Stratos upgrade path?

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Pars

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Stratos upgrade path?
« on: 1 Mar 2011, 02:39 pm »
I have a Stratos Plus (bought used and sent to Klaus for the cap upgrade) that I have owned for 7 years or so and never had a lick of trouble with. I was wondering what upgrades were available, and ballpark pricing for these? I know there was an Extreme version (red circuit board, plitron xfrmrs, etc.) and now a Glass Ceiling variant as well? Anything else? I have seen mention (and review) of the Kismet, but I can't afford to drop $4K or whatever right now. Also a rundown of the content of the various upgrades would be helpful.

Chris

loki1957

Re: Stratos upgrade path?
« Reply #1 on: 1 Mar 2011, 03:34 pm »
It's probably best to give Klaus a call.

Pars

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Re: Stratos upgrade path?
« Reply #2 on: 1 Mar 2011, 09:19 pm »
Yeah I know I should probably give Klaus a call, but some info, especially here, would be useful. I'm surprised there isn't more, unless I missed it.

djbnh

Re: Stratos upgrade path?
« Reply #3 on: 2 Mar 2011, 10:50 am »
Yeah I know I should probably give Klaus a call, but some info, especially here, would be useful. I'm surprised there isn't more, unless I missed it.
One possible reason there is not more information here is that, if it's like options for the Extreme Monos, there are a number of variants in parts and how each client might want things configured. Also, Klaus will try to get the most out of his amp to synergize with gear that is already in your system. Since most systems vary in a number of areas, the options accordingly can vary. Think of a menu with over a 100 choices, it could get pretty daunting.

Wolfman

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Re: Stratos upgrade path?
« Reply #4 on: 4 Mar 2011, 12:57 am »
Pars,
As djbnh stated,no two revisions might be exactly alike but I will try to give a basic idea. Take it with a grain of salt as it's been a few years and my data is not current and more informed people can correct me.

If you haven't seen it,go to the members section and look up EduardoAAVM on page 71. He's the Mexican Odyssey rep and has a nice website. It's in Spanish but has usable info. Click on the globe symbol to the right of his name,that will take you to his website.

Click on the "Odyssey" box on the home page,that will give you two options,"Odyssey" and "Gronneberg". The Gronneberg option will show you the various wiring permutations.

Hover your mouse over the Odyssey link,and a drop down menu appears. Go to "Amplificadores" and select "Stratos" and a table of the various standard models will appear with differences and prices at the bottom in USD. The differences in price will give you a VERY baseline idea as to upgrade cost.

The Extremes were the second tranny added. Now,if they are using the Red single thickness Symphonic Board with upgraded parts as well,the mod has more to it now. This is the first of the "serious" mods and still probably has the most bang for buck.

Years past there was a "Extreme SE/SE+" mod that added the double thickness board(originally blue,now black I believe),more upgraded internal parts(caps,etc.) and some use of Gronneberg TS Premium(grey) wire instead of all blue Quattro Reference.

Now,that has evolved to the "Glass Ceiling" with even more upgraded internals,and more TS Premium used.
You're certainly into 4 figure cost territory here depending on where you're starting from. Look at the Kismet retail price and reasonably figure at starting around half of retail,give or take depending on what options you end up with. At this level,the mods take a lot of hand labor and Klaus said those double thickness boards require alot more effort than the single plus the added parts cost.

Now,there's any number of many,many directions Klaus can go so price can vary significantly from mod to mod. that's why it appears people are being secretive,it's just that these things vary a bit from amp to amp and no one other than The Big Guy can say with any authority what things will go for.

Sorry for the length,hope this helps..... :thumb:

BobC

Re: Stratos upgrade path?
« Reply #5 on: 4 Mar 2011, 01:30 am »
Nice post, Wolfman!  :thumb:

Pars

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Re: Stratos upgrade path?
« Reply #6 on: 4 Mar 2011, 04:13 am »
Yes, thanks. That was helpful.

klaus@odyssey

Re: Stratos upgrade path?
« Reply #7 on: 6 May 2011, 07:32 am »
Every single upgrade over the course of 3 years were part of the path to the Kismet amp.   Glass Ceiling or SE +++  or special references,  these are names that were between me and my customers,  never official,  and also helped me to pin down the stage of development.
Anyone of these iterations are better than the stock amps,  for sure. 

