Odyssey Stratos or Krell 400Xi for Usher 6381's

By the way I noticed in another thread of yours with some concerns about overheating, the Stratos series does not even break room Temp.. Its the coldest lowest noise(no hum) amp I have ever encountered with high power and current like this. you could be stunned when touching it that it never seems to turn on.... Also a lot of the times odyssey recommends leaving them on 24/7 they pull no power and create no heat in my experience.. maybe a couple bucks a month on the power bill but I never noticed it one way or the other with them on playing all the time or not used at all...I had Krell, Classe', Forte, Ps audio, Threshold, Muse, Coda, Bryston and probably a couple more I can't think of that I have had... All ran pretty hot, and a couple RED hot after being on for a couple hours when Driven or sitting at idol.. This just does not happen no matter what I do to the odysseys for 24 hours plus.. very efficient solid amps with better part quality than any for the most part that I owned.

I'll chime in with a third recommendation for the Stratos Dual Mono. I'm actually the one who purchased the one recently sold and have had it in my system for a week now. Sorry, but I can't compare it directly with the Krell. It does take an authorative grip on my 89db monitors and is fast and detailed, slightly on the warm side with my tube preamp. I'd say a tremendous bargain at the price, even new. The only Krell's I've heard had a more squeeky clean SS sound with gobs of detail and drive (this from memory of a bi-amped Krell system that left a lasting impression). I think that particular system used Krell amps that are well beyond the price of a Stratos DM or Mono Extreme. Have not heard the 400Xi, and my memories are from long ago, so take from it what you may. Unlike Undertow's experience I would say the Dual Mono runs on the warmish side when serving up the tunes. Not class-A hot, but unmistakably warm. For what it's worth you can find more user feedback on the Dual Mono version here.

Marco

Yeah the Dual mono board adds some heat but nothing significant.. The stratos and the extreme are not the same as the Dual mono's which are 2 Amps in one chassis so that is the reason.. sharing 2 amps on one heatsink vs. one amp on one pair of heatsinks.. I can say the Khartago from odyssey runs warm, its the same amp, but in a smaller chassis with less heatsink..

Thanks everyone for your fantastic inputs.

I have a chance to get a one yar old stereo stratos with red board (what ever this is) and cap upgrade for $800 shipped. However, it has a silver face plate and I need black. This will probably add about another $100 to the price tag, if these are even user replaceable.

I'm thinking that $900 total is stil probably a pretty good deal. I figure I can give the amp a try and see how things turn out. And, with the money I saved buying used I can upgrade it to the hilt later on if needed or as desired. Will give me something to look forward to. :-)

Any of you guys change the color of the cool light on this amp? Curious if this is a bulb change or what. I sent Klaus an email asking if it was possible get the light in different colors (I would like greem to match my Arcam and Naim equipment)and he said it was.

Just curious if any of you had changed yours.

Just want to point out, though you may already know; the Stratos is a power amp that requires a preamp or an input with some kind of variable attenuation (passive or active). I say this because the Krell you were considering is an integrated amp which obviously has the pre stage built in (or at least passive attenuation). Also, it sounds like the Stratos you are considering is the 100wpc stereo version, while the one I and others have recommended are the 180wpc versions. I have no experience with the standard version so have no idea whether it fits your criteria. The Dual Mono version should have no problem pushing challenging loads I suspect. I would get some input on the version you are considering.

Marco

Marco