[lazydays]

Hi Guys,

OK,  I'm back.  3520 miles total,  and had to sleep it off today.  But it was a very nice drive.  Man, Boulder and Santa Fe are beautiful.  Albuquerque is much cooler than I thought. Tucumcari's only fame to claim has to be the scene in Rain Man.  First time in Graceland, even though I've been in Memphis many times, and Beale Street never gets old. (As to Elvis, I want to make 100 Mill a year too after I'm dead).  Ozarks are really nice.  Oklahoma City casino gave us over $ 200,  hehehe. And yes, Irina and I are in love with the Rockies.  Finally,  people in mid - Kansas or the Texas panhandle:  please don't get me wrong,  and this is not a criticism to you guys,  but if I have to drive through your area one more time in the daylight,  shoot me.  Aaaaargh.

**I-40 is not the way to go thru the Texas panhandle! And add that this is the wrong time of the year. Looks like you too I-25 south, and you should have taken the Rt 84 out of Pagosa Springs down into Chalma NM, and from there on into Santa Fe. Think some of the passes out of Durango may be close by now. Also the area around Los Alamos NM is really pretty.
**I can remember going to Beal Street before they commercialized it with my Dad. It's a lot nicer now than it was forty years ago.

Now,  I have a lot of thoughts here:

1.  First off,  thanks Nic and Gregg for the orders, and Nic for your wonderful post.  He ordered the complete system plus amps for his AV system, paid me in full on the spot, and has to wait until X-mas. (had to leave for Asia because of the banking mess)  How about that ???

2.  So far in the last 19 years I have done over 60 shows, etc.  This turned out to be my 2nd best show EVER !!!!! For one, I am completely, totally happy as to how the whole Kismet line turned out.  Ecstatic, actually.  This has been by far my best work ever.  And in the last 3 months I have had several set-backs,  especially on the metal.  The original plans had to be scrapped,  and as Alex pointed out,  we only finished the case work in 2 consecutive all-nighters a day before I left for Denver.  However,  it turned out very cool,  and many thanks to Rusty,  who put my design idea into an awesome machining tour de force.  Also thanks to Alex, who designed this ridiculously good sounding phono unit.  The Kismet phono above all other products will get us straight into the no holes barred top end of high end,  period.   Anyway,  as to the show,  the room was actually ok sounding.  We had one corner with some serious bass  overhang,  and that's where I stood pretty much every minute.  Nobody else allowed on that spot,  and for the rest of the room,  it was ok,  even at very loud volumes.  Of course,  the single listening chair didn't have any of these effects,  since I carefully put it one foot in for nearfield listening,  which was easily done because of the Speaker's dispersion.  Result is that in this one listening chair (and no,  as for you idiots out there who criticize the sound because you put your nose in the door for 10 seconds, you don't have a clue) I have had one, if not the best sound ever at a show.  Friday was a good day,  Saturday was just insane with direct orders,  and Sunday,  well,  I could have slept all day.  Big 0.    Wouldn't have made a difference.  All in all,  an awesome show for the sound and actual business.

**what turntable combo did you use with the new phono?

3.  The show itself had much less traffic this year, even with more exhibitors than ever.  Bad thing of course that there couldn't have been that much business for most.  Good news though is that for the attendees it was good getting the best listening easier, and of course, seeing more toys than ever.  Honestly,  I have no idea as to where this industry is going.  The trend over the past decade in the latest, greatest, and most expensive gear has been obvious,  but now it is out of control.  I have been in the elevators with several other manufacturer,  and while everybody tries to put on a confident face,  it is also very apparent that there is a deep dissatisfaction at the show.  What do these guys think how many potential customers there are for so many $ 50 K +  speakers or expensive electronics ????  Wake up.  Then again,  the hard economic circumstances right now are of direct benefits to me.  Many of my new customers from the show would usually shop in higher price ranges.  In my talks with them they were decidedly looking at more bargains than being in a free spending mood.  Well,  a bargain we have.

