[Pars]

Hi,
I realize that this is the Odyssey forum. I am a long time owner of a Stratos Plus (upgraded by Klaus) 20+ years ago. I've never done anything to it since and have always been happy with it. Great bang for the buck.

I am running this powering a pair of Von Schweikert VR4 Gen2 speakers. Preamp is a Pass Labs Aleph P. I do quite a bit of audio DIY and the preamp may get replaced with a UGS Muse preamp I am building which is similar to a Pass XP30.

I've been considering updating the amp lately. My thoughts run towards a more Class A design or capability. Since the Stratos runs so cold, I'm assuming it isn't biased into Class A much.

I haven't seen much in the way of impressions or reviews of the higher end Stratos such as the Extremes, nor of the Kismets. Admittedly, I don't hang out here much and haven't exhaustively gone back thru the board. So, my questions:

1. How much improvement difference have people seen going from something like my Stratos Plus to an Extreme? Kismet? What other levels of Stratos above the Plus are there?
2. Other thoughts: going with an older amp biased heavier into Class A, such as a Threshold, etc.
3. Going with a modern amp such as a Schitt Wotan or a pair of Tyr monos[/li][/list]

I am reluctant to go with Monos as my system is in our great/living room and I am dealing with WAF factors here  I've never really had what one would call a really high end amp in the syetem. I did try my brother's Counterpoint SA220 in it and preferred the Odyssey (though he liked the Counterpoint with his Apogee Centaurs better). I did try a Marsh 400 in the system, but that didn't work at all, possibly because of the Counterpoint SA5.1 I was using as a preamp at the time.

I probably should call Klaus and talk to him about this and see what he thinks, but thought I would get a discussion going here first to try to congeal my thoughts. Thanks for any input!

[Jeff_From_Michigan]

Pars, you're right - you should call Klaus.  I can tell you that when I was looking into getting my Kismets, Klaus asked me all kinds of questions about my speakers, cables and even the voltage coming out of my wall outlets.  He will literally build the amp with your specific needs in mind.

Now this is only an anecdotal report from an Odyssey customer, but I am VERY HAPPY with my Kismets driving my Maggies. There is always plenty of current on demand, and I can see them driving your Von Schweikert's very easily. (Nice speakers, by the way!)

Finally, there is some chatter on another thread here that Klaus is working on a "Statement" amplifier. You might want to ask him about this beast. I've not felt the urge to update the Kismets, but who knows if that will change when his entry into the mega-amp stratosphere arrives.....

[klaus@odyssey]

"I've never really had what one would call a really high end amp in the syetem."
Ahem...Pars,  what do you mean ????

Anyway, 20 + years old amps compared to what I'm doing now ???   Different zip code.

A simile:  you have a 2000 Ford Mustang 6 banger,  and you'd get a 2025 8 cylinder  GT, or Dark Horse (or whatever you'd want in the product line-up).

Gets you from point a to b,  has the same name and heritage,  but man,  what a world of difference...........

[simon wagstaff]

Counterpoint SA 220? I had one driving my Apogee Duetta Signatures many years ago. Blew up twice before I managed to get rid of it.

I recently got the current latest Kismet monoblocks driving Maggie 2.7X and very happy. Plenty of power and great dynamics and soundstage.

Looking back maybe wish I had kept the Apogees and upgraded to NPS before Michael Elliott passed, but keeping stuff for 30 years is not how it works for me.

[Pars]

Uh, sorry Klauss. What I was trying to convey was a really high priced hi-end amp (something like a Boulder, Levinson, etc.). I did not mean to imply that Odyssey products are not good or high-end as I've been a satisfied owner of mine for over 20 years. My apologies.

I'll try to give you call in the next few days and talk with you about what my options would be.

[Pars]

Just an update: I spoke with Klauss and placed an order for a Kismet stereo amp.

[Pars]

It's alive...



Got it yesterday. I had initially planned on driving down to Indy to pick it up, but it wasn't ready this weekend. Klaus suggest doing an airfreight up to Chicago Midway so I agreed. Price was reasonable and it got here really fast! Pickup was easy (other than the drive) and quite slick!

This is the full boat Kismet with the 850VA tranny, Sym. Line caps, WBT connectors, etc. Only thing that is original is the case.

I finally got it put into my system late this afternoon, and listened to a couple of tracks (Oppo BDP-103-> Resolution Audio Opus21 -> Pass Aleph P - > Oddyssey Kismet -> Von Schweikert VR4 Gen 2). I know it isn't broken in yet, but I was quite pleased. Bass is firmer and more present (the caps in my 20+ year old Stratos couldn't have been getting tired, could they?). Mids and treble were slightly recessed (mostly a good thing as things sounding bright bother me). Even my wife (from the proverbial kitchen, who hasn't been into listening to music) commented that it sounded very good.

Thanks so much Klaus!

[Jeff_From_Michigan]

Pars, I'm sure that Klaus warned you about this. But just for S&G, that amp will likely gyrate wildly between good, awful, great, not so good and so on before settling in to it's final sound - amazing.  For me, this happened at probably 125-150 hours, but I swear that it kept improving gradually up to the 400-500 hour point. I've thought about higher-priced amps, but it always comes down to the fact that I enjoy the system immensely just as it is.  I believe the Kismet mono's are a huge reason for this, so if I upgrade it will be somewhere else in the system (or just maybe, Klaus's upcoming statement amps..............).

Please let us know how long it takes your Kismet to "burn in" or settle, whatever you want to call it.  You'll know it by the size of the smile on your face and the many hours lost to music collection deep-dives.