A few weeks back I posted a thread on this forum looking for more info on the Odyssey line. Specifically, I wanted to know what are the differences between the various options that Klaus offers on his amps. Within a few hours of posting I had a reply from Klaus and from Al Tran. Let's break those 2 responses down and give more details, because they help to define what Odyssey is all about.
Klaus - He responded to my email and said to call call him. When I called him he remembered our meeting at Newport in 2015 and he gave me more details on his products. I never felt rushed or unimportant. I regularly attend the meetings for the Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society and I have attended Audio shows for over 20 years. I can tell you that it is rare where I have encountered a retailer or manufacturer that actually talks to like you are real a person and that tries to "earn your business". My experience has been that they try to sell you their most expensive product or they act like they don't really have time to talk to you. I have met 3 people who I feel "earn" the business from how they treat you: Klaus at Odyssey, Lars Kristensen and Michael Børresen at Raidho and Scansonic, and Andrew Jones at Elac. Now, this is not to confuse the quality of the product with the behavior or personality of the face of the company. But I can tell you that it makes a difference to me. If you do your research you may find many products that are very similar in terms of performance, but the differences are in the price and the customer service or experience that the company provides. This is where Klaus and Odyssey truly shine. First, if you have read the great reviews in The Absolute Sound then you know that Klaus makes amplifiers that perform at the same level as products that cost up to 10 or 20 times more. That is truly impressive! His Stratos amps are now part of Jonathan Valin's reference system. This is not even Klaus's flagship product, yet JV uses it with speakers that cost over $100k to evaluate the very best state of the art products. Yet, I have talked to Klaus multiple times on the phone and we have exchanged emails with him. He is much more interested in meeting my needs than he is in "selling" me a product. He will customize an amp to your system and it will be world class in performance. No compromises, just great performance and truly world class customer service. I have not encountered anything like Klaus in my dealings with other manufactures or dealers. The man has earned my loyalty both by the quality of his product and by the level of service that he is committed to providing.
Al Tran - I wanted to know the difference between my Stratos stereo amp and Odyssey's top of the line Kismet mono amps. Al volunteered. He contacted me and told me that he was very familiar with Odyssey products, as he has owned many, and offered me a listening experience at his house. First, Al is great ambassador for our hobby. I showed up at his house and I was greeted warmly and we shared a few beers and spent a few hours listening to his system. And what a system. He has an Odyssey showroom! Kismet mono blocks with every option that him and Klaus can possibly think up, Candela preamp, Odyssey phone preamp, Symphonic Line CD player, Kismet Liquid speakers, and all Groneberg interconnects, power cables, and speaker cables. The sound - just awesome! Al LOVES to share his knowledge with you and to help you experience that Aha! moment. He played some great music and we talked about audio late into the night. It was a great night and a friendship was created. But that sound was incredible! We heard subtle details like a violin player breathing as he played, or a jazz singer's voice emerging from a dead silent solid black background and positioned forward from the usual sound field. I heard symphonic music with a soundstage that extended wider than the speakers and just had layers and layers of depth. We listen to tracks with booming bass, or soaring highs, but most impressive was the beautiful midrange. The ways his system handled the human voice was truly "liquid". I could have stayed for hours more, but Al and I both had to work the next day. I wanted that sound so bad, and the next day I started the process of getting my own Kismet mono blocks.
To me Al and Klaus represent what Odyssey is all about. Impassioned people who are 100% committed to great sound with no compromises, but they are still real people who give you the time of the day. Odyssey is family and I am proud to be a part of the family. Cant wait till my Kismet mono blocks arrive. Thanks Al for the listening experience and I only hope some of you one day get a chance to hear what Odyssey can truly achieve. This is true state of the art equipment that will give you a listening experience that will have you looking forward to that your next session day after day. It's that good!
