It is one of those hidden values in audio and Klaus is first rate;glad you are enjoying the Stratos,happy listening.
Stratos Extreme+ after 430 hours of burn in
I received my Stratos Extreme+ 18 days ago and I have been burning it in by alternating playing music and using my Isotek burn in cd. During this time, I have tried to devote at least an hour a night for some serious listening and although the amp sounded great right out of the box, it sounds incredibly sweeter now.
Klaus at Odyssey Audio told me the amp can take up to 3 months to fully burn in, but I honestly don't see how it could sound any better than it does right now. The soundstage is absolutely huge, not only in width, but in depth and height as well. Vocals sound oh so sweet with never a hint of raspiness. The bass is very taut and deep, so deep that I removed my Paradigm subwoofer from the system and no longer feel I need it.
As I am using DeVore Gibbon 8 speakers, I never thought this two way speaker could give me the amount of bass that I wanted. The bass is also very articulate without a hint of boominess. With this amp, I am now able to hear all the different instruments across the soundstage and the mids and highs are to die for. There is not one iota of etch or glare or any sibilence.
The amp never seems to run out of power and barely gets warm. The amp is also dead quiet. This amp replaced a Classe Audio 15 175wpc amplifier that cost just under three grand back in 1999! I still for the life of me cant figure out how I got so much amplifier and sound of the highest quality for such a paltry sum of money. I have been involved in this wonderful hobby for over 36 years and a lot of equipment has come and gone in my household, but this amp is definitely a keeper.
At this point, I feel I have a complete system with no desire to upgrade any longer. I honestly never thought I would ever say that. Life is good.
Bob
Klaus at Odyssey Audio told me the amp can take up to 3 months to fully burn in, but I honestly don't see how it could sound any better than it does right now. The soundstage is absolutely huge, not only in width, but in depth and height as well. Vocals sound oh so sweet with never a hint of raspiness. The bass is very taut and deep, so deep that I removed my Paradigm subwoofer from the system and no longer feel I need it.
As I am using DeVore Gibbon 8 speakers, I never thought this two way speaker could give me the amount of bass that I wanted. The bass is also very articulate without a hint of boominess. With this amp, I am now able to hear all the different instruments across the soundstage and the mids and highs are to die for. There is not one iota of etch or glare or any sibilence.
The amp never seems to run out of power and barely gets warm. The amp is also dead quiet. This amp replaced a Classe Audio 15 175wpc amplifier that cost just under three grand back in 1999! I still for the life of me cant figure out how I got so much amplifier and sound of the highest quality for such a paltry sum of money. I have been involved in this wonderful hobby for over 36 years and a lot of equipment has come and gone in my household, but this amp is definitely a keeper.
At this point, I feel I have a complete system with no desire to upgrade any longer. I honestly never thought I would ever say that. Life is good.
Bob