Not bad if you can find one used for $500
Reasonable mids and highs

Compressed soundstage
Lack of detail
Cheaply constructed
Annoying bright blue light on panel
Unspectacular sound overall

I purchased this unit based on the stellar reviews here and was disappointed. At the time there were 13 5-star ratings and the unit had a perfect 5.0 average. I compared it head-to-head with two other preamps, onesolid state retailing for $1500 and anothertube hybrid retailing for$2400, ising a pair of Stratos Monos. The Tempest did not hold a candle to either of its competitors. It fell sorely short in the areas of detail and soundstaging and produced muted and mushy bass. It made the music sound cold, compressed, and uninviting. On top of that, as others have pointed out the Tempest is cheaply made. The transformer had a nasty buzz and when I pulled the cover off I was dismayed at the overall construction quality. The selector switch had become almost completely dislodged. It had no mechanical retainer of any sort and was held in place by friction on the pins. It gave the impression of being hastily thrown together on a tight budget.

In the end I ditched all of the Odyssey gear and was glad to be rid of it. I now have a single 50-Watt per channel amplifier with much better control, deeper and tighter bass, and more detail than the 200W Monos delivered. I kept the PSE HL-1 tube hybrid preamp I bought on Audiogon for $900. The PSE was a very good deal. The Tempest was not. Based on my experience I would not bother with Odyssey gear at all.

Similar Products Used:

PSE HL-1

Musical with soul. Avbypass that works
Had a problem at first that was corrected with honesty and integrity and under full warranty. That is customer service at its best

Had a problem at first.

Hmmmm. I also had a hum problem with the Tempest. Klaus told me to send it back. he found out that there was a bad batch of transformers which caused some Tempests to act up in certain environments. Rest of the story? I shipped it back, received a transformer transplant and some special internal grounding from Odyssey and the system is dead quiet. It sounds fantastic.

The Tempest is nothing short of fantastic itself. Very, very fast with total control and yet musical, even a bit of a tube warmth, threedimensional and dynamic. I also have a top of the line Onkyo prepro and tried a lot of preamps, like five or six trying to incorporate the video system with the audio. Not successful until the Tempest. Not only sounds the Tempest so much better and more musical than the other preamps, with the Avbypass I can now put the two different systems together in one. BINGO, and as I said the system is so quiet now. I am in audio and video heaven. What can I say?

Customer Service

The best

Similar Products Used:

Don't talk down on other products, but a lot between $ 1100 and $ 3000

It's about time that somebody told the brutal truth about this preamp. Yes, it sounds great, the sonics of this unit leave little to be desired, but the reliability is a completely different story. I challenge anybody who is thinking about purchasing this preamp to do some research first. Contact the people who have written past reviews and ask them if their Tempest has given them any problems. Go to Audio Circle and look at the Odyssey forum, do a search for Tempest and look at the concerns of the owners. Contact them, ask them questions. The fact of the matter is, is that this is a poorly designed preamp that can not be fixed. During an 18 month ordeal, I had my Tempest returned to Klaus four times for repair. I have had two new units built for me from the ground up. The problems are many and not so minor, ground hum, bad phono stage, a buzzing transformer, remote inoperable, shoddy workmanship. I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE! Do some research, ask some questions! I wish I had! Consider this as well before you dismiss this review as just a disgruntled customer; I have owned a Stratos amp for several years now, and it is a fantastic amp, 100% reliable. Odyssey makes some great equipment, but the Tempest just can't measure up.

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.

None

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

Two phono inputs, switchable MM/MC phono stage, remote, two sets of outputs

Transformer hums. I don't use a power conditioner, but I have never had any equipment with any hum issues. Both units I listened to hummed the same way.

