[BeerCan]

And I am very impressed 

Purchased a used Kismet in a Khartago case a few days ago.  I actually bought this not really knowing what to expect and I am super impressed.

This amp has what it takes and then some.  Currently using it with an Audible Illusions L3 preamp driving my Focal 1038Be and it is making sweet music.

Anyway I thought I would drop by and say hello   

[Tomy2Tone]

Right on, BeerCan!

Do you have any idea how many hours of use it got from the previous owner? I had a pair of 4yr old Stratos sent to Klaus to get upgraded to Kismets that essentially got brand new parts everywhere except for the input connectors so he told me it will take around 4 months for them to settle to their final sounding place.

Sweet and beautiful isn't it?

[Phil A]

Congrats - Odyssey is an easy purchase getting quality that far exceeds the price point vs. others.

[steve f]

Congratulations. You've made a great choice.

[Arcticdeth]

Welcome beercan!!!!!!  Enjoy the boards!

[BeerCan]

Thanks for the welcome guys.
The amp I purchased is about 1 yo and I think it was used for about 8 months before he downsized but I am not sure.  It was obviously well cared for by a guy who values his gear, so I have no worries about it.
I just love builders like Klaus who obviously care about their product, have great build for the money, stand behind the product and participate in a forum answering questions.  I am happy I have a chance to own some of his gear

I am moving my Luxman amp to a different system.  It is class a and with the amount of time I was using it my electric bill was going crazy, both from the amp draw and my A/C dealing with the heat
I will always love my Luxman gear but this amp has made the move very easy to do.  I am way surprised at how well it sounds compared to the Luxman it almost makes me mad LOL.  The only thing the Kismet lacks is meters   I love meters haha

[GentleBender]

The only thing the Kismet lacks is meters   I love meters haha

http://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_10?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=analog+meter&sprefix=Analog+met%2Caps%2C186
This should take care of your meter problem, just add some double-sided tape. 

[BeerCan]

http://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_10?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=analog+meter&sprefix=Analog+met%2Caps%2C186
This should take care of your meter problem, just add some double-sided tape. 

HAHA  I should find one of those old spectral meters sansui (I think) made in the 70's and hook it in

[bunky]

You are very fortunate that the first Odyssey amplifier that you bought is a Kismet in that you are already getting the benefit of a superb fully tweaked high end amplifier circuit. nobody sells anything comparable to the amp that you bought unless you spend five times as much suggested retail. for five times as much you might find something comparable , most likely not better but maybe on a equal footing. Klaus Bunge has been more of a good friend to me than a nice guy that I have bought stereo gear from. i have spent many hours talking to Klaus about various subjects that have nothing to do with his business or anything related to HiFi equipment. i don't know if many people know it but Klaus holds several masters degrees and was in the process of obtaining a medical degree at a US University when he went home to Germany on vacation and met the owner/designer of Symphonic Line and was offered the chance to be allowed to manufacture a German designed Symphonic Line amplifier under his own brand in the US and represent the ultra high end German Symphonic Line brand in both North and South America. you wont find a more genuine man in this business than Klaus. I have known Klaus for eleven years and the first thing that he asked me two years ago at the Capitol Audiofest was how is Courtney doing ? Courtney is my youngest daughter and Klaus still remembers who she is. Odyssey Audio is a family owned and run operation.Welcome to the Odyssey Audio Family. thanks , William.....Courtney is the young Lady in my Avatar.

[Tomy2Tone]

You are very fortunate that the first Odyssey amplifier that you bought is a Kismet in that you are already getting the benefit of a superb fully tweaked high end amplifier circuit. nobody sells anything comparable to the amp that you bought unless you spend five times as much suggested retail. for five times as much you might find something comparable , most likely not better but maybe on a equal footing. Klaus Bunge has been more of a good friend to me than a nice guy that I have bought stereo gear from. i have spent many hours talking to Klaus about various subjects that have nothing to do with his business or anything related to HiFi equipment. i don't know if many people know it but Klaus holds several masters degrees and was in the process of obtaining a medical degree at a US University when he went home to Germany on vacation and met the owner/designer of Symphonic Line and was offered the chance to be allowed to manufacture a German designed Symphonic Line amplifier under his own brand in the US and represent the ultra high end German Symphonic Line brand in both North and South America. you wont find a more genuine man in this business than Klaus. I have known Klaus for eleven years and the first thing that he asked me two years ago at the Capitol Audiofest was how is Courtney doing ? Courtney is my youngest daughter and Klaus still remembers who she is. Odyssey Audio is a family owned and run operation.Welcome to the Odyssey Audio Family. thanks , William.....Courtney is the young Lady in my Avatar.

