[fredorama]

So.... I wish my first impressions of my Stratos Monos were even in the same universe as Bob's. Sadly, they are not. I have two weeks of virtually round the clock break-in behind me on these, and I am still quite underwhelmed. I am driving a pair of Dynaudio Contour S3.4 speakers, using a Peachtree Nova as my Preamp/ USB DAC. I am not even sure exactly what I own, as they are neither Extremes, Khartagos or Kismets. All Klaus would say is that they were "very special" amplifiers that were nearly as good as the Kismets, with all kinds of upgrades put into them. He assured me they would completely blow me away, knowing my gear.

He indicated these amps would require a break-in period of up to 3 months. Without getting into details, I will just say that these amps would have to do a virtual 180 for me to want to keep them. I expected them to be much better than this out of the box, but I am giving him the benefit of the doubt when he says they will undergo a huge transformation during the break in period.

My question is, has anybody else out here had such an experience? And if so, did your amp(s) undergo a dramatic transformation? All I have read is how wonderful Klaus' products are. He is certainly a gentleman and I like him personally. But I would appreciate hearing some feedback from some of his real world customers as to their experiences being similar to mine and how things turned out.

[evan1]

Have you tried another preamp ? I heard the Nova with a few different amps and was not impressed at all.

[fredorama]

Evan, no I have not. But I have tried other amplifiers with the Nova, and WAS quite impressed. For instance, the amplifer section on a Plinius 9200 was a night and day difference over the performance I am getting out of my Stratos. The USB DAC on that Nova is a very nice DAC. And the combo of that Plinius with the Nova was some of the best audio I have heard. I sold the 9200 because it was an integrated piece and, as I was not even using the preamp section of it, I wanted to upgrade to a dedicated amp that would surpass the performance of the 9200.

[BobC]

All I can tell you is to wait it out and see if you can tell a difference, or most importantly if you like what you hear.

I bought mine used and fully broken in.  Sounded great.  I then sent mine in for the Extreme SE upgrade and they came back and sounded better.  I had to "break them in" over a long period of time and they did settle down and sound even better, net I liked what I heard and didnt feel the urge to keep spending.

But to be honest, this was a few years ago, and the break in period was over a long period of time AND I can't listen critically every day...so I can't give you any kind of definitive statement, other than to reassure that the amps are wonderful in my system. 

I certainly don't feel they are the weak point in my system.  My next purchase will likely be room treatments, but if was in the market for new amps I believe I'd need to spend a lot more $$$ to beat the ones I already have.

My $0.02.  Good luck.

[fredorama]

Bob, you have a beautiful system. I appreciate your 2 cents. However I think you have underpriced the value of your comments

I will have to wait and see is really the bottom line here. It may be, however, that what I needed was the 200 wpc Extremes (which I told him I thought I needed, but to which he countered that it was current, not watts, that mattered, and these had plenty of current to drive my speakers). If that is the case, then all the break in time in the world will not matter.

Time will tell. Thanks and I will keep you all posted.

[BobC]

Thanks!   

For me, the big selling point for these amps was the upgrade path.  It seems that the design is always evolving, and I like the idea that I won't find myself with an obsolete piece of equipment and can always bring it up to spec for very little money.

Also, the trade in policy if jumping to Kismets is very generous.

[djbnh]

I'll chime in that I have a pair of Klaus' Extreme Monos, and used the Isotek System Enhancer CD running 24/7 to do my amp burn-in over an approx. 2.5 week period. I didn't do much listening the first week, checked in sporadically during week 2, and by the middle of the third week I think the amps were very well burned in.

I believe Klaus reports the amps normally will need about 400 hours of burn in. I think the Isotek CD was instrumental in making burn-in a breeze for me. The Isotek disc has worked extremely well with burning in other gear. YMMV.

[lazydays]

* borrow another preamp!
* plug the amps directly into the wall socket
* check to see that you have the preamp hooked up correctly
* change the cables
* it pretty much takes about 450 hours to get them up to speed, and about 600 hours for a full burn in.

       I know little if anything about your speakers. If they are 4 ohm speakers I think I'd borrow a pair of 8 ohm speaker to see if this helps (I think they work best under a higher impedence load). I have been thru the whole mono block round up, and also have had five or six different preamps in front of my amps. A mono extreme will smoke just about any amp out there under $5K, and about 80% under $7.5K. I know for sure that mine will
gary

[kip_]

If Odyssey amps take 3 months to burn in why is there only a 30 day return policy 

[Eric]

Fair question. My guess is after a month you would hear enough of the house sound to determine if you liked them or not

[fredorama]

Thank you Gary and BobC.

I should borrow another preamp to see what happens. That will obviously make a difference, and a big one depending on what I use. But where can I get a great sounding DAC and a preamp for under $1200 combined? PLus I just bought the damn Nova after using the Decco and loving that but found I needed the Home Theatre bypass function so I upgraded to the Nova. The pre and DAC sections are supposed to be identical. The tube circuit is not impressive. Squooshes the soundstage and dynamics.

