Great sound,depth,attack and build. And the bonus is great customer service.

none

This amp is a total performer.What others have said about this amp is absolutely right on. Great clarity ontop of depth and soundstage. Has authority that more expensive amps have in the $2000 to $3000 price range have. But for $1000 this amp is a no brainer to buy. All the reviews here do not over rate this baby, i have become a believer. It brought my system to life. To top this off the customer service is the best i have ever encounter, i been into audio for over 30 years the odyssey group are great. Klaus is very truthful and personable. He never try's to push his products on you, any questions you have he is only a phone call away day or night. thank you to the odyssey group .

Similar Products Used:

B&K, Musical Fidelity and ATI amps

3D,TRANSPARENT,QUIET, AND REALLY GETS A GRIP ON MY SPEAKERS.

NONE.

SINCE I PURCHASED A SONY SACD-C333ES PLAYER TO ADD TO MY ODYSSEY POWERED SYSTEM. MY SYSTEM SOUNDS FAR BETTER THAN I EXPECTED IT WOULD. ALSO THE AUREM BETA S CARTRIDGE IS BROKE IN NOW. WHEN YOU SEND THIS AMP AN EXCELLENT SIGNAL IT WILL SEND AN EXCELLENT SOUND BACK IN RETURN. AS FAR AS THE SIZE OF THE AMP GOES, IT IS SLIGHTLY LARGE, BUT NO LARGER THAN THE SONY SCD-1 PLAYER. I LOVE THIS AMP.

Similar Products Used:

DENON,B&K 1400 SERIES 2

Grip, Depth, Revealing, Reserves

None for me

This amp has been a joy to listen to. At the price it is so good it is making it very difficult for me to determine what matching equipment and budgets to use as I gradually upgrade to home theatre. I'm not a unlimited $ audiophile, but I certainly appreciate good music and look for the "Value" products. I find myself now pressured to look at large budgets (for me) on CD (e.g. Sony 777es, dvp9000es) and Surround processor (e.g. Bryston SP1, Tag McLaren) in order to come up with a worthy set up for the Stratos. I've asked Klaus about another three channels and have got myself 3 pairs of Yamaha NS/1000s,a Mirage OMC-2 centre and REL Storm III (1 now maybe more later).

I find this amp to be just amazingly transparent with good music and recordings. It seems to add an octave at the bottom end and at the price is only constrained by what I can afford on other components.

Thankyou Klaus for your advice and assurances. I'm a happy camper.

By the way I did see "The Absolute Sound Issue: 130 / June - July 2001 - Recommended Systems" use it in their recent reference US$7,500-$US10,000 setup. I actually think it has a place in much bigger budgets. But how can you make up a US$30,000 budget when you only spend US$1,000 on the amp?

Similar Products Used:

Locally produced HFA High current amp

Smooth, powerful, quiet

Size, front lit window can be done better

It works better than I expected from a $1200 power amp. It does not
overload like my 75W VTL driving my Thiel 1.5s. At first it was a bit
bright and rough but that cleared up after 2 days. The built quality is
comparable to a $3000 amp. Klaus is a great guy, he delivered everything as promised and exactly on time. Before the Stratos, no
solid state amp can last more than one week in my home. The rest
of my system looks like this:

Anthem CD1
Oracle Alex, Black Cube
Audio Research LS3
Thiel 1.5
MIT, Cardas cables

Similar Products Used:

VTL75/75

Addenum to my review. It's a true jewel, details, details

ADDENDUM - Well Steve from Asheboro, NC I got caught by the ODL Company & purchased a similar to the ODYSSEY that made by Klaus Bunge. The former amp "the ODL product" first off cost a little more & the ODL amp would run hot. Yes, Steve the ODL product looks just like the ODYSSEY amp,but the ODL amp DOES NOT SOUND & PERFORM like the ODYSSEY amp.
I had some problems with the ODL amp. I phoned Klaus we talked, no we really talked. KLaus told me to send the Amp to ODYSSEY & Klaus would take of me. I shipped the ODL amp to ODYSSEY - Klaus said that he woould personally take care of me.

Steve,you're right Beware of the ODL products - but Steve be very thankful for Klaus & ODYSSEY. Klaus basically gave me a new real ODYSSSEY amp by overhauling & correcting the troubled "the ODL amp". I now enjoy the beautiful rich, awesome sound of an ODYSSEY amp.

Buyer Beware - If you didn't purchase your amp from ODYSSEY AUDIO where you can talk with KLaus Bunge your going to have problems. The solution is to contact Klaus Bunge.