Couple that with the fact that we do at least 10-15 % custom amps,  then you can see that it is hard for anybody to completely pin down the exact model of some amps.  But so what ???  Even old, 1997 prototype and first 1998/1999 production amps still work flawless and sound good.  Are newer amps better ???  Of course they are.  We found a design that is very good, that we love,  and we stick with it and get the last bit of extra performance out.  As much as we can.  Look at the results !!!!

The one thing that I can promise all of you is that I won't sit still.  If we find improvements,  we'll put them in there.
And no,  I won't have Mk II, Mk III Mk IV designations,  etc.  since this is inherently unfair to the customer and in nearly all cases just a means of gaining more profits for manufacturer.   


Late,

Klaus

lazydays

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Re: Stratos upgrade path?
« Reply #8 on: 6 May 2011, 05:33 pm »
I don't know how others feel about the upgrade path with these amps, but I did the SE, and then moved onto what Klaus called "The Glass Ceiling" in my living room. The glass ceiling upgrade sounds completely different than the other. I noticed it fifteen minutes after power up! I also felt that the new invention sounded better than the SE's right out of the trunk of Klaus's SUV. Would I change anything with them? Honestly, I cannot think of anything.

What I've learned about them is that you simply cannot overdrive them! I figure that they must have a great TIM rating
gary

bigmun

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Re: Stratos upgrade path?
« Reply #9 on: 13 May 2011, 10:25 pm »
This is why I love doing business with Klaus.

Wolfman

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Re: Stratos upgrade path?
« Reply #10 on: 19 May 2011, 09:23 am »
With all due respect to Klaus given how much time was devoted to previous upgrades....

I've gone thru a few of the upgrades over a span of some years.
The "Glass Ceiling",or as my amps were defined;"Compare Comfortably With Kismets" are the first successful major upgrade I've heard considering Midrange/Upper Midrange/Treble Impact using Bipolars. I prefer Mosfets generally,these amps are closing in!

Still might not be quite an RG-4 or Kraft,but closing the gap quickly,well,on the RG-4 at least!!!   :wink:
Good Listening!!!!

lazydays

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Re: Stratos upgrade path?
« Reply #11 on: 23 May 2011, 04:25 pm »
With all due respect to Klaus given how much time was devoted to previous upgrades....

I've gone thru a few of the upgrades over a span of some years.
The "Glass Ceiling",or as my amps were defined;"Compare Comfortably With Kismets" are the first successful major upgrade I've heard considering Midrange/Upper Midrange/Treble Impact using Bipolars. I prefer Mosfets generally,these amps are closing in!

Still might not be quite an RG-4 or Kraft,but closing the gap quickly,well,on the RG-4 at least!!!   :wink:
Good Listening!!!!

I'll be first to confess that I've never had the chance to listen to the Kissmets (Klaus you ain't bringing a pair down to my house either as my checking account is a disaster!!). I'd like to get a Kissmet preamp or something even better in the near future, as I think that's where my next major sound upgrade will come from. Lots of plans and not lots of cash on hand
gary

klaus@odyssey

Re: Stratos upgrade path?
« Reply #12 on: 24 May 2011, 06:38 am »
There will be a few surprises before the year's end,  hehehehe

lazydays

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Re: Stratos upgrade path?
« Reply #13 on: 24 May 2011, 06:25 pm »
There will be a few surprises before the year's end,  hehehehe

a very LOUD MOAN!!! I'd like to see a phonostage with two or three inputs and at least one a completely dedicated mono circut. Of course comming with a leggy red head to hand me another beer!

gary

aaron.luebke

Re: Stratos upgrade path?
« Reply #14 on: 26 May 2011, 08:22 pm »
There will be a few surprises before the year's end,  hehehehe

Don't suppose you would give us a hint, would you??

Wolfman

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Re: Stratos upgrade path?
« Reply #15 on: 27 May 2011, 09:15 am »
Like he did for the Kismets- :lol:
I would say to not worry. Klaus/Odyssey is on a roll the last couple of years
compared to the developments that they were allowed to implement the last 20 years or so. One has to remember that The Big Guy still has to answer to Rolf in Germany. With all due respect the very recent advancements are very much closer to Klaus' interpertations of what he initially invisioned as far as sound quality/mass market availability ratio.
I could be very wrong,tho.......
Happy Listening and enjoy the Holiday weekend,if you're lucky enough to have the time off...