Muscular, smooth, fast, build quality, 3d presentation

None

I have the all silver (faceplate and case) and 120,000uf capacitance options. The amp's appearance is very impressive. It is heavy, solid and very large--it barely fits in my equipment cabinet. The speaker binding posts are the best I've ever seen and grip like pliers.

After 3 months of break-in, I have noted the following:

The soundstaging is outstanding. Things happen 6 to 10 feet to the left and right of both speakers. The back wall of the stage is rooms away when appropriate. With a certain SACD recording, the soloist is FIRMLY placed about 3 feet to my left in a chair by my listening couch--about 10 feet in FRONT of the left speaker.

Bass response is like a shark attack. My previous Acoustat TNT-200 had more watts RMS but this amp sounds like it has vastly greater power. Transients are so fast that on occasion I am startled by quick slams from drums.

The high frequencies are smooth, extended and very satisfying. They perfectly match the midrange and bass frequencies. I don't feel the need for anything more or less than I get here.

If I ever upgrade amplification, it will be to the Stratos monos. But a single Stratos is so good, I can't imagine why I would ever want to spend the extra money.

I feel contributing factors to this sound are a Sony SACD player modified by Dan Wright (www.modwright.com), Harmonic Technology Truthlink interconnects and Analysis Plus Oval 12 speaker cables. Each of these items have brought about improvements that the Stratos has passed on to the speakers.

My high rating of this product is not a fluke inasmuch as so many other readers have also given it a perfect score. I find that amazing for a "budget" amplifier. It runs with the "big rig" boys.

Similar Products Used:

Acoustat

beautiful, dead-on midrange and harmonics/sweet, extended highs/3 dimentional soundstage with a tube like depth perspective/very, very good and fast, articulate bass/ lots of power

None whatsoever. Not for the 895 price, nor if it would be 4k

I was shopping in the 4 - 5k range for a stereo amplifier and listened to BAT, Levinson, Krell, and the like, before I became aware of Odyssey. Of course I heard about Symphonic Line, bud didn't know that Odyssey is actually a Symphonic Line design, and the boys over there are the Symphonic Line distributors. Bonus, theyre across town. I contacted Klaus Bunge of Odyssey and he immediatelly arrainged for a system listening session in my house!!! Whatever you hear about Klaus, better believe it. This guy is unbelievable in his expertise, and willingness to help. His approach to offer pure high end for a little more than a song is incredible, and there should be more like him in the audio business. (Unfortuanally there aren't that many though.) and his enthusiasm is defnitely real and contagious.

After comparing the Odyssey's to the BAT and Krell dealer demos, I bought the mono Stratos' on the spot. I also bought a Stratos 3 channel amp to complete the main A/V system, and a Tempest pre amp and another Stratos stereo amp for my secons system. All this for the price of the bigger Krell with a much better performance across the board, with the possible exception of pure bass power - maybe. I listened to the Stratos, the Krell, and the BAT side by side. Simply put, the Stratos was the most musical and listenable amp. It just feels right in every way. speakers in the main system are B&W Nautilus 802's.

With the money saved, I was also able to get a pair of speakers for my second sistem right away. I got the Symphonic line Legato Speakers that Klaus brought with him. They are now sold as Odyssey's. Klaus didn't have a name for them yet, but he sure had a price : as a Symphonic line pair they were $7500. Cost for the identical Odyssey version $3200. I just got my pair last week, and will post a review here as soon as I have a better idea of the complete package of the strengths of the speakers. They are fantastic though, and might end up in the main system. With the Stratos, overall musicality is seamless and flowing, just like music is supposed to.

Bonus; 20 year extended warranty / incredibly solid - 54 lbs / beautiful machining / attractive case thet should be 1k by itself / color choices (I got mine in silver. Killer. My girlfriend loves it) / Extremely helpful staff / Big, Solid Binding Posts that look like WBT's or TIFF's.

Summary : What Can I say? Symphonic Line design and sound for $895? If you buy anything else for under $2000 or even $3000 without checking out the Stratos, then you will never know how much you screwed up. If you have to spend more dough, try the mono's, they're that much better, and easily worth the extra money. As you can tell, I ended up a big Odyssey fan, now that I understand and have experienced what they're all about. Klaus also has a great understanding and cross samples of different types of music. We actually had a few listening sessions already, and it has been a joy.