Build quality, musicality and transparency, customer service and 20-year warranty

None

To begin with, I¡¯m very glad to become a new owner of Odyssey Stratos. Actually, I didn¡¯t have a plan to upgrade my amp within a couple of years, until I learned of Odyssey and Stratos amp by chance. With great interest, I read all reviews I could find, including those posted below. After several email exchanges and phone calls to Klaus with my questions answered, I decided to give it a try and placed an order with the 120K cap upgrade. Waiting eagerly for four weeks¡¯, I received this heavy and well-built amp with excitement. My first impression was that this elegant amp looked several times of its price. Once I hooked it up, I found right away that it sounded significantly different from my previous amp, in a positive way, even if it was just out of the box. Since that first day I left it on all the time as Klaus suggested, and, as I have noticed, the sound keeps improving with break-in: the sound got warmer and soundstage gradually opened up. By now, over one month has passed since its delivery, and I am glad to say that this is the best upgrade I¡¯ve ever made to my system and I am very, vary satisfied with it. Hearing is believing, now I can confirm that all the rave reviews posted here are true without exaggeration.

Stratos has brought about an overall improvement to my system. Comparing to my previous amp and some other amps I¡¯ve auditioned, Stratos presents a wider and deeper soundstage, better-focused imaging, airy, natural-sounding treble with more detail, very smooth mid-range with sweetness, well-controlled, tight and firm base, better overall tonal balance and very musical sound. Above all, however, what is most amazing to me is that it sounds incredibly clean and transparent, especially for piano music and female vocals like Cecilia Bartoli and Kathleen Battle. After changing to Stratos, my feeling is that something between the speakers and my listening position is removed, and suddenly you ¡°see¡± everything there, vividly in front of you. I find myself now spending more time with my system, enjoying my favorite music. To be honest, I have to say this is a great amp regardless of price. I¡¯m very glad I made a great decision. Finally I just want to add that I agree with many posts here in that Klaus is a very nice person to work with. He is always ready to help, with his knowledge and enthusiasm for audio. It has been a pleasant experience to talk to him.
Absolutely five stars!

Main CDs used for the test:
DAS MIKROFON (Tacet 17)
Massenet: Ballet Music (KLAVIER KCD-11007)
Mozart: Arias, Kathleen Battle (EMI CDC 7 47355 2)
Beethoven: Violin Sonatas (London 410 554-2)
HDCD samplers (RR-S3CD, RR-905CD)
Ports of Call (RR-80CD)

Associated equipment:
Denon DCD-1650AL CD player
Sony DVP S7000 DVD player
Musical Fidelity X-P100 preamp
B&W Nautilus 805 speakers
Monster Power HTS 2500 power conditioner
Groneberg interconnects and speaker cables
Vibrapod no. 2

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Onkyo, Adcom

looks great, beautifully built, Klaus is very helpfull

6 week wait (but still definitely worth it)

I am not sure what I can really say about this great product that the other 39 reviewers have not already said. I was essentially happy with my Primare A10 but caught the upgrade bug and bought the amp on the strong feedback I heard all over the internet and the good feeling I got by speaking to Klaus.

Six weeks later the box arrived and like everyone else, I was shocked by how heavy this thing is. I opened it and was very impressed by the build quality and it looks beautiful on a Billy Bags 2020 amp stand. I plugged in my other gear which is the Primare A10 as a preamp, a Rega Planet, and B&W 603s2 speakers. I listen to heavy metal much of the time so for me, an amp has to walk the fine line between having plenty of punch without being too harsh.

While listening to Megadeth's "1000 Times Goodbye", I was on the verge of frenzy. The soundstage of the guitar intro was much larger and more powerfull than before (but still focused) and when the drums kicked in, my chin hit the floor. This amp does a great job of differentiating the drums and other instruments from each other. The percussion had life and body like never before. And when Dave Mustaine started the vocals, I almost felt as if he was in my living room scolding me...the voice was exactly how it should be. Harshness is minimized but nothing is comprimised. My good friend who is a home theater buff is now considering going back to two channel because AV receivers dont even come close to this thing.

Dont bother with all the research, buy a Stratos and build your system around it...call Klaus @ 317-299-5578, he is very responsive and patient with questions.

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Primare integrated, Rotel power amps

Powerful, Dynamic, Detailed, and Transparent. It is everything an amp should be and more!

It does take a little long time to break in, but be patient because it is worth the wait...