So the Nova is plugged into a Richard Gray 400S Power Conditioner using a MagicPower 15a 1 meter power cable, and there is a MagicPower cable connecting the RGPC to the wall. Both Stratos Monos are plugged into the RGPC using the supplied ICE power cables. From what I have read and been told, upgrading power cables on the Stratos does not improve the performance that much until you get into the $600 and over leagues. Anybody care to weigh in on that subject?

The preamp is hooked up correctly.

I could be using higher quality interconnects this is true. Speaker cables are OCOS II (from Dynaudio) 2 meter lengths. Power Cables already mentioned.

Speakers are 4 ohm 88db sensitivity. Thanks

[pjchappy]

Just curious.  Have you experimented with the Nova DAC's slope switch using the Odysseys?


Paul

[srb]

* plug the amps directly into the wall socket

If you haven't tried this one of Gary's suggestions, I would second the recommendation.  Sometimes power conditioners don't play well with power amplifiers.
 
It may end up not making a difference, but is very easy to try.
 
Steve

[kingdeezie]

I think at this point if you hate the amplifiers, they are not going to be your cup of tea.

I did notice that mine took quite a while to break in, and they went through many changes, but you should have a general sense of what you are going to end up with right now. Highs might smooth out and extend a little bit more and bass will get tighter, but outside of that I don't think its going to completely 180.

Its also not a power issue. At 4 OHMS, your amplifier is likely putting out plenty of wattage and current.

Also, I would be willing to guarantee you that the amplifier section of the Plinus can't hold a candle to the amplifiers you have now in terms of power and current output.   

The amplifiers you have right now, assuming that they are close to kismet, and going to be very neutral; and exactly what is in front of them is exactly what you are going to get.

That means that the quality of surrounding components is going to play a huge role in what you are hearing.

I am not sure what you are going for, but I would think that your allotment priorities are a little askew.

The Plinus integrated retails for 4200, something close to the Kismet from Klaus in monoblock form new would also be around that (3-4K).

Spending all that cash on an amplifier to power it with a 1100 dollar all-in-one preamp/DAC/Amp combo is not very efficient, and is likely leading to your displeasure.

Like many have stated, you need a new preamplifier.

If you can't swing a new preamplifier at this point, I'd recommend returning that amplifiers and getting the stereo version of the Stratos, which will still have more gusto then the 30 pound amplifier section in the Plinus, and use that money to purchase a suitable replacement to your preamplifier section.   

 
 

 

[ricmon]

Maybe your amps have significantly changed the way your system makes music.  Try repositioning you speakers and see if that helps.

good luck

[zybar]

So.... I wish my first impressions of my Stratos Monos were even in the same universe as Bob's. Sadly, they are not. I have two weeks of virtually round the clock break-in behind me on these, and I am still quite underwhelmed. I am driving a pair of Dynaudio Contour S3.4 speakers, using a Peachtree Nova as my Preamp/ USB DAC. I am not even sure exactly what I own, as they are neither Extremes, Khartagos or Kismets. All Klaus would say is that they were "very special" amplifiers that were nearly as good as the Kismets, with all kinds of upgrades put into them. He assured me they would completely blow me away, knowing my gear.

He indicated these amps would require a break-in period of up to 3 months. Without getting into details, I will just say that these amps would have to do a virtual 180 for me to want to keep them. I expected them to be much better than this out of the box, but I am giving him the benefit of the doubt when he says they will undergo a huge transformation during the break in period.

My question is, has anybody else out here had such an experience? And if so, did your amp(s) undergo a dramatic transformation? All I have read is how wonderful Klaus' products are. He is certainly a gentleman and I like him personally. But I would appreciate hearing some feedback from some of his real world customers as to their experiences being similar to mine and how things turned out.

I had Stratos Mono Extreme SE's and didn't care for their sound.

I kept them on for weeks (per people's recommendations), but found that they never lived up to the accolades found here on AC.

I was really disappointed that I didn't enjoy their sound. 

I think Klaus is a super guy, builds a quality product, and stands behind his work. 

If the sound doesn't float your boat and there isn't anything technically wrong, I would just move on.

George

[BobC]

I plug mine straight to the wall.  I think this is what Klaus recommends as well, but probably best to ask him.

[TJHUB]

Fredorama,

What exactly do you think is missing from the sound.  Can you describe what you're hearing and what you want to hear?

I ask only because I too wasn't completely thrilled with the sound of my Stratos Extreme monos either.  After living with them for a week or so, I decided to try something before selling them.  It worked out perfectly and I now VERY happy with the amps.

[BobC]

If the sound doesn't float your boat and there isn't anything technically wrong, I would just move on.

Hard to argue with that logic.   

But I would add...if there isn't anything wrong, and the amps are likely the weak point in your system and you can afford to flip equipment...then move on.

In my case, I don't think the amps are my weak point.  So I'll spend money getting the room treated and maybe better speakers before I trade out (or up) the amps.

[BobC]

I decided to try something before selling them.  It worked out perfectly and I now VERY happy with the amps.

Can you tell us what the "something" was?