My Tempest experience began in July with an order for an "Extreme 1" model. The ordering and shipping process was very quick. The Tempest that arrived however was equipped with a bad phono stage. Klaus was apologetic and very gracious and I sent the preamp back for repair. What was returned to me was a preamp with yet again, another bad phono stage. At this point, Klaus tells me he will build a new unit for me and send it out when it is finished. Cool, I can wait. I spent as much time with my new pre (sans phono stage) as I could. The first thing I did was to remove the cover and eyeball what $1200 gets you. What's inside is a gargantuan transformer attached to a not so very big circuit board. I am being honest here, to you, and to Klaus, the build quality of the circuit board was less than stellar. I have been building, modifying, and listening to audio equipment for many years. I know what good quality workmanship looks like. Needless to say, I was somewhat disappointed. It bothered me, but I did my best not to let that color my perception of the units sonic character. When I first sat down for some serious listening, I was struck by mushy, overpowering bass. I couldn't believe that this was the preamp that everybody speaks so highly of, so, on a hunch, I disassembled the hokey "isolation device" I was using on my Stratos amp. Yep, that was the ticket. The isolation device I was using was the source of the horrid bass. I was using this isolation set up for months with a Van Alstine hybrid tube and I never had any bass complaints. I was immediately impressed at how revealing the Tempest was. The sonic upgrade was overwhelming compared to my Van Alstine. The more I listened however, the more I thought of going back to a tube preamp. Some recordings sounded fantastic, others (that I thought sounded great through the Van Alstine) were uninvolving, very lack luster. I thought that I had finally gone over the edge with my system and wound up with a stereo so "revealing" that I didn't want to listen to it. I called Klaus up with my concerns and asked if I could send the unit back for a refund. We discussed things and he talked me into a "full extreme" version of the Tempest. He assured me that it would "take that edge off", and so arrives my new Symphonic preamp. Once again the cover is removed. What I find this time is superior workmanship on the PCB. Its the same board but with different components. Upon listening, I decided right away, that indeed, the edge was gone. It had no break in time to speak of and I was already very satisfied. Everything that I listen to through this preamp sounds tremendous. I have never heard a pre with such depth and resolution. It has the uncanny ability to reveal everything a recording has to offer, but still remain kind to older or sub par recordings. I absolutely love this unit and I have no intention of going back to tubes. So there you have it. I tried to avoid hackneyed audiophile adjectives and just convey my experience and listening pleasure. I don't see how you could go wrong with the Full Extreme Tempest. After listening to both versions, I would recommend the full upgrade with out hesitation. It is an incredible value.

Performance; price point (how can you beat this performance, and the inclusion of a hellaciously great phono section, at Klaus' price?); build quality; 20 year warranty; 1st class customer support unsurpassed in my experience.

No balance control (I don't need one)?

I initially purchased this unit used to replace my NAD preamp, then ran into a transformer problem and Klaus replaced the unit (can't beat Odyssey's customer care!). Swapped out the stock PC for a Chris VenHaus cryoed Flavor 2, and burned them both in for a solid 100 hours. FYI - the Tempest is mated to an Odyssey Stratos w/cap upgrade; the Tempest also has a second set of output jacks. Here's a link to my system so readers will know what else I'm running: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vopin&1081031922&read&3&4&. My opinions: 1) huge soundstage width, and very good soundstage depth; 2) absence of floor noise; 3) extended, taut, realistic bass; 4) open, neutral, detailed mids and highs; 4) well placed instruments and voices; 5) great phono stage, both MM/MC (I found this out when I upgraded to a Rega Planar 25 and did some isolation on the P25 - Beethoven's Pastoral never sounded better); 6) high quality build re: switches (I found the large volume knob makes it easy to dial in the appropriate volume - a remote volume upgrade is available from Odyssey), case, feet, RCA connectors, holographic name display. To summarize the above - I simply hear my source components, with no detraction from the Tempest. I subsequently treated the Tempest, and my other components, with Walker SST. There was a wonderful, very noticeable improvement in everything I was hearing, including a lovely increase in soundstage depth. The detail I am hearing is truly amazing! I firmly believe the Walker product lets you get the very best of what the Tempest has to offer.

The preamp is a $ 3000 US Symphonic Line design. More expensive compared to the money Odyssey charges for the Tempest. Very liquid and a natural flow of the music. Better dynamics and grip than my expensive tube preamp. Smooth.

We wrote this before. Odyssey should be better known. we bought 7 Odyssey products over the last year. Klaus is very busy and successful but we believe that he has an incredible gold mine on his hands if he can expand into the market.

The Tempest is the companion preamp that we purchased from Klaus as part of his system deal. We also have several Stratos, a HT3 and a pair of extremes with the Loreli loudspeakers. We use the Tempest in the second system and it is hard for us to review the Tempest. We can describe it as not noticing it at all. The Tempest takes a back seat and the music flows. It is liquid and there is no hint of harshness in the system at all. We agree with Klaus, again. He explained the Tempest be the same like the Stratos. He calls it sinergy and matching.

Similar Products Used:

CAT, ML, Cary, Krell, Melos, Gryphon, Audionote

The Tempest possesses some amazing strengths. Very extended tight bass, extremely delicate and detailed highs, solid sure-feeling selector switching, non-audible noise floor, and a superb phono stage. For my ears it evidences the best characteristics of both valve and solid state designs which no doubt some reading this will give cause for pause. There is a slight tube-like warmth to the wide range sonics which synergizes exceptionally well with my Magneplanar system. Mine was delivered with dual output jacks. Other options to include a remote volume control exist.

Honestly, and I know this is hackneyed in many reviews, but I have found absolutely no weaknesses with this preamplifier. I does everything I want and adds nothing I don't.