That's awesome William. When I first talked to Klaus about having him upgrade some Stratos amps we talked for a while and at the end of our conversation he told me "welcome to the family!" and right then and there I knew I made a good decision. When I first met him in person just a couple of months ago at Newport after about 15 minutes I felt like I had known him for years. He just has that kind of personality and he really loves what he's doing.

[BeerCan]

You are very fortunate that the first Odyssey amplifier that you bought is a Kismet in that you are already getting the benefit of a superb fully tweaked high end amplifier circuit. nobody sells anything comparable to the amp that you bought unless you spend five times as much suggested retail. for five times as much you might find something comparable , most likely not better but maybe on a equal footing. Klaus Bunge has been more of a good friend to me than a nice guy that I have bought stereo gear from. i have spent many hours talking to Klaus about various subjects that have nothing to do with his business or anything related to HiFi equipment. i don't know if many people know it but Klaus holds several masters degrees and was in the process of obtaining a medical degree at a US University when he went home to Germany on vacation and met the owner/designer of Symphonic Line and was offered the chance to be allowed to manufacture a German designed Symphonic Line amplifier under his own brand in the US and represent the ultra high end German Symphonic Line brand in both North and South America. you wont find a more genuine man in this business than Klaus. I have known Klaus for eleven years and the first thing that he asked me two years ago at the Capitol Audiofest was how is Courtney doing ? Courtney is my youngest daughter and Klaus still remembers who she is. Odyssey Audio is a family owned and run operation.Welcome to the Odyssey Audio Family. thanks , William.....Courtney is the young Lady in my Avatar.

Sounds Like I made a good choice. (pun intended)
For the price it was offered for I don't think I could pass.  Seller was such a great guy he threw in 2 Odyssey power cables 2 sets Groneberg RCA and a set of Groneberg speaker cables.  System is sounding great right now as I said earlier it compares very favorably to my way more expensive Luxman gear.  Its a keeper for sure.

It is nice to hear that Klaus is a nice guy, perhaps one day I will give him a call.

[BeerCan]

Offhand does anyone know the input impedance of the Kismet?

Is it the same/similar to the Stratos at 22k Ohms?

[mav52]

Offhand does anyone know the input impedance of the Kismet?

Is it the same/similar to the Stratos at 22k Ohms?

I read somewhere that the mono version had an overall gain of about 30dB with an input impedance of 22kΩ and input sensitivity of 1V RMS, please don't quote me on that.   http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/odyssey2/2.html

[Phil A]

I read somewhere that the mono version had an overall gain of about 30dB with an input impedance of 22kΩ and input sensitivity of 1V RMS, please don't quote me on that.   http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/odyssey2/2.html

Per this  http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/odyssey2/1.html  that is correct

"The Kismets are class A for the first 10 watts or so and then the more power-efficient class AB thereafter. Class AB is a push-pull affair implemented here with Sanken 2SA1216 and 2SC2922 epitaxial planar power transistor pairs. These ring-emitter devices are noted for their long-term stability and reliability and crank out something like 17 amperes each or 34 amps per pair at 50MHz. They’re pretty much loafing in audio-frequency applications. Each Kismet has four such pairs, giving a peak current capacity of over 120A with 6 to 7 amperes steady-state. The inherently high bandwidth of these devices supports a frequency response of 2Hz to 500kHz, which according to Klaus allows lower feedback correction, reduces listening fatigue and distortion. It’s not by chance that these Sanken transistors are designed into several of the radically more expensive Burmester, Electrocompaniet and Symphonic Line amplifiers.


The combined current and power is certainly helpful for driving speakers with unusual impedance curves such as the Wilson Audio Specialties Sasha W/P, which dips to 1.8Ω in the bass; or the electrostatic Martin Logan CLS that goes below 1Ω at the opposite extreme, the high treble. Continuous damping factor is rather high and over 800, suggesting that the amplifier output impedance is negligible at a nominal 8Ω speaker impedance. The overall gain is about 30dB with an input impedance of 22kΩ and input sensitivity of 1V RMS."

[STEREOmole]

Congratulations!  I'm new to the family as well (trolling-out and reading up while my Cyclops is being built) and can hardly wait until my amp arrives. It's always interesting to hear about the systems that other people are putting together.