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RE: OK, Odyssey Stratos Extreme, Extreme SE, or Glass Ceiling owners....

Posted by AbeCollins (A) on December 18, 2009 at 07:42:52

In Reply to: OK, Odyssey Stratos Extreme, Extreme SE, or Glass Ceiling owners.... posted by Marc Bratton on December 17, 2009 at 16:29:22:

I've owned the basic Odyssey Stratos and the Stratos Extreme stereo amps. I know, these are not the monoblocks but they are essentially the same amps with the same layout. I believe the monoblocks are basically bridged stereo amps.

You are correct, the basic Stratos has a small 400VA power transformer. The Extreme gets another identical one stacked on top for a total of 800VA putting it almost on par with other amps in this power class that come with 800VA to 1000VA power transformers standard. The 50wpc Krell KSA-50s has a single 800VA power transformer. The 150wpc Pass Labs X150 or X150.5 have even larger power transformers and better laid out filter caps from the get go (no upgrade required).... and these amps sound much more dynamic and alive compared to the Stratos Extreme. However, the Stratos amps are warmer in the midrange. The Pass is more detailed yet remains smooth.

The Stratos Extreme gets more filter capacitors vs the basic Stratos but instead of grouping them neatly together onto the PCB along with the other filter caps, Odyssey simply anchors the extra caps to the galvanized steel chassis bottom and they run rather long zip cord wires from the PCB to the additional caps. I suppose this works but I'd be a little concerned for ground loops. In fact, both of my Stratos had a very very slight background hum (with ear up to the speaker driver) whereas my other amps were dead quiet on my 91 dB sensitive Tannoy D500's. This also made me wonder if the additional caps were all that beneficial. With less sensitive speakers you probably won't notice the hum as much.

The Extreme maybe a little more robust sounding but only by a very slight margin compared to the basic Stratos. Both amps have a nice smooth midrange but need to be left powered ON for several hours before they sound their best.... which is fine since the amps are run class AB and draw only about 75-watts sitting idle and are barely warm to the touch. I left mine ON 24/7 with no issues. As a point of reference the Pass Labs X150 and X150.5 are also class AB for the most part but more heavily biased toward class A than either Stratos and draw about 250-watts sitting idle.

In my opinion, and others will argue, I feel that the basic Stratos is the best value with the Extreme upgrade barely making a difference. For the additional money in upgrade steps, I would consider a higher end amp.

You can visit my Inmate Picture Gallery linked below for photos of the Stratos vs Stratos Extreme. Scroll down toward the bottom (5 rows up from the very bottom) and you will see photos showing the inside of the amps. The Pass Labs X150.5 is also shown a little further down the page.

Odyssey makes great amps for the money with the basic Stratos offering the biggest bang for the buck in my opinion (especially a good used one for maybe $500 - $600 ea).

• My Inmate Picture Gallery - photos of Stratos & Stratos Extr   (Open in New Window)

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