**these guys that build hundred grand turntables and $90K+ speakers are fools! Or maybe a better way to say it is "fools looking for a fool." As I said in another post "a $10K budgit system?" But P.T. Barnum had them pegged as a sucker born every minute. I know the economic situation quite a bit as money's tight at my place as well, but I'll get thru it in flying colors just like you will.

4.  Yes,  the sound was there,  but I am still kicking myself (and have to kick Alex as well) about the gear.  We just didn't get our asses in gear soon enough for various reasons.  The Candela was 3 days old,  the speakers 10 days,  and the amps had a bit more than 2 weeks on them.  Cables except for the LS's were new Gronebergs.   I have the same system at home now, and will monitor further changes to see if the break-in curve is similar to that of the Stratos / Lorelei  units.

**knowing what you have said about the new amps and mine I'd think they are fine. My Candella took about 60 hours, and was pretty much done at about a hundred hours. It took my speakers well over 400 hours to really loosen up, and sometimes I think tey are still changing a bit. Lesson learned?

5.  BUT !!!!  Again,  we don't have the cache of so many other big names out there.  Evident in that a couple of Stereophile guys and other magazine people didn't make it into our room in 3 days !!!!  Well,  the ones that did were blown away.  Then again,  I am not playing any politics game whatsoever, and really don't give a sh#$#$t,  just concentrating on my own deal and my customers.

**As I've said more than once on more than one board; "good reviews are linked to how much advertising [full page spreads of course] one buys in Stereophile. I know Freemer was there, and most everybody knows what I think about him. Let alone his methodology.

6.  Lastly,  a BIG  thanks to all of you who made this a great show.  I came to Denver with  zero expectations, and actually in a very negative mindset for many reasons,  but you guys (and you know who you are )  made it a blast, and a very, very successful one at that.

Thanks Guys,

Klaus

I knew you'd be just fine. have you introduced the "Leading Lady" at your house to Miles Davis yet?
gary

[justacoder]

Rooms with $50K+ speakers? There was even a room with $295K speakers and $140K amps. What were they thinking? Oh. Wait. That was us!



Odyssey room sounded quite good this year - like the way that the sound is evolving, sticking to the well-balanced kind of sound, no hyper resolution, not too much bass, not overly saturated harmonics, not too laaaaaaid back, etc. Keeping everything in balance - kind of helps audiophiles avoid getting stuck for a few years in a cul-d-sac, where much of the industry has tried to take us these last few decades [IMO, and not that its not fun visiting those cul-d-sacs sometimes ].



Anyway, the Odyssey room was one of our favorite rooms, again, this year in our show report [and, unlike other show reports, we do not like every single room we visit - in fact, we do not like most of them] and you can see [only a few, sorry] more photos of this room at:

http://www.audiofederation.com/hifiing/2008/RMAF2008/report/index.htm

[Nice to see you at the show, Klaus. See you all next year!].

-Mike.

[mca]

Can you tell us the physical dimensions of the amps? Are they the same size for mono or stereo? Will they be available in black?

 

[pardales]

Great looking stuff.

[Vr3]

I gotta say ---

The new gear will have to grow on me.

The one thing I liked about the Stratos (other than the fact it kicks serious butt) is the simple fact the chasis had a sealed top and bottom and allowed zero dust in...

I love* that fact... not to mention the heat sinks just look mean...

The open hole sides of the Kismet amps along with the top having holes - just not digging it as much...

Still pretty good looking gear, if I were to ever consider them in the future, I would hope the option of getting them in the Stratos case was an option...

BTW -- on those speakers... is KISMET burnt onto the front??? Was this just for the show or how the production model will go?

Keep rocking Klaus

[Captain Humble]

Kismet, a quantum leap for Odyssey! 

As a former owner of a complete Odyssey system which included Loreleis, Tempest, Dual Monos and later Extreme Monos with red boards, I was intimately familiar with Odyssey.  I use the phrase “was familiar” because Kismet is a new breed and a most positive step in the evolution of the Odyssey Line.

