I've spent the past 6 mos completely revamping my 2ch system and thought I owed Klaus a short review of my findings so far. There have been many changes to my system including new speakers, I went from SP Tech Timepiece 2.1's (wonderful but too small for my big room) to a big custom pair of 3-way speakers from Rick Craig at Selah, that I call TS-3's...a collaboration between Terrawood & Selah. I upgraded my Khartago amplifiers to Dual Mono's to power the woofers and Symphonic Line RG1 to power the mid/tweeter circuit. I also switched pre's going from using an Electrocompainet passive to a Candela. To stay true to the copper system I decided to use the same Groneberg Premium wiring that Klaus used in the Dual Mono's, RG1 and Candela. Groneberg serves as internal hook-up wire in my speakers, speaker wires and IC's. So there it is, short of the speakers and USB cable this is a 100% Odyssey based system.
The sound thus far is wonderful. Because I've made so many changes to my 2-ch system I do not really have any way to give a comparative review. I have switched a Promiteus TVC preamp in and out of this new system which gave me a a little idea about the two preamps. The minimalist TVC, as far as I can tell, adds nothing to the sound, I really enjoy it for that very reason. The Candela sounds just a tad more "full" or "smooth" to my ears. A better way of putting it is the TVC is very matter of fact. When coupled with components that have a bit of an "edge" the TVC does nothing to the edgy sound while the Candela seems to ease the harshness just a little. I attribute the round full sound of the Candela to the tubes. I do wish I would have had both the Candela and TVC when I owned the non forgiving SP Tech Timepiece 2.1's.
Both the Dual Mono's and Symphonic Line RG1 are a healthy step up from the Khartago's in terms of juice. Both amps are dead quiet and I hear no transformer hum whatsoever, this was also true with my Khartago amps.
As time passes and I develop a good sense/memory of how this Odyssey system sounds together with the Selah speakers, I will begin to switch components and wires in and out and post my findings. Until then I must give a hats-off to Klaus and thank him for offering these first class products and for doing so at the price level he does, amazing.
Chris
