It's finally here!
drumminman
Posts: 3,396
Sent my Odyssey Stratos Stereo Plus back to Klaus to be converted to Dual Mono. He basically removed all the innards and rebuilt it from the ground up with the new red boards, two brand new transformers, new caps with total capcitance increasing from 120,000 uf to 240,000, new WBT rca jacks, new internal wiring with Groenburg cabling. Love the back with two power cords! According to Klaus the changes triple the current delivered from around 45 amps to 120.
Hooked it up last night to my RTA 12C's with a Yamaha AVR doing duty as a pre and a Panny Blu Ray player as the source. The two channel rig is still disassembled while I construct the built in shelves and cabinet that will house the AC filtering equipment.
I diconnected the Carver TFM 42, which powers the front L-R mains (the 12C's) and put the Stratos Dual Mono in its place. Straight out of the box the Stratos sounded a little recessed, but stronger, with more slam. Over the next several hours it started to come alive, with a bit more sparkle in the top end and absolute command of the 12C's. The bass is phenomenal. Mid range is smooth and mostly without glare, vocal harmonies a little etched etched on some recordings, not so much on others. This could be attributable to the Yammy/Panny.
Odyssey power amps are renowned for needing several hundred hours to reach their potential, which was my experience with the Stratos Stereo. I'm really looking forward to how this is gonna sound when the burn in is complete, and when I get the two channel rig reconnected, especially the tube linestage.
Hooked it up last night to my RTA 12C's with a Yamaha AVR doing duty as a pre and a Panny Blu Ray player as the source. The two channel rig is still disassembled while I construct the built in shelves and cabinet that will house the AC filtering equipment.
I diconnected the Carver TFM 42, which powers the front L-R mains (the 12C's) and put the Stratos Dual Mono in its place. Straight out of the box the Stratos sounded a little recessed, but stronger, with more slam. Over the next several hours it started to come alive, with a bit more sparkle in the top end and absolute command of the 12C's. The bass is phenomenal. Mid range is smooth and mostly without glare, vocal harmonies a little etched etched on some recordings, not so much on others. This could be attributable to the Yammy/Panny.
Odyssey power amps are renowned for needing several hundred hours to reach their potential, which was my experience with the Stratos Stereo. I'm really looking forward to how this is gonna sound when the burn in is complete, and when I get the two channel rig reconnected, especially the tube linestage.
"Science is suppose to explain observations not dismiss them as impossible" - Norm on AA; 2.3TL's w/sonicaps/mills/jantzen inductors, Gimpod's boards, Lg Solen SDA inductors, RD-0198's, MW's dynamatted, Armaflex speaker gaskets, H-nuts, brass spikes, Cardas CCGR BP's, upgraded IC Cable, Black Hole Damping Sheet strips, interior of cabinets sealed with Loctite Power Grab, AI-1 interface with 1000VA A-L transformer
Post edited by drumminman on
Comments
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What benefit does dual mono give? I am new to that term and even though I stayed up late and drank a little too much I am wanting to learn something new this morning!
240,000uf! Wow. Run a cable over to my house and lets take care of my rig also.
What tube linestage are you using?SDA2BTL
Marantz CD5004
Adcom GFA-545
Bottlehead Quickie Tube Preamp -
Dual mono = two of everything: in this case power supplies, circuit boards, sets of caps (120,000 per channel). It's essentially two mono amps built on one chassis. The benefit is supposed to be that power draw by one channel has no affect on the other channel since they're separate. Also cross talk is eliminated with a dual mono amp, though some debate whether this is audible compared with a well designed stereo amp.
The reason I went for this is I simply wanted more power for my 2.3TL's. I bought my Stratos back in 2004. Odyssey has a policy of continuing to refine and improve their products and the components therein - there have been lots of upgrades introduced since then. I got all of 'em that could fit in one chassis :cheesygrin:
I'm using a Candela (Odyssey) linestage that uses 12AU7 tubes. It's a great combination."Science is suppose to explain observations not dismiss them as impossible" - Norm on AA; 2.3TL's w/sonicaps/mills/jantzen inductors, Gimpod's boards, Lg Solen SDA inductors, RD-0198's, MW's dynamatted, Armaflex speaker gaskets, H-nuts, brass spikes, Cardas CCGR BP's, upgraded IC Cable, Black Hole Damping Sheet strips, interior of cabinets sealed with Loctite Power Grab, AI-1 interface with 1000VA A-L transformer -
Burn in progress at 35 hours: watched Alien on Time Warner Cable's HD channel last night. Never heard the authority out of my HT as with the dual mono in the system. On the loud passages with lots of low notes everything in the room was vibrating, yet the sound was clean and without sloppiness.
While upstairs on the computer last night and playing music from some of Time Warner's music channels I could feel the bass in my chest. This thing is a beast, imparting amazing control and yet capable of subtlety as well. Mids are smooth and liquid, highs with a touch of graininess occasionally.
It'll be Interesting to hear the changes with more burn in and a better front end once I get the big rig reconnected.
My only complaint is it runs hot when I have it turned up really loud. Pointing a fan at it solves this, so I reckon I'll have to get a couple of small, quiet fans for when I feel like cranking it."Science is suppose to explain observations not dismiss them as impossible" - Norm on AA; 2.3TL's w/sonicaps/mills/jantzen inductors, Gimpod's boards, Lg Solen SDA inductors, RD-0198's, MW's dynamatted, Armaflex speaker gaskets, H-nuts, brass spikes, Cardas CCGR BP's, upgraded IC Cable, Black Hole Damping Sheet strips, interior of cabinets sealed with Loctite Power Grab, AI-1 interface with 1000VA A-L transformer
