I have an Odyssey Stratos Amp... bought it a number of years ago. It simply cannot hold a candle to the Tyr’s. The Tyr’s have more detail, the bass control is amazing and a deeper soundstage but a slightly less wide soundstage compared to the Odyssey. We are also talking a difference in price, the Odyssey is a good value for the price and that is how Stereophile Magazine talks about the Odyssey... good value for the price... the Tyr holds its own against considerably more expensive amps... I compared the Tyr to my friend’s McIntosh MC312 and the Mc did not blow it away. The Tyr has been a pleasant surprise. I use the Odyssey in my 2nd system and I tend to keep my gear for quite a long time, I still play my Rogers LS 3/5a from 1977 from time to time.
I have Vandersteen 3a Signature speakers... my Preamp is a McIntosh C2200 which I view as a keeper, my power amp was dying and I was searching for something different. I took a chance on Two Schiit Tyr Monoblocks, wasn’t exactly sure how this would work... WELL... simply awesome. The bass is considerably better, the midrange is more detailed with greater depth and the overall soundstage improved tremendously... these big Schiit’s are keepers too. Definitely recommend a tube preamp like my McIntosh with the Solid State Schiit Tyr poweramps... great combination. I interfaced the C2200 to the Tyr’s via XLR. Prior to discovering the Tyr's I was leaning towards Bryston or Parasound.
I own and really enjoy my Arion Audio S500. Yes, it's a switching amp, but it sounds great, not like some switching amps. Very clean, neutral sounding and gobs of power from a small, lightweight, cool running box. 500 watts per channel, in your price range. Mike Kalellis designed and builds these. He is a talented designer and a great guy.
If I had your speakers I’d absolutely hop on these Clayton Audio M100 monoblocks as they are truly special amps that I think will synergize beautifully with your 803Ds. You can use them in low bias mode when idle and even for HT, but for serious 2-channel listening you can switch into full Class A, and I think your speakers will open up and thrive on Class A power and these will likely stomp the performance of your Rotel. Incidentally, if you still have your speakers positioned as they are in the picture I’d try pulling them another foot into the room and see if your imaging/3D soundstage improves. FWIW.
Take a close look at PS Audio M700 monoblocs. I was skeptical because they were class D output stage but those guys sure know what they are doing. Class D when properly done is far superior. The sound/voicing is just plain impressive. They do give you a 30 day free trial, take trade ins and all their stuff is on sale right now. I can’t think of any better amps I would buy for under 3K at the moment or I would have bought them already. Stay far away from Schiit!
I’ve personally been eying the new Strarkrimson amps from Orchard Audio. Although a bit hyped lately, a few with whom I’ve communicated say they’re legitimately powerful and wonderful sounding:
i recently added front wide speakers so i will use existing Rotel amps for this new channel. This opens a vacancy for my front mains , i enjoy the system but have felt for a while that my main speakers are being underserved by the Rotel 1595.
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