Is Odyssey Power amp Stratos better than Krell?

The future could very well be in digital amplification but at this given point in time they still fall short of a well designed conventional amp in my opinion. There are some things they do so superbly right & for that reason they definately give us a glimpse as to what may come. With more tweaking they may eventually out-do conventional designs. Currently I am using both solid state & tube amps. There are things that a SS amp can do that tubes can't and vice a versa. When I get tired of one sound I switch to the other. Anyway, one of things that awestruck me about the Odyssey Stratos (besides the fact that it was built like a tank), was the level of sound quality it posessed. Transparency, fine detail, holographic (3D) sound & power were there in abundance, more so than other amps in that price range. When used with other quality components, it can be tough to beat!

It is common knowledge that SS have better bass, but Conrad Johnson on HE 2004 have bass equal to the best SS I have heard, with exception to Spectral (I have never heard anything like this before it was vulcanlike rumbling). But musicality of tubes will be hard to beat for year to come if ever possible. As for Digital Amp they were able to make Grand Utopia to sound mediocre on HE 2003 it is big achievement, the some speakers years earlier with Lamm monoblocks mesmerized me, I could not believe my ears, IT WAS MUSIC, MUSIC!!!

I cannot say much about Krell, as I've never owned any, but the Odyssey Stratos-yes. I owned a pair for a few months. Found them harsh in upper treble and "hummed" in my system. The Odyssey had some awsome attributes- great soundstage, depth, bass and presence, but one big BUT- fatigue. I could not listen to these for long periods due to the graininess in the treble. May have been cables, may have been my room,etc. The best match for my Avalon Eclipse were a pair of BAT 60s.
I cannot recommend The Odessey.

Oregon, that is an interesting conclusion & a good point! Imagine all the different variables that come into play when a person does his review. The type of cabling, associated gear and or tube preamps (the tube types used) & the type of speakers being used. When I finally get my system up & running, after doing all the different tweaks to obtain the perfect sound, sometimes I screw it all up by inserting a new component. I have to start all over again, its crazy. I have learned a long time ago to keep on hand different cables, at least two different types of preamps, various tubes, & finally a couple of power amps. This way you can reach your final conclusions on a piece of gear since you tried most everything else. We all got to love this hobby!

How do you know that Odyssey are great components ? Maybe instead of keeping bunch of cables and preapms would be enough to replace Odyssey ? I believe that manufacturer did great job to find right pre, cdp and cables to present them to audience of HE 2004, 2005.
And even that I did not like them, to say delicately, not that I liked any equipment in that price range.