about my set up. As well as others, who cares about real quality and consumer satisfaction and value, in a very friendly enviroment, at harmonicdiscord.com/forums/

All I can say is: Before you spend $3k to $4k on a power amp. Unless you have been brain washed into believing affordable gear must not be good, and must spend your money foolishly. Then, look elsewhwere.

But if you want to spend smartly. Get the Odyssey Stratos. You won't be sorry if you do.

And don't forget the standard 20 years transferable warrenty. And the free conversion to mono, if you decided to go dual mono later. Just buy an additional amp.

The Odyssey Stratos power amps can stand up to the big name brands with ease.

The Odyssey Stratos can drive the Maggies with ease. I've used the Stratos with Maggies 1.6, B&W 604 S2, B&W 603 S2, nOrh 4.0 ceramic drums, nOrh SM 6.9 drums, so far. All works wonderfully.

Will I buy from Odyssey again? Yes. I'm planning to.

HIGHLY RECOMMANDED WITHOUT ANY RESERVATION. :-)

**BTW. Don't get fooled by the illegal ODL copy. Get the real thing from Klaus.

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McIntosh, Hafler, NAD, many others over the years...