[Chris_B]

couriosity killed the cat

I won't be getting my Khartago monos for 3+ weeks so, for now, I need to live vicariously through your reviews.

[hagar]

Hello Chris,as far as I can see now,You won´t regret having ordered the khatargo monos .For sure I am courios, too .How will the performance be when fully broken-in?It´s a very thrilling component in deed.
Hope your monos arrive soon.

[Sonny]

So, with all this talk...what are the specs on the Khartago?  And how much is the pair?  Also, it seems really weird to me that Klaus should push the Khartago over the Stratos extremes...strange...but anyway, does anyone know the answer to the above questions?

[Chris_B]

Here are the specs and price ($1,500 a pair) from the Spanish web site:

http://www.odysseyaudiomx.com/electronicos.htm

Khartago


Especificaciones preliminares amplificador


Entradas RCA.
110 Watts por 2 en 8 Ohms.
Salida clase A/AB.
Respuesta de frecuencia 2 - 400,000 Hz
Capacitancia 60,000 µF.
30 amperes corriente.
Distorsión <0.04% No audible.
Factor de amortiguamiento >500 constante.
Diferencia DC <1 mV. Linearidad <1.0 uscc.
Impedanccia de entrada 10k Ohms.
Resistencias WIMA película metálica.
Transformador toroidal Plitron
Peso >13 kg.
Dimensiones (cm) 48.26 x 10.16 x 33.02 aprox.
Khartago Stereo precio:
USA: 750 USD. No incluye envío ni impuestos
México: 950 USD.
Khartago Mono precio:
USA: 1500 USD par. No incluye envío ni impuestos
México: 1,800 USD par.
>> Imprimir

I guess the reason why in theory, that the Khartago monos are better than the Stereo Extreme is that each Mono is able to provide more instantaneous current per channel when compared to a Stratos Stereo Extreme.  In reality, I bet that they would sound almost the same since they have much of the same internals.

[hagar]

Just finished listening to the new amps for today.The burn-in procedure started on monday and the monos did easily outperform my old stereo poweramplifier (Nakamichi PA 7E) after only 3 days.The first day they sounded a bit flat (soundstage)and rather harsh at the top end.But that was what I expected with a "cold" component.Now,after a week,the soundstage has opened up enormously in width and depht.Many more details can be heard and the low end is very powerful but controlled.
Instruments get their natural timbre.Only the top end like with violins or hard-played piano music seems to be a bit sharp(more or less,depending on the software).But since this has improved in the last days I think it will be better the next days or weeks.It´s a very dynamic and powerful amp
that can deliver power and high current very quickly.
In comparison to the Nakamichi singers and instruments have their right size and voices are more natural even at high listening levels.
The Nakamichi in combination with my Infinitys RS II B often blew voices up to an unnatural size when listened louder,maybe because of missing control over this current-hungry speaker.
With orchestral music depth of the soundstage could be a little bit deeper with the Khartagos but let´s give them some more time.
After all,i´m very confident with my decision for the Khatargo monos.
 
They look nice ,building quality is OK(you can´t have the high quality cases of the stratos for this price),even when listening to high levels they don´t get more than handwarm.
Here´s some of the music i listened to:
Johnny cash/Solitary man
Lynyrd skynyrd/Endangered species(unplugged,great sound!)
Jazz at the pawnshop(ATR Lp)
Ella an Louis (verve LP)
Flamenco Fever ( M+K realtime LP)
Fatha(M+K realtime LP)
Rolling Stones,Stripped
Solfljöt (BIS LP)
Venice/Solti (CR reissue LP)
Carl Orff,die Kluge (Edition Phönix LP)

I listened with the following components:
Infinity RS II B Speakers
Odyssey Khatargo mono  power amps
Threshold FET II preamp
Phonosophie 3 turntable with Morch UP 4 arm and Audio-Technica AT-95 cartridge
Marantz cd-17 CDP
Cables by Lapp and Berkenhoff & Drebes (industrie cables)

Hope You enjoyed this first description though my english is a bit "rusty"
Greetz
Hagar