odyssey amp's how do they compare to others

Well said, Klaus. Some people will always be skeptical. The more info you give them, the more they love to fire back at you.

From all that I've heard, Klause has really done a magnificent job of taking a product design, reworking it (with permission) so that those among us who cannot afford expensive gear, can reap the same, or even better sonic benefits than gear costing multiple times. He is to be commended for not only trying such an endeavor but for apparently succeeding quite well.

I almost purchased a pair of monoblock Stratos last Spring. But in the end, I held out for a McCormack DNA-2 LAE (Limited Anniversary Edition). The only amp the IAR (Intern'l Audio Review) reviewer claims is better than the Stratos back in 1999 and costs about 7 times more retail.

Because they are mail-order only, I've never listened to the Stratos, but my brother and a friend purchased a pair of mono's 6 months ago, and they thoroughly enjoy them. A third person just emailed me two days ago to say he just put his order in for one Stratos.

Now if only Klause would loan me a pair of Stratos so I could A/B compare them to my DNA-2 LAE. Then I could really speak with authority. :)

-John

Jetter,

No problem at all. My response wasn't directed at you at all. As for A/B compos, well, it's a very personal hobby after all. Even if somebody tries to be as fair and objective as possible, the whole listening environment, system setup and synergy, etc. might be in favor of one amp over the other in this particulat setup. No problem at all, since this is pretty much taken for granted.
There's a reason why there's ss and tubes, dynamic, ribbons, and Estats out there, and I'll never argue with somebody's personal taste. Hey, as a matter of fact, I'm actually selling tons of pre amps for several tube manufacturer if our customers want to run a tube pre. It's a no bullshit approach, of which I'm very proud of. Also, the factory direct marketing allows me this and gives me other areas of freedom as well. Personally, I love the discussion of comparing a variety of products within the umbrella of system synergy, and with my 14 years of experience in this business, I think that I have a pretty good background.

HOWEVER, if somebody blatantly tries to discredit my business, and ultimately also my life's work, then of course, I have to act somehow and set the record straight. Guys, think about if somebody's doing the same thing at your work - business place. It's not a pretty idea, and because this is a hobby industry, and as such very shaky in the first place, one can do real damage in a heartbeat because with the freedom of such great forums such as this also comes flipside in that it can easily be abused for alternative motivs or plain mean behavior.

Just my thoughts, and thanks for the support from you guys,
Klaus

Why so many great reviews? Ask why someone trashes them when they havnt even listened to them. I want to hear from people who know of what they speak (have at least heard the thing they are trashing). Who has compared these amps to other well known amps? Skeptical is one thing but you gotta give it a fair shake.

I own the Odyssey Monos. Probably some of the first Klaus did. I bought them from a local dealer when Odyssey wasn't sold direct. I have had them for 3+ years and haven't looked to upgrade and I haven't posted a review on AR. I have compared them to a number of other amps. Did other amps sound better? Sure there were other amps that I liked marginally better, but the price was more than marginally higher for the other amps. These amps took a long time to break in (longer than 30 days Klaus), but I haven't regretted this purchase in any way. I will say that before the monos I had the stero Stratos and that the monos are much better in my setup.

I was one of the original people who purchased the monos. They are very fine amps and are hard to beat at 2K. I would have to say that they are very musical amps that are amazingly fast and detailed. I sold my pair of monos a few months back and have replaced it with a custom amp built by Andy Bartha. For a "stock" amp the Odyssey is very hard to beat.