[malus15]

I emailed Klaus but does anyone know the gain on a RG4 symphonic line amp? I have two mono blocks that I am going to run through an active cross over. Need them to match with my bass amps. Thanks!

[trebejo]

Yeah, and elsewhere we see 30db as the spec for the Stratos. In addition, there are both balanced and unbalanced inputs and it would be a really good idea to publish specs for both, since the former is usually 6db louder to begin with.

How someone is supposed to figure out if the amp is OK without knowing its gain is beyond me. Maybe if you have two or three very different preamps to plug into it to experiment, I guess! But if you have a specific preamp already, there is hardly a more important consideration for what amp to buy than whether it is properly matched in gain and impedance.

Well at least we know the stratos has 20k input impedance, so it's better than nothing.

How important is it to know the gain of the amp? The higher the gain, the lower that the volume knob has to go in order to achieve the same loudness. For some preamps, it's a good idea for that volume knob to go pretty high (I'd say that's most of them), for some, it's better if the knob goes low (e.g. TVC).

Being tight-lipped about this spec borders on being disrespectful to potential buyers, who might not realize that this amp can sound wonderful with someone else's preamp (e.g. some reviewer somewhere) but be a bit of a dog with theirs. I don't know why Odyssey will not publish this spec--Klaus seems to be a very respectful and considerate fellow--it's baffling, really.

Bottom line--if the gain is 30db, that's pretty good for TVC preamps, and active preamps that don't like to turn up that volume knob. If it's 26 db, then it'll be a bit of a dog for the TVC (really a mismatch), but might be nice for a resistive passive like a Placette, or any active preamp that likes to see its volume knob go to 9.

In fact, if memory serves me right, someone was a bit offended at comparing the Stratos with a NAD, but the 29 db of gain in the NAD c272 or c275bee will be much nicer for many preamps than an amp with a 26db spec there.

We probably think of the power as the most important spec for an amplifier, but I think the gain and input impedance are right up there for figuring out how it will integrate itself with your system.

[trebejo]

It looks like I was mistaken, it looks like it is around 30db.

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=3275.msg27024#msg27024

Well don't beat yourself up, it's not the easiest spec to unearth. However, we still don't know whether that's the RCA or XLR inputs (or both).

[Wolfman]

Malus15-First,email is not the best way to get hold of Klaus,I've heard of some people actually getting emails back(just kidding Klaus!      ).
Phone is(as you may know) the preferred way to contact,it may take him a bit to get back depending on schedule but he'll get back to you. Keep trying if he doesn't as his message box will sometimes fill up.

I was quoted a gain spec of 31db on my Glass Ceiling Monos so there's a bit of difference but 30db sounds very close to being the normal spec. I know their gain is much higher than other 26db amps I have.

On the Odyssey stuff,there's absolutely no difference between XLR and RCA inputs as Klaus has said that the XLRs are there just for convienence and are directly tied into the RCAs immediately into the amp. I know for sure there's nowhere near 6db difference between 'em on mine.

I have no direct experience w/Symphonic Line,however I'd be surprised if anything but the bigboy Krafts were balanced, so I'd doubt there's 6db difference there as well,but someone smarter than me can correct me.

I'd love sometime to hear one of the Symphonic amps(especially the Krafts    ) you hear nothing but high praise for them all.
Good luck on your search.