I've been looking for a good upgrade to the Monarchy Audio SM-70 Pro that I sold several months back, though no luck on finding anything worthy, at least not in my price range, even used.
As I was "Googling" around the internet about a week ago, I came across an article about Klaus and Odyssey Audio. After reading that article, I found another, then another, then another, etc, etc. I started reading reviews of various amps, a full system for under $6k, multiple CES shows where reviewers spoke with Klaus, and so on. I liked what I was reading about this guy and his products. I figured I'd shoot him an email and see what comes of it.
That was yesterday evening when I sent that email, oddly enough from clicking on his avatar here in the forum. Not expecting to hear from him until possibly the beginning of the week, I checked my email about an hour later and found an email from Klaus just 20 minutes after the one I sent him! WOW! In his reply, he asked me to give him a call, which I did today. We spoke for 30 minutes from beginning to end, including Klaus taking my order for what I was originally planning on just a plain jane base model Khartago.
Before I go any further, let me just say that anything and everything you have ever read about Klaus is all true. All of it! This man is incredible! He's eager to work with you, answer any questions you may have, no matter how rudimentary they may be, he's funny, exciting, SMART, and just a blast to deal with. Heck, come to find out, he's quite familiar with the town I live in as he was considering buying a house and moving here himself! He even mentioned a very well known, popular coffee house here in town that he checked out. All of this he remembered from I think seven or eight years ago! Pretty freakin' small world, wouldn't you say?!
Anyway, through our conversation, I was told a little story about the Khartago and how well it compared to another amp costing I think $140,000. That's just crazy! Being that I was talking to him on my cellphone, the signal around here kind of sucks, so there was some echo, dropouts and such, so I couldn't make out some of what was said, but I didn't want to be annoying either, asking him to repeat himself. I did a couple times when it came to the very important things about "my" amp though. In fact, right now I have my HP 3435A DMM plugged into the outlet to keep an eye on the line voltage so I can report back to Klaus in a few days with multiple readings. I know you all know what that's about. LOL
So when it was all said and done, and with the crappy cellphone signal, all I know is that I'm getting some kind of hotrod Khartago with upgraded PS, upgraded caps, upgraded wiring, upgraded board, upgraded case, upgraded input jacks, upgraded face plate, pretty much upgraded upgrades! At the end I asked Klaus what exactly it was that I just ordered, and I think he replied something like a Khartago Stereo Extreme Plus Kismet Charles Limited Edition. Haha
Whatever this amp is, I know it's going to be amazing. The only stinker about the whole deal is the two to three week wait, but that's fine. I'm not in any huge hurry and I'm certainly not going anywhere. Actually, come to think of it, if that's the time frame, it should be here a few days before my vacation starts! Woo-Hoo! Can't go wrong with that!
