About 11 months ago a friend of mine brought over Odyssey Cyclops for a listening session and I was blown away by the musicality, dynamics, wonderful midrange and large soundstage of this little amp. I was wondering about the capabilities of Stratos Monos but had quickly dismissed them as too cheap.
I have spent the rest of the year auditioning many different preamp/amp and speaker combos as per 6moons, AS and Stereophile. I have learned a lot about my tastes and tastes of reviewers. I have auditioned amps from Krell, Ayre, Exposure, Orelle, Blue Circle, Nuforce, Bel Canto, Audio Research, Rotel, Cambridge Audio, and Naim . As far as speakers are concerned I have listened to Anthony Gallo, Dynaudio, Dali, Definitive Technologies STS, Totems, Martin Logan, Ambiance (highly recommended). None of these, to my ears, really satisfied my tastes or justified the expense of upgrade.
The sound of the Odyssey always stayed in the back of my mind. I have lurked around AC during the past 12 months reading everything about the RedWine, Nuforce and Odyssey products and experiences. Curious about the announcement of KISMET and positive reports from RMAF I decided to give Klaus a call and describe my musical tastes/preferences. We had multiple conversations and at the end of it I ordered the complete Kismet system.
The Kismet system is comprised of Kismet speakers in gorgeous Mother of Pearl finish, Kismet monos with Groneberg TS premium interconnects and speaker cables, as well as Groneberg Reference power cables . Odyssey Candela and Logitech Transporter completed the system.
I realize I still have weeks left to complete the breaking in process; however, out of the box the amps and speakers absolutely destroyed my Rotel and B&W combo. The dynamics, level of detail, size of the soundstage, midrange and bass are truly unbelievable. Klaus has said that Loreleis are his best kept secrets and I truly believe it. I was floored listening to organ music, I would swear I was in one of the large European Cathedrals, the bass was unreal!
My lovely wife was convinced that purchase of the new system was absolutely not warranted. She has now changed her position and is thrilled with sound and finish of the speakers. Having not listened to as many high end systems as myself, she had no idea how much more detail and warmth could be derived from the music with an excellent system as the Kismet.
Merry Christmas to all and especially to Klaus and Alex from Odyssey. Klaus has created an amazing system and I am incredibly grateful for that.
Peter
