Good review! I have owned both the Symphonic and Odyssey amps and your observations are similar to mine. These amps are one of the few true audio values which are not "compromise" designs. Try his preamp sometime..it too is a great value. Your next progression will be to get the "Extreme" version or perhaps the monoblocks (I had the monos).
Review: Odyssey Audio Stratos Amplifier
Category: Amplifiers
Wow. I hate to sound like a parrot, but here's another rave review. I just bought an Odyssey Audio Stratos 2-channel amp, and I am astounded with the performance it offers for $1,200.00!! The quality is not merely audible (although that is certainly the most important trait), but it is visible and tangible as well. The amp is constructed to a high tolerance level, and is appropriately heavy at 55 lbs. The internals consist of audiophile-grade capacitors, transistors and wiring, and the workmanship is impressive. My musical tastes vary widely, but I suppose I listen mostly to Jazz and Classic Rock. Drop a high-quality Dire Straits recording into a quality CD player, and fasten your chin-straps! Ditto for Diana Krall (this thing reproduces piano music like you're in the room!!) or Patricia Barber. Heck, I even made my ears bleed with a little vintage AC/DC the other night. Very musical amplifier, with two immediate attributes: WIDE and DEEP soundstage and little or no mid-range glare. Wow. It is terribly difficult to find a solid-state amp under $3,000.00 without the dreaded glare, but Klaus Bunge and the guys at Odyssey have done it. The soundstage is also "wide, deep and airy." If you haven't heard an amp that produces this sound, the words seem a bit pretentious, but for those of you who have heard this phenominon you know what I mean. This amp is a high-quality (and legal) copy of a Symphonic Line amp, and the end result is fantastic. A true "can't miss" product.
Associated gear
Parasound P/LD 1100 Line-Drive Preamp
Arcam 8SE CD/HDCD player
Cambridge Audio Azur 640C CD player
Meadowlark Shearwater "Hotrod" loudspeakers
RBH VT-10 passive sub
NHT 2A sub amp
Similar products
Threshold S300
Forte Audio Model 3
Integra
Agagon 8008BB
Wow. I hate to sound like a parrot, but here's another rave review. I just bought an Odyssey Audio Stratos 2-channel amp, and I am astounded with the performance it offers for $1,200.00!! The quality is not merely audible (although that is certainly the most important trait), but it is visible and tangible as well. The amp is constructed to a high tolerance level, and is appropriately heavy at 55 lbs. The internals consist of audiophile-grade capacitors, transistors and wiring, and the workmanship is impressive. My musical tastes vary widely, but I suppose I listen mostly to Jazz and Classic Rock. Drop a high-quality Dire Straits recording into a quality CD player, and fasten your chin-straps! Ditto for Diana Krall (this thing reproduces piano music like you're in the room!!) or Patricia Barber. Heck, I even made my ears bleed with a little vintage AC/DC the other night. Very musical amplifier, with two immediate attributes: WIDE and DEEP soundstage and little or no mid-range glare. Wow. It is terribly difficult to find a solid-state amp under $3,000.00 without the dreaded glare, but Klaus Bunge and the guys at Odyssey have done it. The soundstage is also "wide, deep and airy." If you haven't heard an amp that produces this sound, the words seem a bit pretentious, but for those of you who have heard this phenominon you know what I mean. This amp is a high-quality (and legal) copy of a Symphonic Line amp, and the end result is fantastic. A true "can't miss" product.
Associated gear
Parasound P/LD 1100 Line-Drive Preamp
Arcam 8SE CD/HDCD player
Cambridge Audio Azur 640C CD player
Meadowlark Shearwater "Hotrod" loudspeakers
RBH VT-10 passive sub
NHT 2A sub amp
Similar products
Threshold S300
Forte Audio Model 3
Integra
Agagon 8008BB
2 responses Add your response