odyssey amp's how do they compare to others


are other amp's just over priced? could most people tell one amp from another if it was covered with a cardboard box?the stratos seem to get rave reveiws.am I just crazy to send more money on other move expensive amps.thanks in advance to everybody this is a great website
nikonf
Btw, if you read the reviews (at AR and elsewhere, I went back and re-read them because of this thread) one of the points that comes through many times is customer support, and Klaus himself.

Although I did not buy the Stratos, I spoke with Klaus on a couple of occasions and he came across as a very knowledgeable, pleasant, and straight-forward person to deal with.

When you buy a product, you are in effect buying a small piece of the company that makes it. There's no worse feeling than feeling abandoned by a manufacturer, and conversely feeling that the manufacturer will stand behind an item you just put good money down for will certainly increase that item's 'value' as well as overall satisfaction.

My understanding is that Odyssey is quick to remedy consumer issues. This is the kind of behavior that leads to a very loyal customer base. One of the reasons I bought Rogue amps was that I saw a similar type of feedback on the company and its owner.

KP
First of all, I don't have any idea about any of these reviews, and it's an open access forum. I'm not really buying it, though. We only make sure that the reviews posted are from legitimate owners. After all, this is our livelihood, and just like hiflying, there are quite a few people (you can figure out yourself who they are) who want to see the amp being degraded. Multiple motives here. As for this individual here, let's see what was posted so far: implying that we write our own reviews, that people are paid off by us, that the product can't be all that good, but that it's a result of hype, it's a cheap garage build unit that's a knock-off, etc. etc.

No thanks, but I don't have time for this nonsense. We've had discussions like this before, and I'm not going deeper into this with people who obviously are trying to damage our reputation and business for whatever reasons. This is unpleasent at the best, and a legal situation at the worst. Especially by someone who's never even seen our amp and who doesn't have any idea how much we put into every unit to make sure that our customers get the best possible deal. Exactly the opposite of rip-offs.

As for the reviews, the 5 star rating is defined. 5 stars means exceeding expectations, which indeed is price related. Is the amp the best there is ? No, of course not. There are tons of amps out there that are at least as good in many respects. There are other great products that are extremely enjoyable and with which I could happily live ever after / just not for our price point. The price/performance is the main issue here, and that's why people go nuts. Would we still have the same results and feedback if the amp would be $ 4-5 k? No, of course not.

As for the 2 owner's of monos who found the amp merely "ordinary", I don't really buy that either unless I'd talk to them personally. After all, we have the money back guarantee, and if a customer isn't 100 % convinced, then, of course, we'll take the units back.
Why so many owners of other products don't take the time and write reviews ? Well, again, that's more an issue of the web - interest by internet - direct customers. The highest % of owner reviews are indeed from internet direct companies, and this can easily be traced.
As for 75 reviews being ridiculous, I don't know. I'm very, very proud of this fact, and obviously put a lot of blood and sweat into making sure that I have very satisfied customers, before and after the sale.

If anybody's in doubt here, please make sure to call me personally, and I'll take as much time as needed to set any record straight.

Thanks guys,
Klaus
HELLO TO ALL, I AM NEW TO HIGH END AUDIO,YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED BY MY NAME NIKONF,I AM A PHOTOGRAPHY BUFF,HAD THE INTEREST SINCE I WAS 12,I AM FEEL VERY PLEASED TO HAVE 20 RESPONCE'S TO A THREAD OF MINE,JUST MY FEELING,IF THE ODYSSEY AMP'S WHERE SO BAD THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN TRASHED BY NOW ON A SIT LIKE THIS,I THINK THE AUDIO FIELD MAYBE LIKE THE PHOTOGRAPHY LENS MARKET,EVEN THE NON-MAJOR BRANDS LIKE SIGMA,TAMRON & TOKINA ALL MAKE HIGH GRADE LEN'S NOW,I WOULD BE HARD PRESSED TO TELL A WHICH LENS TOOK WHICH PHOTO,ETC.SO IF I PUT A CARD BOARD BOX OVER YOUR AMP & SWITCHED BRANDS COULD YOU TELL ? THANKS TO ALL,I THINK I AM GOING TO GIVE ODYSSEY A CHANCE AND PLACE AN ORDER,I WILL POST MY RESULT'S IN A FEW WEEKS
I'll stand corrected by Klaus, now that I've looked more closely at the rating scale in Audioreview. I just assumed for the overall rating: 1 meant crappy product, 5 meant the best. As it turns out while 3 is "average product" and 4 is "very good product", 5 means "far better than you imagined". So all those folks got a product that is far better than they imagined it would be. While I think the Audioreview's progression from a 4 to 5 rating is a bit screwy, I can't knock the people that use it. As a happy owner, I can believe that the Odyssey has exceeded expectations.

A$$, you, me - I got it! Sorry about the mixup.

Beez
I just read Klaus' response and what I wrote and see why he thinks I was talking about two people with monoblocks who thought they were "ordinary". Well I have to clarify again what I meant to say. I meant to say that I am considering buying the Stratos monoblocks and contacted two people who had sold their Odyssey Stratos, which is to say they were not monoblocks. Now that I have said that I have more to say. First Klaus, 99.9% of us are not out to discredit you or anyone else. Universally you are known as a gentleman, I sure thought so after talking with you and by golly I bet we are also, except those of us who are gentlewomen. That said, we are pretty close to exactly where this started, with no one giving any indication of how the amp compares next to another amp that we might be familiar with. I almost emailed Nikonf to thank him for asking the question yesterday before there were any responses because I have been wondering exactly the same thing. A lot of us live out here in the country (Vermont for me) without a person around with your equipment.