Pass, hands down. The after-market support from that company is second to none.
Pass X150.5 or Odyssey Stratos monos?
After months of research and mental anguish ;) I've narrowed down my search for new amplification to the two in the title. There are obvious differences like the fact that one is a stereo amp while the other are monoblocks. Anyway, if you had to, which option would you go with and why? Thanks!
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In my 10+ years stricken with the audiophile illness, I have learned that you should always keep an eye out towards resale value. You may keep something for 5-10 years, or you may not. I purchased many boutique products over the years that were supposed to be giant killers, and always took a bath when I went to sell them. With that in mind, the Pass is 100 percent the better option. I had Odyssey Monoblocks a long time ago. They were very good sounding amplifiers, but because of the variability of the product (different boards, cabling, caps, etc, etc) resale usually isn't the greatest. |
whatsmyname OP
You make what could be a good stereo amp into a mediocre mono amp by bridging the two stereo channels together to make a mono. Yes you gain a lot more watts, but everything else that makes for a good amp takes a hit. Current ability is less Stability is less Distortion is more Damping factor is worse The ability to drive low impedance’s is reduced by half. I’m sure there are more. Cheers George |
@simao I have both a Freya S and a Saga +. Speakers are Magnepan .7 and various dynamic speakers. I'm pretty confident the Pass and Odyssey amps will both do the job well, I'm just torn between the two. I expect the Pass to be a bit more magical but the dual power supplies of Stratos monos are very tempting. |
whatsmyname No contest, Pass X150.5 as it's it's not a bridged amp, like the Stratos mono's are Stratos Stereo http://www.odysseyaudio.com/pictures/amp-stratos-st-xt.jpg Stratos Mono https://img.usaudiomart.com/uploads/large/181185-odyssey_stratos_mono_extremes_with_upgraded_red_boa... Cheers George |