First here's a link to my complete system description which will provide the reader with an understanding of both what other components I use and what my philosophy has been in terms of assembling and modifying my music reproduction systems over the last few decades. http://cgi.audioasylum.com/systems/320.html With sources including vinyl (very low moving coil cartridges), reel and cassette decks, CD player, FM-AM tuner, and satellite digital feed in my system, the preamplifier is a critical component for both switching and feeding a bi-amped, subwoofer augmented planar speaker set up. Deleterious charateristics in a preamp would severely impact the purity of the sound the whole system produces. So when I decided that further repairs and tweaks to my 23 year old pre were not viable I sought out a replacement unit that would provide flexible source switching, handle 0.2mV output phono cartridges, possess neutral yet extended sonic characteristics, and be backed by a solid warranty and excellent customer service. I did not limit my search for a new preamp to active units, looking at passive offerings as well. A proven design with an established track record of stable problem-free performance was also a factor in my quest. Passive designs I ultimately ruled out because of the wide variance in my source component output voltages. Several would not be able to full drive my pair of stereo amplifiers without active preamplification. Many of the active designs required an outboard phono stage which I sought to avoid for convenience. That said if a preamp with a built-in phono stage evidenced compromises in performance it was immediately ruled out. I finally came down to a short list of about a half dozen units. One in particular, the Odyssey Tempest preamplifier which is the same as the Symphonic Line SL RG2 Mk3 preamp sold in Europe, differing from the Tempest only in front panel and knobs, met every requirement I had established. I bought it and have not looked back since -:)

Similar Products Used:

Over the last 3 decades plus I owned or have auditioned myriad pres ranging from DIY units like the Marshall Leach Low-TIM to Conrad-Johnson, Bryston, Apt-Holman, and more esoteric pieces. The unit I just retired was extensively A-B'ed with an Apt Holman way back when before I selected it in a final evaluation. If you looked at that link I provided in the introductory passage you'll know I'm not one to embrace the current audio darling nor to push the envelope into the diminishing returns arena. I seek outstanding performance which also provides a sensible bang for the buck. The Tempest delivers all that and more. There have been a number of recent "shoot outs" of preamps of both passive and active designs which included the Tempest. Each of these enthusiasts' comparisons has reinforced the validity of my own conclusions, not that they mean that much to me given how pleased I have been with my Tempest. But they serve to provide those contemplating a new preamplifier acquisition with a conscensus of opinion that the Tempest is most worthy of very serious consideration. Add to the performance and value inherent in the unit, the exceptional customer service and support Klaus Bunge of Odyssey Audio provides and you have an additional factor that is difficult to place a monetary value on. As an aside after owning this Odyssey Audio product I also decided to purchase a pair of their Stratos Monoblock amps to replace an aging vintage Dyna stereo amp. A review of the Monoblocks will also be posted.

Build quality performance

None

I bought this to go along with an Odyssey Stratos I purchased in '2001'. This preamp has taken my system to the next level sonically. The detail is uncanny now, the bass is even stonger, soundstage even wider. Even my wife is beginning to understand this obsession of mine. I got my unit in hunter green with the remote and it looks cool to. Current System Amp:Odyssey Stratos with cap upgrade Preamp:Odyssey Tempest with remote CDP:Jolida JD-100 with Sylvania gold pin 5751 triple mica tubes Speakers:Van L Speakerworks Quartet TT:Thorens TD-160 super withLinn LV-X tonearm, Grado gold cartidge Speakercables: Gronenberg Quattro ref IC: Pure Note Audio reference

Similar Products Used:

None

detail clarity separation and soundstage like i never heard before. mahlers second (funeral march) came alive with a fearful earthquake. vocals are from the gut and you can feel the person in the same room as you. I was playing the 1812 overture and wellingtons victory (bronze cannons) and my dad was misled by the sound of gunshots, he thought there was a shooting in the neighborhood. yes, its THAT good.

the wait. The wait. The wait. But, hey, I guess you have to wait for some of the best things in life.

OK, I ordered the monoblock and the tempest from Klause. The monoblocks came in the 4-6 week window, as promised. The tempest was delayed by a few weeks after that. At the last minute, Klause discovered a quality problem in some Tempests he was making, and delayed shipment by a few more days. It finally got to me after what seemed like months after the order was placed. Sounds like a bummer experience right? Yes, until I plugged the Tempest in. It is probably unfair to compare it with other pre-amps, because I use it in conjunction with Odyssey's monoblocks. The soundstage immediately opened up. Currently, the clarity and detail are impeccable - never seen better - and the soundstage is about 20 feet by 30 feet. In a room thats got hardwood floors and not-so-great accoustics. I expected the Tempest to be a modest improvement over my previous Rotel (a friends actually) but this pre-amplifier is miles above the competition at the proce range. Dont just believe the perfect reviews on this web site. Try it. Its the best product for the money. And the wife likes the looks.