I give the Stratos 5 stars for value and 5 stars for performance, regardless of price. I also give the company 5 stars for all their help and service.

Similar Products Used:

Krell, Levinson, BAT, Plinius, Classe

Outstanding value! Performance to price ratio is unbeatable! Very refined audiophile quality sound, solidly built with a 20 year warranty. Dealing with Klaus at Odyssey is a pleasure, he combines a helpful attitude with honesty and integrity to provide excellent service.

There are none!

After reading Peter Moncrief's review in IAR I just had to check the Odyssey line out. Especially, when you consider that they are a direct descendent of the absoluetly state of the art "Symphonic Line". Revised and meticulously refined for over 20 years, the Symphonic Line circuitry achieves a sound so musically real that it resides in that special category reserved for only the very best.

Ready for the great news!!

You can get the greatest part of the Symphonic Line sound for a fraction of the price! That's right! for $995 you can have as Peter Moncrief says, a sonic miracle! I heard it, I bought it and I know it, and you can too!

Now, let's talk about the sound. First, if you love tubes because of there unmatched midrange depth, imaging and liquidity but hate tubes because of their Bass shy bottom end and Treble high end roll off, stick with me here! You love the tight, controlled and extended bottom end and the extended highs of solid state but absolutely despise the glazed, harsh, artificial midrange where most of the music is. Then I have one word for you "ODYSSEY".

The Odyssey line really does do the Hybrid sound as it should be done. It gives you the best of both tubes and solid state in a maintenance free solid state design.
Extended, tight Bass, impeccably layered, delineated and liquid midrange and a sweet sounding extended Treble with body and air. All this for under a $1000!

You can improve on the Stratos even more as I did. Just get the Stratos monoblocks for a whopping $1800 and you'll receive all of the above with the added benefit of an unforced, effortless musical presentation; better yet musical experience.


My system consists of:

Odyssey Stratos Monoblocks
VAC CLA MKIII Tube Preamp
Meridian 508.24 CD Player
Northcreek Rhythm Unlimited Speakers
McIntosh 7083 AM/FM Tuner
Gronenberg Bi-Wire Speaker cables
Gronenberg Interconnects & Power cords
Bright Star Isolation on all critical components

Similar Products Used:

Krell, Plinius, BAT,

A BMW with 1970 VW price

Peace to the well studied, and expert writer who was sold a VolksWagon instead of a BMW. I have placed an order for two BMW Mono Blocks, but with two VW price. I should be receiving them in about three to four weeks,and will do my review there after, etc. We all have encountered some form of customer service problems once or twice in our lives. And to say Klaus Bunge was using sale's man jargon was really untrue. 95% of my job is customer service oriented, and have been doing this for the past 37 years, and yet my customer service skills don't come even close to Klaus. Questions from people who think they know too much should never get an answer. If you project good attitude and in good faith the result will be favorable, etc. As a reminder
Review Guidelines stated that:"Post reviews only for products you have used". Customer Service 5 all the way.

Addendum to my reveiw above: The amps continue to improve with break-in, but truly start singing right out of the box!

If you are interested in this company's products you can go to their website (odysseyaudio.com). The Stratos stereo amps are $895 ordered online! The build quality will amaze you. An absolute bargain!!!

Caution!!! There is aother company (started by a former officer of Odyssey Audio), which recently renamed itself ODL, that is selling a very similar product line. The products look the same and use similar technology, but they are charging more money. Buyer beware!!!

I would suggest making sure you are dealing with Klaus Bunge, the owner of Odyssey Designs AV. Klaus is a great guy, and a joy to work with while choosing your components.

Sweet, Musical, This amplifier has a sound that embodies the best qualities of tube amplifier sound and transistor sound.

My back, after lugging all 54 lbs of this amp to my downstairs listening room.

The Odyssey Audio Stratos amplifier sounds far better than it should at the price it is sold for. It combines the sweet musical sound of tube amplifiers with the transient response and control of the speaker that comes with the best of the transistor amps.

The Odyssey sounds good right out of the box and it just keeps getting better after that. The amplifier does need time to break in, and the resulting sound is worth the wait.

Don't go out and spend $3,000 to $10,000 dollars on an amp if you haven't auditioned the Odyssey in your system. They will let you listen to it for 10 days and send it back if you don't like it.

