Odyssey Kismet Reference series.

@hiendmmoe ... Interesting post.  This may explain why a rough patch in the 5 to 7kHz range, which I had attributed to my speakers/room, turned out to be from the Odyssey amp.  The sharpness in that range vanished with my new amp.  Perhaps the Odyssey amp was never biased properly for my sprakers.  Another reason I am glad to have moved on from my Odyssey amp.  I am not a tweaker type; I want to listen to music.  If I wanted to fool around with bias settings, I would have gone for a tube amp.

Glad I found this thread.  My HT3 (with cap upgrade) crapped out - bad caps, I think - and I sent it to Klaus for repair/upgrade.  He made me a good offer for the full Kismet upgrade on the left and right channels (center is for HT use only, so just a repair on that channel).  Klaus hopes I will get my amp back by the end of the year.

Interestingly, I posted a similar question on the Audio Circle Odyssey Audio circle, and got very little response.

@waynebosz:  I use a McIntosh C220 (out of production, but available used), which is a hybrid tube unit.  I really like the combination.  If you want to try it, Audio Classics should have them for sale, and they offer a 14 day return option, IIRC.

Well, it has been a long, bumpy trip, but I am finally enjoying my Kismet (the left and right channels upgraded in my Stratos HT3 case).  Initially I was very underwhelmed with the sound, but it turned out that my outboard crossovers were not operating properly.  They are in for repair, and I am using a temporary set of crossovers.  My initial impressions are very good.  Even at lower volume, I am hearing dramatically improved dynamics, more extended, smoother, cleaner treble with that filigree quality that I crave.  I can't fully evaluate the Kismet upgrade until I get my repaired crossovers back, but, so far, I am very pleased.  I will followup when I get the crossovers back and broken in.

Well, my experience was not too good, either.  After realizing my upgraded HT3 (full Kismet reference internals) was not performing well, Klaus determined it was damaged in shipping.  I lugged it back to UPS store again, and sent it back.  This time, Klause wanted to return ship it via air parcel.  I agreed, since I live near Newark airport.  All in, I think I was out about $350 for the 2 round trip shipping.

I got my crossover issues resolved, and everything sounded wicked good, for about 4 months.  Then, one night in May, while listening to some music on my server, first one, then the other channel went silent, along with some sparking inside the amp 

I am sure Klaus would offer to repair it, again.  I cannot handle lugging this monster to UPS again, or even lugging it up the stairs from my basement.  Then there would be hundreds of dollars in shipping.  And I have to assume that the great sounding parts Klaus uses are just not reliable, like the parts used by other high end amp makers which seem to last for many decades without issues.  I said to myself when I ordered the upgrade that when the upgraded amp died, I would move on to a lighter amp with a better reputation for reliability.  And that's what I did.  I now have a pretty nice sounding class D amp that I am pleased with.  Is it as good as the Kismet Reference?  Sort of, but in different ways.  Better in some ways, not as good in others.

I guess Oddysey amps are for people with above average back strength and above average patience (or at least a decent spare amplifier lying around).

I am neither that patient nor that strong, so I must part ways with Klause and Odyssey Audio.

The kicker for me was when I called to tell him my original HT3 had died, he asked how old it was.  When I told him about 12 years, his reply was that of course, those caps only last about 10 years, and that I was lucky they lasted 12 years.  And this doesn't include the bad cap I had to replace when it was new.