For better or worse, I’ve become a bit of a music junkie over the last year and spend most of my time listening and looking for new music.  Consequently, prior to paying Klaus a visit at RMAF 2008, I hadn’t heard of Kismet.

When Chris and I walked in the room, I didn’t have to squint and concentrate to realize I was hearing something new and significantly better than the Odyssey line of old.  The next thing that popped was the fit and finish on the Kismet version of the Loreleis. VERY NICE!

No trip to the Odyssey room would be complete without Chris and Klaus trying to see how many other vendors they can get to complain about the volume.  They were making a good run at it when Klaus suggested we take a cigarette break and handed the remote to Chris.  The point is, we gave the system a good workout and the new Kismet Amps were still at ambient temperature.  Though I never had a problem with the look of the Extreme Monos, I much prefer the look of the new Kismet amps.

Hopefully the new Kismet preamp will be ready for RMAF 2009.
I look forward to next year’s visit and congratulate Klaus on the refinements he’s made since last year. 

[BobC]

...Candela preamp, which will be upgraded to the Kismet preamp next year, and the Kismet phono stage. 

Klaus, Alex,

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE give the new Kismet line stage a fitting remote control!  A nice solid piece of matching aluminum.  Also, if possible PLEASE make it backward compatible with existing Candela units and offer it for sale as a stand-alone purchase. 

Thanks, Bob

[gabe]

Hey Guys,

Another new guy here.  I bought my first Stratos Monos from Klaus back in 2002 and thought I was done forever.  Then I bought a pair of Waveform Mach 17s which I had always wanted(hard to find and been out of business for about 8 years),  problem is that they require 6 channels of amplification.  I sold my original Monos that I had upgraded to Extremes and missed them terribly.  Looking back at it I should have just bought 4 more Mono Extremes from Klaus.

I've been through a bunch of different amps that I wasn't happy with.  Then I went to the RMAF, I happened to be in town(lucky for me) and I went over to meet Klaus.  I had talked to him many times but never met him as I'm on the west coast.  I wanted to discuss with him my amplifications issues.  Bottom line is I walked out with 6 Kismet Monos to drive my speakers.  It was totally over the top and more than I planned to spend but they were phenomenal.  I gave serious thought to selling my speakers and buying the Kismet speakers as well.  Simply amazing.  I can't say that I heard much that matched them at the show.  I didn't go to too many rooms as I was there for a few hours on Sunday only but I heard nothing better.

I couldn't believe how they sounded even on questionable redbook CDs.  I was simply blown away and unprepared for what I heard.  They truly made me question what I paid for the Mach 17s.  At any rate,  I can't wait to get them and see how they break in.

Kudus to Klaus for making wonderful products.

[klaus@odyssey]

OK,  finally have an hour or so to spend here.  A couple of answers to some questions:

-  yes,  the whole Kismet line will still be available in the same anodized color choices
- speakers are now also available in lacquers,  except piano black.  No way
- Dimensions are 19 x 18 x 6
- sealed tops can be available,  of course.  We have larger vent holes now also because of the lighting effects.  When the room is dark,  there is a blue shimmer around the amp.  Very cool
- Prices are set now,  and I want to make sure that everybody understands that this is an absolute DOG FIGHTING  DEAL:
pre, stereo amp, and at least for now the phono stage are all $ 2500.  Monos are $ 4900,  and the speakers are $ 3200./ pr
-  power ratings are between the Stratos and the Extremes.  Pick a number.
- yes the amps can be stacked, which actually looks even cooler

Trade-in policies.  Very difficult because even though every thing we do is handmade,  the actual work that goes into any Kismet is a bit overwhelming here.  So,  even without extra labor considered,  our margin is actually less than any other products percentage wise.  Usually I have given a full 100 % back for trade-ins,  but I just can't do that with the Kismet.
However,  to make sure that you guys will be happy,  I can settle with a straight 75 % trade in value of any other Odyssey products for a Kismet upgrade.  Hope you guys like that.


We start shipping amps and speakers finally this week,  and I'm sure that there will be some feedback.

Late,

Klaus