Odyssey Kismet (Khartago Case) Mono Amplifiers

AGS · « **on:** 18 Sep 2015, 12:43 am »

Klaus,
I wanted to let you know that the Kismet mono amplifiers arrived yesterday, and are already hooked up to my system. In a word "WOW" !!! (actually better than Wow but I lack the words to describe how pleased I am). My initial response is that the Kismets employ the best characteristics of my Audio Research 100.2 and my VT200, with significant gains in overal performance quality, to deliver the most realistic portrayal of music that I have ever experienced! I am aware that there is also a break in period, but as new, the midrange is fantastic. I also installed the Groneberg speaker cables that you provided... extremely impressive and better sounding than my former Kimber Monocle XL's. My 3.6 Magnepan speakers never sounded this good. I appreciate your dedicated commitment to building both affordable and awesome products, and will enjoy these sonic marvels for years to come. Please thank Irene too, as I suspect that she may be an unsung hero at Odyssey Audio

AlexG · « **Reply #1 on:** 18 Sep 2015, 01:22 pm »

Hey AGS...welcome to the circle - BTW, you have my exact name initials but don't worry as I use a name and not initials here

Yes, the Kismets are awesome...

Alex

AlTran · « **Reply #2 on:** 18 Sep 2015, 04:45 pm »

Hello AGS, now you will need a Candela & Suspiro SE & also all Groneberg cables.

Arcticdeth · « **Reply #3 on:** 19 Sep 2015, 12:45 am »

NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO, another happy customer, that's awesome. Still saving and investigating.

Pretty much still can't decide between the kismet mono's and Magtech stereo amp.

Because, no matter which one I end up spending all my money on, I will always think, " what if ? "

I do need amps to also drive my revamped cerwin vega d9's, which are more a 4 ohm speaker now with the 4 ohm 139oz magnet woofer. They dip to about 2.8 on my meter during low passages.

I am about 2 months out, from FINALLY having enough dough for a new amp, for which will be my last amp purchase, which will be my reference amp(s) til im 6 feet under. I just NEED to be sure I am choosing wisely.

Reliability is pretty much my only concern!!!

It has taken me just under 5 years of penny pinching for this, which is why I'm being very careful about what I buy, as I will not get another chance to buy something which has such a massive price.

Please post pictures of your new amps........... Would love to see them.

CONGRATS!!!!

gregcss · « **Reply #4 on:** 19 Sep 2015, 01:23 am »

Quote from: Arcticdeth on 19 Sep 2015, 12:45 am

Reliability is pretty much my only concern!!!

Nothing is 100%. I took delivery of a new khartago and Stratos HT3 in the late March early April. They have been turned on for 5 months now almost non-stop, I think I turned off 1-2 times when bad thunderstorm rolled through. No issues.

Reliability starts with good parts. As reference I like the example of me building my own desktop computer. I'm on #2 and my parents have my #1. They are both running strong! Why? Because I used good parts (not top primo of the line cause $$$$$), good quality parts for good price.

Worst case if something goes wrong you send it back for repair. Odyssey has a long warranty.

AGS · « **Reply #5 on:** 19 Sep 2015, 02:35 am »

Quote from: AlexG on 18 Sep 2015, 01:22 pm

Hey AGS...welcome to the circle - BTW, you have my exact name initials but don't worry as I use a name and not initials here
Yes, the Kismets are awesome...

Alex

Thanks Alex. These amps are truly amazing. Can't imagine what the Kismets will sound like after a full break in period. Back in the day, a new VT200 power amp was selling for $10k. 200 watts/channel of tube power today from Audio Research is likely double that. The pair of Kismets easily out performed my older VT200 (even with new tubes from Upscale Audio) and can really wake up the Magneplanars. I would have like to support my local Audio Research dealer since I've know him for over 30 years... Unfortunately, Audio Research is too expensive for my needs. And when you consider the stellar performance of the Kismets, it would be difficult to justify spending more money (at least for me!)

AGS · « **Reply #6 on:** 19 Sep 2015, 02:40 am »

Quote from: Arcticdeth on 19 Sep 2015, 12:45 am

NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO, another happy customer, that's awesome. Still saving and investigating.

Pretty much still can't decide between the kismet mono's and Magtech stereo amp.

Because, no matter which one I end up spending all my money on, I will always think, " what if ? "

I do need amps to also drive my revamped cerwin vega d9's, which are more a 4 ohm speaker now with the 4 ohm 139oz magnet woofer. They dip to about 2.8 on my meter during low passages.

I am about 2 months out, from FINALLY having enough dough for a new amp, for which will be my last amp purchase, which will be my reference amp(s) til im 6 feet under. I just NEED to be sure I am choosing wisely.

Reliability is pretty much my only concern!!!

It has taken me just under 5 years of penny pinching for this, which is why I'm being very careful about what I buy, as I will not get another chance to buy something which has such a massive price.

Please post pictures of your new amps........... Would love to see them.

CONGRATS!!!!

Thanks Articdeth! I will try to include a couple of photos for you over the weekend. If you decide to go with Klaus for your amplification a needs, I think you would be very pleased...

AGS · « **Reply #7 on:** 19 Sep 2015, 02:53 am »

Quote from: AlTran on 18 Sep 2015, 04:45 pm

Hello AGS, now you will need a Candela & Suspiro SE & also all Groneberg cables.

