new owner of a Kismet

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theopaul

  • Jr. Member
  • Posts: 25
new owner of a Kismet
« on: 2 Dec 2018, 02:32 pm »
Hi all,
I just want to introduce myself to the Odyssey group here. I live in Chicago and have been in this hobby for only a few years. I have attended AXPONA 3 times and each year the Odyssey room was the one I visited the most. I was super impressed with the sound of the the electronics as well as Klaus's somewhat eccentric but charming personality. I currently have ARC preamps and a vintage restored Threshold T200 SS amp. I switch out the Threshold with a TAD tube amp when the mood strikes me. This year I decided that instead of earning 2% interest in my savings I would take some of my money and get more "interest' by putting it into some new/used amps. Once that decision was made I though of Odyssey. A few weeks ago I found a used pair of Kismet(in a Stratos case)  Monoblocks on US Audio mart and had them sent directly to Klaus. They are there now awaiting his inspection. They were last upgraded about 5 years ago. Sometime this month Klaus will have some time to look at them and review the latest upgrade possibilities. I recently sold some gear so I have enough cash set aside for the maximum he can stuff in them. I can hardly wait! Since I don't live that far I will drive down and pick them up. I am looking forward for a tour of his listening room too.
I will keep this group posted on what I get and then my thoughts when I get them in my system.

Brettio

Re: new owner of a Kismet
« Reply #1 on: 3 Dec 2018, 04:08 am »
Welcome to the Odyssey circle!  I think you’re in for a treat with those amps.  It’ll be fun to hear what Klaus comes up with as they’re already highly upgraded, but I’m sure he has something.  Please keep us posted.  What speakers will they power? 

Brett

theopaul

  • Jr. Member
  • Posts: 25
Re: new owner of a Kismet
« Reply #2 on: 3 Dec 2018, 01:22 pm »
Brett,
I have a pair of Source Speaker Technology 7411 speakers. They are a boutique brand out of Hartfort CT. These are their top of the line towers with Excel drivers. For some reason this company has a very low profile but they make great products.

simon wagstaff

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 424
Re: new owner of a Kismet
« Reply #3 on: 3 Dec 2018, 04:09 pm »
Oh, I had my eye on those, great deal. My stereo Kismet in Stratos case is only a year old or so, sounds great. I am curious as to what I missed out on.

Brettio

Re: new owner of a Kismet
« Reply #4 on: 4 Dec 2018, 03:05 am »
I checked out the site, those look like very nice speakers.  I’m looking forward to hearing what you and Klaus decide to do with the amps and your impressions when you get them back. Now for the worst part...the wait. 
Brett

Arcticdeth

  • Jr. Member
  • Posts: 233
Re: new owner of a Kismet
« Reply #5 on: 4 Dec 2018, 05:06 am »
Hi all,
I just want to introduce myself to the Odyssey group here. I live in Chicago and have been in this hobby for only a few years. I have attended AXPONA 3 times and each year the Odyssey room was the one I visited the most. I was super impressed with the sound of the the electronics as well as Klaus's somewhat eccentric but charming personality. I currently have ARC preamps and a vintage restored Threshold T200 SS amp. I switch out the Threshold with a TAD tube amp when the mood strikes me. This year I decided that instead of earning 2% interest in my savings I would take some of my money and get more "interest' by putting it into some new/used amps. Once that decision was made I though of Odyssey. A few weeks ago I found a used pair of Kismet(in a Stratos case)  Monoblocks on US Audio mart and had them sent directly to Klaus. They are there now awaiting his inspection. They were last upgraded about 5 years ago. Sometime this month Klaus will have some time to look at them and review the latest upgrade possibilities. I recently sold some gear so I have enough cash set aside for the maximum he can stuff in them. I can hardly wait! Since I don't live that far I will drive down and pick them up. I am looking forward for a tour of his listening room too.
I will keep this group posted on what I get and then my thoughts when I get them in my system.








 Currently using an old pair of standard Stratos monos’.
Short caps small power supply. But......they have a sound, a sound which I can fall asleep too, and kick back, plug in some Motörhead, or Raven, Bathory, Venom, even play some Donovan, CSN&Y, Pat Travers, Gary Moore,
Malmsteen, ......whatever, Scorpions lonesome crow, fly to the rainbow......whatever it is, the sound is so nice.
   They can play somewhat loud, but for short spurts, at moderate volume, these can’t be beat, the Old Stratos take the trophy between them and the stereo Sunfire signature at 600W@8ohm.

They. Have a nice relaxed tone with a slightly deeper bass.  I’m confident I’ll get the Kismet extremes this winter, get them ordered at the very least.   Enjoy, I do notice a difference after a few weeks of just being in the “on position” vs a 24 hr period. They do open up a lot. I’m jealous.