This is a follow up review to my previous post. I wanted to do a follow up review to see if the amp was as good as I thought it was when I first purchased it. There have been many times that people , myself included, have gone to high end stores and have purchased high end components only to be disappointed down the road. I have had the stratos for over a month now and I can honestly say it is the finest amp I have had in my system! The test of a good amp is how it can drive very difficult loads. I just purchased a used pair of Platinum Solo monitor speakers 3 days ago. These are extremely difficult speakers to drive. They have an impedance rating of 6ohms at the most, and the efficiency is rated at only 84db. These are great speakers, but they need an abundance of clean power to drive them. The stratos is highly detailed , but never at the expense of being bright. The bass can be felt as well as heard with this amp. Like I said before , I have had this amp for over a month and I play it everyday. This amp does everything so well that you may never need to purchase another one. I still can't believe how quiet and cool it runs while keeping it on at all times. Klaus says to keep it on all the time and it will continue to sound better. Don't ever second guess this guy, because he is as good as it gets in the audio business. The amp has sounded better through continued use and is still breaking in. I was listening to it last nite and while I was talking to a friend the amp became louder and the sound stage seemed to double in size! It was very dramatic and Klaus was right again about the sound staging abilities of the stratos. I am going to use his Groneberg cables. He says they are a perfect impedance match with the stratos. I am also thinking of trying the matching Tempest preamp in the future. I can't say enough about this amp and I have had many people email me about my first post wanting to know if what I said was true and is the amp really that good? I can honestly say that after listening to it for a little over a month, its sound has improved dramatically over my first impressions which were all favorable. If you don't believe all my superlatives about the stratos, take it down to your nearest high end store and put it up against the big names. Check the craftsmanship, build quality and above all the sound of this amp. When you leave the sound room with the Odyssey, knowing that these mega priced amps didn't blow the casings off the Stratos, you will take pride in yourself knowing that you now own one of the best sounding amps in the industry. Odyssey also stands behind its products with a 20 year warranty. Klaus Bunge and his associates are always around to answer your questions and give suggestions. This is a 5 star amp based on value, performance, and service.

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Various tube and solid state amps.

Quality of build, sonic range and quality, twenty year warranty that is transferable, excellent customer support

As others have stated, break in, none others noted so far

What others have said about this unit is absolutely correct.

I have only had the amps five days, and the changes in the amp have noticeable and continued to change the overall sonic performance in a very positive way.

If your looking for a truly musical sounding amp with great rangeand at a price that should be three to four times what you will pay for this one, go get one or get the mono blocks and really get a sonic treat.

It's been a real treat going back to the CD's and hearing things which did not seem to have been there before.

Yamaha TX-9000 tuner
Sonic Frontiers SLF-1 with Mullard
Marantz CD4000 with Mullards
Stratos mono blocks
Maggie 3.3 speakers
SunFire True Sub Signature
Belden interconnects and speaker wire, with Radio Shack RCA's and Switchcraft balanced.

Similar Products Used:

Dynaco, AR, Sunfire, Sonic Frontier.

Quiet operation. Robust construction. Low heat. Very good detail. Sound is nearly beyond reproach after break-in. Looks good.

Requires an extended break-in as it is bright out of the box. Should be left on all the time.

I got the Stratos in the fall of 2000 with the high-capacitance (120,000 uF) option ($95) and gold faceplate ($75). I was rather suprised by the quality of construction available in an $895 product - it comes with heavy duty speaker cable connectors, balanced and RCA inputs, a nice thick faceplate and it is quite heavy at around 65 pounds! I unpacked it, replaced my VTL ST150, turned it on and wham!! Too bright!! But I remembered reading in the owner's manual that it required extended break-in, so I left it on. I'm very glad I did as over the next week it began to settle in. After that, it provided very good sound, competetive with (but different than) my VTL. The highs are more extended than the VTL, but the brightness is all but gone. This lends a nice sense of clarity and transparency. The mid-range does not have quite as much flesh on it as the VTL, but nonetheless is very listenable. The bass extension is very good and exhibits a nice sense of control. Put them all together, it makes nice music! I'd rate the Stratos a definite improvement over my Denon POA-6600s ($1500 retail) and comparable to my Classe DR3b (Retail $3000). The VTL ST150 (retail $3750) is a better amp, but not by much. The Stratos runs cool, which is very good for the Houston climate, and it is a joy to look at!! If you are in the market for a reasonably priced amp (currently it is $995) that is well built, reliable (it comes with a 20 year!! warrantee), quiet, looks good and sounds great, I don't think Odyssey has ANY competetion.

Similar Products Used:

VTL ST150, Denon POA-6600, Classe DR3b