Hi AITran,
Thanks for the recommendations. As it turns out Klaus mentioned that he has another customer in my neighborhood that just purchased the same Kismet monos as I have, plus the Candela preamp. Tom and I are already comparing notes, so I hope to get some good feedback on his experience with the Candela pre. The Groneberg speaker cables were a nice step up too, so now based on that, I will probably update the interconnects too.
Best regards
AGS

AGS · « **Reply #8 on:** 22 Sep 2015, 10:54 am »

Quote from: Arcticdeth on 19 Sep 2015, 12:45 am

NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO, another happy customer, that's awesome. Still saving and investigating.

Pretty much still can't decide between the kismet mono's and Magtech stereo amp.

Because, no matter which one I end up spending all my money on, I will always think, " what if ? "

I do need amps to also drive my revamped cerwin vega d9's, which are more a 4 ohm speaker now with the 4 ohm 139oz magnet woofer. They dip to about 2.8 on my meter during low passages.

I am about 2 months out, from FINALLY having enough dough for a new amp, for which will be my last amp purchase, which will be my reference amp(s) til im 6 feet under. I just NEED to be sure I am choosing wisely.

Reliability is pretty much my only concern!!!

It has taken me just under 5 years of penny pinching for this, which is why I'm being very careful about what I buy, as I will not get another chance to buy something which has such a massive price.

Please post pictures of your new amps........... Would love to see them.

CONGRATS!!!!

Articdeth - Kismet (in Khartago cases) photos posted as requested! These mono's are simply amazing, 3-4 days running with power continuously on, the mid-range has opened up and is so transparent and natural... the best I've ever experienced!

Tomy2Tone · « **Reply #9 on:** 22 Sep 2015, 11:15 am »

Wow, those are slick!

Thanks for sharing the pics as I've always wondered how Klaus fits everything under there in the Khartago case.

Rocket · « **Reply #10 on:** 22 Sep 2015, 11:43 am »

Hi,

How much do the Odyssey Kismet mono's cost using the Khartago chassis. I'm glad your happy with the amplifiers.

Cheers Rod

AGS · « **Reply #11 on:** 22 Sep 2015, 12:25 pm »

The Kismets do look great, but even better, they are simply amazing to listen to! Part and build quality is exceptional, the best of the best. As for cost I would refer you to Klaus. I will say, in my experience, no other amplifier comes close to the value received for the asking price.

JonnyFive · « **Reply #12 on:** 22 Sep 2015, 12:27 pm »

In the picture it looks like there are caps right next to the heat sinks? It seems like this would shorten the life of the caps. Am I missing something?

blownrx7 · « **Reply #13 on:** 22 Sep 2015, 12:49 pm »

I don't think it's that big a deal. First, it is at the tips of the heatsink where the metal has the least amount of heat. If they were located on top of the heatsink, that would be a very different story, Second, it would have to be physically touching to conduct much more heat than what's inside the case. Third, I don't think these amps run very hot (like Class A hot) to be a factor for the caps. Assuming Klaus did his homework and installed caps that are properly temp. rated, it should not be an issue.
When packaging inside a box, everything is a compromise. In this case, it looks to be a reasonable (not ideal, but reasonable) location. imho...

JackD · « **Reply #14 on:** 22 Sep 2015, 05:38 pm »

And if they don't last 20 years he will replace them. No big deal.

GentleBender · « **Reply #15 on:** 22 Sep 2015, 06:15 pm »

Not only that, he will use the Odyssey equipment you buy and put it toward new stuff if you decide to upgrade. So if/when I want to go from my Cyclops Extreme ++ to these sexy mono block Kismets, he can take the Cyclops as trade and save me money! It will be hard to part with this Cyclops though...

Arcticdeth · « **Reply #16 on:** 22 Sep 2015, 07:00 pm »

Nice!!!!! I thought the kismet came with a minimum of 8 of the blue caps? Or is that the stratos extreme glass one?

Too many variations , i would get the kismet extreme with 10 caps per amp, if allowed.....???? Klaus............

AlTran · « **Reply #17 on:** 23 Sep 2015, 12:18 am »

It took me 8 years to find my liquid speakers. I will be spending the next 8 years searching for my kind of amps. I'm still undecided. Sorry to waste all your time.
AGS, congrats on your great decision to purchase the Kismets. Sniper...

AGS · « **Reply #18 on:** 23 Sep 2015, 12:58 am »

Quote from: JonnyFive on 22 Sep 2015, 12:27 pm

In the picture it looks like there are caps right next to the heat sinks? It seems like this would shorten the life of the caps. Am I missing something?

. So far these amplifier generate very little heat, even while listening to music at a moderate levels. Quite a bit of horsepower though so I was expecting the pair to run warmer that my Khartago stereo extreme amp (upstairs system), but this has not been the case.

AGS · « **Reply #19 on:** 23 Sep 2015, 01:14 am »

Quote from: AlTran on 23 Sep 2015, 12:18 am

It took me 8 years to find my liquid speakers. I will be spending the next 8 years searching for my kind of amps. I'm still undecided. Sorry to waste all your time.
AGS, congrats on your great decision to purchase the Kismets. Sniper...

Thx AITran. That is a great looking system you have there! And I'm sure it sounds fantastic too. After listening to these Kismets for the past several days, they are unlike anything I've ever had in my system. Every source component I've tried sounds so much better than before. Imaging and transparency are top notch. Top to bottom frequency extension is so natural and easy to listen to, all backed up by a dead silent background, I find my listening sessions are longer than ever before!