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Odyssey Stratos monoblocks with Elac Adante AS-61

I'm currently using Elac Adante AS-61 speakers with Emotiva XPA-200 (power) and USP-1 (pre).
I really like the sound of Elac speakers but I think they will make better sound if I upgrade the amps.
So, I started to search for affordable monoblock power amps and found Odyssey Stratos mono.
http://www.odysseyaudio.com/products-stratos-mono.html
I've found so many articles about how good they are, so I'm pretty sure that they will be a good match for the Elac speakers, but I wanted to ask first what others think before purchasing the amps.

Do you think replacing the current power amps with the Odyssey monoblocks will make huge difference?
If I choose to purchase a tube preamp in the future, what would you recommend? ($1500 or below, new or used)

Thanks in advance.
henryjudy
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,339 posts
 
I owned an Odyssey Stratos Extreme stereo amp for 5 years.  To tell you the truth, I am sorry I sold it.  It was one of the best sounding amp I ever had.  It will blow away your Emotiva.  The Odyssey amps are all completely hand made, no wave soldering on them.  If you buy new, figure at least a 3-4 month wait.  
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bigddesign3
237 posts
 
Audio Alchemy DPA-1M Monoblocs for sale at US Audio Mart for $1,500. Schiit Freya (4) 6NS7 tube preamp $699. Or you could buy the  Audio Alchemy DDP-1 with PS5 power supply upgrade (preamp and DAC) $2,500 new. Sometimes the  Audio Alchemy DDP-1 can be found used or demo for much less.  Audio Alchemy is a part of ELAC now, go to their site. The amps are ordinarily $4,000 for the pair new. ELAC has used these for DEMO at Audio Shows all the time. I have the  Audio Alchemy DDP-1/PS5 combo and it is one of the best deals in audio. The  Audio Alchemy DPA-1 Stereo Amp version is also for sale at $999 (half price) at Audio Advisor. Hope this helps. You couldn't find more for the cash then these tried and true items. I own both preamps.
2psyop's avatar
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2psyop
1,539 posts
 
I had an Odyssey Stratos amp and 2 Odyssey preamps, the Tempest and Candela. I had buzzing and low level spurious noise from all three of them. I had sent them to Odyssey to fix and after many, many months and spending $$$$, I had to sell them at a huge loss!!! I know there are fans, but never again from me. Klaus was very slow to help and almost never answered emails.
jackd
1,062 posts
 
Over the last twenty years I have owned five different Odyssey amps and still own a Kismet.  Never had a minutes trouble with any of them nor have I had a problem reaching Klaus by phone which he has made clear that he prefers.  I have never found them to be a bad match for any speaker I have paired them with.  Plus it's hard to beat a transferable 20 year warranty.
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