mccormack or odyssey

Everyone here recommending the Odyssey has an "extreme" or monoblock configuration. These are probably significant upgrades from the Odyssey Stratos w/ the Cap upgrade you are asking about. I had this unit and it was only fine, not great. I sold it and upgraded to a Krell. I'm much happier now.

I don't have any experience w/ the McCormack. Both amps are highly regarded.

Jay, I had my Stratos for a solid year. I did try some different cabling. The VDH cables worked well in my system, I still have them. I never liked the way the Stratos amp handled the woofers in my speakers. It was lacking at lower volumes and sounded woolly at higher volumes. I also didn't like the sibilence in my system, that could have been the preamp, however. Anyway, things have improved dramatically w/ the Krell integrated. Granted it's cost is higher than the amp/preamp combo I sold.

I'm sure the extreme versions are an improvement over the Stratos, although I've never heard them. I have nothing but praise for the way Klaus handles his customers. Enjoy what you have. Noone needs to justify what they like or own.

I got my VDH cables brand new from a guy here on Audiogon. There are a couple of different sellers now. They're all European dealers, BTW. With the fall of the dollar against the Euro, they're getting more and more expensive. I liked the VDH cables much better than the crappy, overpriced Monster IC's I was using. Search in the classified here under cables for them.