A_shah

Re: new owner of a Kismet
« Reply #6 on: 4 Dec 2018, 09:28 pm »
Hi all,
I just want to introduce myself to the Odyssey group here. I live in Chicago and have been in this hobby for only a few years. I have attended AXPONA 3 times and each year the Odyssey room was the one I visited the most. I was super impressed with the sound of the the electronics as well as Klaus's somewhat eccentric but charming personality. I currently have ARC preamps and a vintage restored Threshold T200 SS amp. I switch out the Threshold with a TAD tube amp when the mood strikes me. This year I decided that instead of earning 2% interest in my savings I would take some of my money and get more "interest' by putting it into some new/used amps. Once that decision was made I though of Odyssey. A few weeks ago I found a used pair of Kismet(in a Stratos case)  Monoblocks on US Audio mart and had them sent directly to Klaus. They are there now awaiting his inspection. They were last upgraded about 5 years ago. Sometime this month Klaus will have some time to look at them and review the latest upgrade possibilities. I recently sold some gear so I have enough cash set aside for the maximum he can stuff in them. I can hardly wait! Since I don't live that far I will drive down and pick them up. I am looking forward for a tour of his listening room too.
I will keep this group posted on what I get and then my thoughts when I get them in my system.



I have a Stereo  Kismet amp custom made by klaus with 32 K caps & WBT connectors the unit was built to power magnepan 1.7i , however now I have super efficient 97 db Daedalus Poseidon  the unit I don' think  goes beyond 10 watts which probably is Class A power  to give me the sound I want .
Congratulations you will love these once Klaus is done with them . :D
Asghar

aaron.luebke

Re: new owner of a Kismet
« Reply #7 on: 7 Dec 2018, 06:17 pm »
Welcome!  Nice to see you over here. 

Aaron

theopaul

  • Jr. Member
  • Posts: 25
Re: new owner of a Kismet
« Reply #8 on: 8 Dec 2018, 01:07 pm »
I spoke with Klaus yesterday. He is going to do a maximum upgrade on my Kismet Monos: replace the 8 board caps, install the 32 K caps, new power supply, some internal wiring ( depending on what he finds inside) plus powercords and a pair of his interconnects. I am spending more than I should but what the heck. I hope to have then by the end of the month. I'll post pictures when I get them.

theopaul

  • Jr. Member
  • Posts: 25
Re: new owner of a Kismet
« Reply #9 on: 5 Feb 2019, 01:15 pm »
Klaus delivered my new Kismets to Chicago on Sunday. What service!! We met up in a record store in the Pilsen district and chatted about audio while he shopped for records. He certainly has an unusual background. I thought he would have had training as an electrical engineer but no. How about 3 masters degrees in History and Political Science!
Anyways, I got my Kismets home and fired them up. They sound great right out of the box and Klaus has assured me that the sound will really bloom as they break in. He really did a beautiful job replacing a lot of parts and bringing them up to the best he can do. These are originally Khartago boxes from about 10 years ago and this is the third or forth upgrade Klaus has done on them.
Thanks Klaus for a great job. I am looking forward to enjoying these for years to come.

Big Hendy

  • Jr. Member
  • Posts: 21
Re: new owner of a Kismet
« Reply #10 on: 11 Mar 2019, 03:05 pm »
I am going to jump in here.  As all who have dealt with Klaus can attest, there is a very significant wait time (some might say interminable) for equipment.  That said, good things come to those who wait.  I have been a long time Odyssey customer, having owned a Tempsest pre-amp, Stratos Stereo, Stratos Monos, and finally a pair of RG4s that Klaus built back in 2002 (or thereabouts).  I've also owned a pair of SL Legatos since that time. 

Well, about a year ago, Klaus and I started discussions regarding not just an upgrade, but in essence what amounts to a complete system replacement - (i) Candela pre; (ii) Suspiro reference phono; (iii) Kismet monos; (iv) SL CD player; (v) pair of Liquids; and (vi) Van den Hul Condor (soon to be upgraded to a Colibri).  After what has seemed like a more than extended Christmas season waiting for Santa, yesterday was Christmas come in March.  My Kismet monos, Suspiro reference, and Liquids (a bit of a story here) arrived.  Like the rest of the group that has received goodies from Klaus, I was gobsmacked.  The amps and the Suspiro are totally gorgeous (that's not to take away from the Liquids - just that I was so anxious for my electronics).  I spent a significant amount of time with set up yesterday, fine tuning, and after about 3 hours believe I have it nailed (now I know why it takes Klaus as long as it does to do a proper set up at an audio show).

What puzzled me most during my set up, was "how does Klaus do it?"   And by that, I mean how does he package those amps.  These things are beasts.  It was enough for me to get them from my van upstairs to my listening area while they were fully boxed.  When I cracked them open, they were professionally packed and wrapped.  I had to struggle just getting these things out of the boxes because of how massive they are.  If getting them out is that much work, I don't know how he gets them in easily.

Anyway, now the fun begins.  Going to need a significant amount of break in time.  The amps, phono, and Liquids sounded awesome right out of the box - so can hardly wait for the break in time to run.  Also can't wait for the arrival of the Candela - as I have it from more than one source that the synergistic sound of the Candela matched with the Kismets is another audio pleasure to behold.  Just as Klaus has been doing at shows as of late, I am using a loom of Magnan cables and interconnects (replaced my Nordost Blue Heavens).  So have really looked to replicate (but at a higher level) what Klaus has been showcasing ever since he introduced the Liquids.

Klaus, thanks again.  I know that I have been anxious and probably more annoying than you would have liked.  The reality is, if your stuff wasn't so damn good, people wouldn't be so anxious to get their hands on it.  Kudos to you!!!