You know the feeling you get when a purchase exceeds your expectations? That is how I feel about the Odyssey Stratos amplifier. If you are looking for an amplifier talk to the people at Odyssey Audio, you will be glad you did.

I ordered my amplifier with the optional 60,000 mfd power supply upgrade, and my comments are based on that amplifier configuration.

Similar Products Used:

Levenson, Carver, Sunfire

power; warm, natural midrange; extended, smooth high end; tight extended bottom end; very detailed and clean.

none at this price!

I intend to write a detailed review after the amps have had a sufficient time to break in, however the initial impression is VERY favorable. I purchased the Stratos monoblocs. I felt compelled to write this after reading the "gentlemans" review where he attacked the salesman and rated the product a "one". The company's owner, Klaus Bunge was nothing but a gentleman in his dealings with me regarding this purchase. He was very helpful and knowledgable in answering all my questions. I personally think the "one" rating should be removed from this site as the reviewer never purchased nor has ever auditioned this product. The review should be taken with an extreme "grain of salt". More to follow in the next few weeks.

Similar Products Used:

auditioned many mega buck amps costing many times their price.

Beautifully detailed, smooth sound.

None that I can think of.

I am listening to Rogers LS35As (vintage 1977). They have never sounded this good. I think that this product offers great value for the price. I also think that people should not offer opinions on products that they have not heard! Perhaps there should be some oversight here.

Similar Products Used:

Arcam, Acurus, Classe, Rotel, Audionics, modified Dynaco tube gear

Nicely built, beautiful aesthetics, everything arrived as described. The amp is still being broken in but it sounds great so far.

I'd also like to comment on that BMW complaint. He's totally off base. Klaus may be a bit of a character (who isn't) but the main thing is as you can see from these reviews he really delivers!

Build quality. Transient attack. Highly resolving. Huge soundstage. Bass control. Seemingl unlimited power. Silent and cool operation.

Absolutely none!

I consider myself someone who has gained a reasonable amount of experience and knowledge of the high end over the past few years. I have traveled the journey that I am sure many others have taken, sampling many components, and making numerous upgrades and tweaks as we are constantly seeking to get to that next level of performance and audio ectasy. For sure it is a costly trek, and if my wife ever finds out that several Hawaiaan vacations could have been taken instead, she may send me to a destination that is far warmer!

The normal upgrade route usually requires a significant increase in investment to replace a component with one that is only marginally better - the law of diminishing returns.
A rational person should make the objective judgement that the upgrade being considered is not cost effective and walk away from it. But we audiophiles are not rational or objective. We become increasingly passionate and irrational
in our increasingly relentless pursuit of perfection. It is a sickness. (At least it is for me. I there a a support group around for 'AA' - Audiophiles Anonymous?)

Anyway, what has this got to do with Odyssey? To speed things along, I am at the point where my journey has brought me to $9k speakers, $5k amps and preamps, $8k CD playeres, etc. etc. Recently my wife's cat expressed its opinion of my Audio Research VT100 mkII tube amp by vomiting on top of it, which rendered the right channel in a condition somewhat like an over-fried egg. So while it was off for an extended repair visit, I need a stop-gap replacement to keep me from suffering audio withdrawal.

I remembered seeing the Odyssey ad and read the reviews here at audioreview, so I decided to check it out. After talking with Klaus Bunge of Odyssey, his enthusiasm and sincerity persuaded me to give the Stratos a try. I decided to go with a Symphonic cap upgrade, which enhances the amp's power reserve.

When the amp arrived, I was very impressed with the appearance and build quality. "No way is this a $1000- amp!", I thought.

This review is getting too long, so I will come to the point. Like I said, I've gotten to the point where I require high priced, highly resolving components. I auditioned a $10,000 Audio Research VT200 alongside the Odyssey for a weekend. The Odyssey held its own! I must emphatically emphasize:
DO NOT JUDGE THIS AMP BY ITS PRICE!
It is of class A quality in all areas that an amplifier should be evaluated (see my comments on strengths). In addition, it has a 20 year warranty, and just as importantly, it is backed by a man of great sincerity and passion. I highly recommend it. Sorry for not getting into more detail.

Similar Products Used:

Audio Research