[Thunder240]

Well, I'm the proud owner of a new Odyssey Stratos!

So, Klaus warned me that this amp is going to take a good long while to break in, and that out of the box it will sound like crap. I'm curious if you guys have any tips or strategies to promote the break in? Amp is currently plugged in with power on, going on about an hour. Very eager to let 'er rip, even if it sounds bad.

[smata67]

Just leave the amp on 24/7 and it should be fine in a couple of months.  People's experience varies.  I was one of those that the amps sounded very odd when I first got them (monos, sounded like music was coming from the bottom of a well), but they eventually became indispensable.  I have to admit getting a great deal of satisfaction from Odyssey products over the years, far in excess of the modest purchase price.  Congratulations, you have made one of the best possible purchases in high end audio.

[Thunder240]

Thanks Smata!

Interesting description. I've been playing music most of the afternoon and evening, and I can already here some pretty significant sonic changes. Out of the box, the bass sounded muddy, the mids were congested, and the treble lacked clarity and sparkle. Seven hours later, the Stratos is still a long way from delivering the subtlety that the Parasound Halo A23 that I've been borrowing offers, but already I can hear the mids opening up and the bass tightening. I'm sure a big part of the sonic change is simply that the Stratos' capacitors are charging up, but I know the sound will continue to evolve long after the caps hit full charge. I'm really looking forward to hearing this amp blossom over the next few months, as several posters have described.

One thing that is very obvious is that there is a TON of power on hand to drive my Ascend CMT-340s, with room to grow (which is good, since I plan to eventually upgrade to Sierra Towers).

[srb]

One thing that is very obvious is that there is a TON of power on hand to drive my Ascend CMT-340s, with room to grow (which is good, since I plan to eventually upgrade to Sierra Towers).

The Sierra Towers have almost the same sensitivity (89dB anechoic/92dB in-room) as the CMT-340 (90dB anechoic/92dB in-room) so they should only require a hair more power, if any at all.  But because the Sierra Towers are 4Ω average impedance vs. the CMT-340 8Ω, they will allow your amplifier to ouput additional power for even greater dynamic peaks (and the Sierra Towers can sustain ~ 25% higher short term peak power as well).

Steve

[bpape]

To run it 24/7, wire the 2 speakers out of phase and put them face to face right in front of each other so they cancel each other out to a certain extent.  Let;s you leave things on constantly without too much bother. 

By 200 hours they've pretty much stopped the wide swing Jekyll and Hyde thing.  200-500 hours they just keep getting more refined. At least that was my experience with my Stratos monos.

Bryan

[Thunder240]

@Bryan, that's a cool. Idea that I'll keep in mind. However my wife would kill me if I left my toys in the middle of the bedroom! For now, I'm content listening to a lot of music

@Steve, yeah I was referring to the 8 vs 4 ohm loads. Ill be glad to have all the extra headroom when driving such a light load. BTW, have you heard an Odyssey amp paired with Sierra Towers, and if so, what do you think of the combo?

[stereo5]

I used an Isotek system burn in cd to burn in the amp.  I put it in the cd player and when we went to work, and set it on repeat. 

[djbnh]

I used an Isotek system burn in cd to burn in the amp.  I put it in the cd player and when we went to work, and set it on repeat.

Ditto.

[Arcticdeth]

as far as break in goes :   

is it possible to have everything hooked up, and press play, then unplug the speakers, and turn up  the volume on the preamp for break in, or do the speakers actually have to have sound coming from them for the amp to break in ( ohm load on the amp's )  is there a way to break in without having to use the speakers ??

[Haoleb]

If you do not have the speakers connected you really are not driving the amp at all because no current is going through the output stage. It would be like saying you want to break in the tires on your car but instead of driving the car I am just going to put it on jackstands and put a brick on the pedal.

Just sit back and turn something on and don't worry about it so much. You would be silly to think that it will be un-listenable until it has been playing some gimmicky burn in cd for 6 months straight. 

[hukkfinn]

Hi there,

First suggestion:  to accelerate break-in, turn the amp off for 30 minutes every 2 hours (or as often as practical for you).

Second:  do not use break-in CDs.  Music is best. 

-Hukkfinn

[stereo5]

"
First suggestion:  to accelerate break-in, turn the amp off for 30 minutes every 2 hours (or as often as practical for you).  Second:  do not use break-in CDs.  Music is best."

Where do you get that info from?  The owners manual specifically states to leave the amp on all the time for best sound and to help the break in process.  Using a break in cd is better than just playing music because it has all the frequency's, the music may not.  Do you actually own an Odyssey amp or are you just guessing?

[klaus@odyssey]

I always tell people to just play normal as you'd always have used amps.  It'll come around no matter what, and actually,  it's a pretty cool learning experience.  Lot of people talk about break-in,  but realistically,  many of them don't know what they are talking about, until you really,  really experience it,  and super fast high current ss amps are notorious for this.....guess what we have ???

Late,
Klaus

[rollo]

We have found that after running a component for awhile a turn off period of 5Hr allows the dielectrics to settle. its a bitch but 5 HRs on 5 hrs off speeds up the process and is very affective.


charles

[hukkfinn]

"
First suggestion:  to accelerate break-in, turn the amp off for 30 minutes every 2 hours (or as often as practical for you).  Second:  do not use break-in CDs.  Music is best."

Where do you get that info from?  The owners manual specifically states to leave the amp on all the time for best sound and to help the break in process.  Using a break in cd is better than just playing music because it has all the frequency's, the music may not.  Do you actually own an Odyssey amp or are you just guessing?

I own the Stratos monos.  Not guessing.  My job involves constant break-in of new capacitors and circuits.  They settle down faster when we give them periodic rest.  I learned this from my partner who has been modding amps for decades.  As for break-in CDs, I have tried them and found that they left my system sounding temporarily weird. Music has never produced this effect.  Of course, you want music with a wide range of frequencies, not solo violin. 

But hey, if you want to stick with the burn-in CDs and leave things on 24/7, go for it.  We'll both end up in the same place eventually.  It's all good.

Hukk

[diofan56]

I have a Khartago stereo amp with all of the upgrades.  It sounded great right out of the box.  I don't leave it on all the time because that just wastes electricity.  When I turn it on I start listening immediately.  It sounds just fine.  I don't hear any difference in sound quality from turn on to turn off (1 - 4 hours).  Personally I don't think there is anything to all the talk of amp break-in.  Why would an Odyssey product take more time to 'break-in' than a product from another company?  Electricity is electricity.  Heat is an enemy to electronics.

[Hank]

I received my Stratos Plus yesterday.  I bought it from an eBay seller early October.  He lives in Indianapolis and turns out he's a friend of Klaus'.  He took the amp to Klaus for a tune up and adjusting the bias to my house line level voltage.  Trade shows took Klaus out of town, but he eventually got to my amp and gave me a good price on installing a brand new main board.  AND, he said:  "You've got a new 20-year warranty".  I have yet to hear the amp, but the customer service is top shelf!  I won't replace my Acurus with the Stratos Plus until the weekend, but I will plug it into the wall tonight and leave it on until I do the swap.  Anticipation!

[stereo5]

Personally I wouldn't turn the amp on unless it has a load attached to it (speakers).  Could damage the amp.

[Hank]

I installed my Stratos Plus Saturday and it sounds great.  Of course the P.S. caps were already formed since they are the original ones.  Perhaps the new main board caps will settle in a bit and the SQ will improve - we'll see.