Switched from well known Amp to Odyssey

The first four amps you mention are amoung the creme de la creme of solid state amplifiers. While for the money it is tough to beat the Odyssey, I do not know of anybody who would give up their Plinius, Krell, Rowland or Levinson for one. I could be wrong, all I am saying is that I personally do not know of anybody.

I have an Odyssey Stratos, and am totally pleased with the price and performance of this amp. This is also the first two channel amp I've owned. I have an Uncle whom is fortunate enough to have a Levinson 333, a Sonic Frontiers Power 2, and an Aragon 2002. I took the Odyssey to his house for a comparison while I had the money back return policy. The first was the Sonic Frontiers Tube AMP. Although tubes have the natural gift of smoothness, the Odyssey compaired in performance quite well. The sound quality, I feel was right there, and although not quite the same sound as the Tubes, this is a very smooth solid state amp. I can't say enough how pleased I am with how this amp performed against a much more expensive and reputable amp.

The next test was the Levinson. The first problem we had was the spades on the speaker cables, they were not big enough for the large binding posts on the Odyssey. We tried to get a good contact, but we were not getting a clean sound from the left speaker. So we decided not to risk damaging the speakers.

The build quality of this amp is top notch. Very sturdy, and practical appearance. I have the optional upgraded capacitor on my unit. There are lots of options available, including mono-blocks.

After our tests, we evaluated the Odyssey as a definite steal at the price, and a solid pleasing performer. I highly recommend an in-home trial. For the money, I think it is hard to beat.

I forgot to ask, do you already own a top of the line amp? or are you planning on a purchase/upgrade?

If you are planning on a purchase, and are having a hard time parting with the $4000 + for a top name, the Odyssey is a great value compromise. You would definitly have to spend a lot more money to get this quality or better in an amp.

I've had several different Audio Research amps, and last year switched to the Odyssey mono's. They simply 'blew-away' the AR amps (both tube and ss). The build quality is amazing, as well. I have begun to feel that other high-end companies are not delivering a reasonable 'audio/audible' return on investment...unless you are looking for snob appeal value. Me...I'd rather spend less money, and have as good (if not better) sound/musical quality...then there's money left for more toys or more music. Thanks Odyssey!, for bringing such sane pricing to high-end audio.