Text and photos by Juan C. Ayllon My heart sunk. I had just received the bad news: it was inoperable. And, like that, my vintage Mark Levinson amplifier was gone. Sold for “parts or ambitious DIY project.” I was heartbroken. I had searched for her high and low. How could I ever replace her? What’s more, the timing couldn’t be worse. It was the holidays of all things. And, worse yet, my wife was getting fed-up with my audio expenditures and the prospects of breaking the news to her and telling her that we’d have to replace my amp was not something I savored. After breaking the news and enduring the blowback, I set out searching for its replacement. I scoured the internet, reached out to vendors and friends in the industry. Then, Ken, a friend who owns a pair of Odyssey Khartago monoblock amps suggested that I reach out to Klaus Bunge, owner of Odyssey Audio. “He’ll take care of you,” he said, adding that they are very reasonably priced and he’s owned their monoblocks for over 10 years and never had a problem. I recalled hearing Klaus’s amps at a previous AXPONA and being impressed, I visited their website. It turns out that Odyssey Audio’s products are the designs of Symphonic Line (famed for their RG-1 and Kraft Reference series of amplifiers) of Germany that are manufactured by Odyssey Audio, the U.S. importer of Symphonic Lines as more economical siblings to the RG-1 and Kraft series. Another thing: I noticed that I didn’t see too many of them being offered up for resale at Audiogon or elsewhere like some other brands I was considering. Noticing their Stratos stereo amplifier, which is rated at 150 watts per channel into eight ohms, selling at $1,350, I called up Klaus. As we discussed my system and speakers (then a pair of Von Schweikert VR-5 HSEs), he suggested the Stereo Khartago Extreme SE might be a better fit for the money. Essentially, he said, it’s a souped up Stratos in the smaller Khartago chassis. With the base Khartago model starting at $995, it offered the following upgrades:
Throwing in their custom case with their lit-up Odyssey logo in a window for $70, the total cost with shipping would be $2,100 retail. I decided, why not? Specs The amplifier arrived, double boxed and thick foam protectors on all sides. Opening up the manual, I read that it boasted the following specs:
The aluminum case is roughly !6 ¼” x 16 ¼” x 4 ½” tall (the faceplate is 18” wide), comes equipped with rubber feet and altogether, the amp weighs roughly 30 lbs. The Khartago comes with its own audiophile grade power cord, however, I employ the Straight Wire Pro Thunder power cable in its place which, in my opinion, enhances its performance, adding a bit more detail and fullness through the spectrum -- but especially in the bass. Can You Say Dynamic? One of the reasons I had purchased my former amp was its reputation for amazing power, peaking upwards in the region of 450 watts when needed. It was also dark to neutral sounding in its presentation. I thought I’d never experience that again in my listening room. Klaus told me that it will take several months for the amp to settle in and, out of the box, it sounded all right. It packed some oomph, but didn’t seem that special. Hold tight for several weeks, he told me. He was right. Switching from the vintage Mark Levinson ML-9 amp to the Odyssey Khartago is akin to a fighter pilot upgrading from the F-4 Phantom II, renowned in the Vietnam War for its prodigious thrust, to the more nimble and agile F-16, pulling prodigious G-forces in maneuvering difficult passages with greater deft and ease than the Phantom. Bottom line, the Khartago is not only powerful and fast, but extremely dynamic. Whether playing jazz, blues, rock or classical music, my Von Schwekert VR-5 HSE speakers had slightly better bass and never sounded better. Going Tubing I first used the Khartago paired with a Richard Lee Audio passive preamplifier, but found I really enjoyed its performance better with an active preamplifier. “They really like tube preamplifiers,” Klaus told me, and he was right again. In addition to providing additional gain, the tube preamplifiers added a certain degree of tube warmth, more or less, depending on the model used. Here are links to several preamplifiers I reviewed using the Khartago Extreme: http://prairieaudiomancave.com/reviews--reports/does-the-ps-audio-bhk-preamplifier-reveal-the-whole-truth http://prairieaudiomancave.com/reviews--reports/heard-round-the-man-cave-the-cypher-labs-prautes-headphone-amplifier-reviewed http://prairieaudiomancave.com/reviews--reports/the-gudebrod-audio-3t12v-preamp-no-white-zin-but-a-california-red Eventually, I sold the Von Schweikerts and replaced them with a review pair of Usher Mini Dancer Two DMD speakers and the Khartago Stereo Extreme SE amplifier helped them perform admirably. With the Ushers, which are extremely detailed and sensitive speakers, the Khartago’s performance really shines. For example, in Patricia Barber’s Night Moves album, Her breathy vocals and resonant piano notes, Adam Nussbaum’s brushed cymbals, snare and toms shimmer and sizzle and Marc Johnson’s woody, subdued bass come alive in front of me, in an intimate space, organic, breathing and magnificent. In Rupert Boyd and Laura Metcalf’s ‘Boyd Meets Girl,’ the contrast of the deft, lighter arpeggio of Boyd’s classical guitar swirling around Metcalf’s broader and deeper cello in three dimensions. Again, the sense of space, along with the timbre and virtuosity of these two brilliant artists -- hers more darkly emotive and his, consoling and entreating her to an intimate dance -- are at once very palpable, real and magical. In Aerosmith’s ‘Toys in the Attic' album, the grunge, effects and growl of Joe Perry’s electric guitar, Tony Hamilton’s bass grooves, Steve Tyler’s raspy lead vocals, and Joey Kramer slamming drums sound much better than I’ve ever heard them ( You can read about how they performed along with the PrimaLuna Prologue 3 preamplifier and the Khartago Extreme SE amplifier in my review here) Conclusion Bottom line, the Odyssey Stereo Khartago Extreme SE are a highly responsive and revealing dynamic amplifier. Packing plenty of power and finesse, I am not looking back. This one’s a keeper and, like my friend, Ken, I look forward to using it in my system for years to come. Associated Equipment
2 Comments
1/3/2019 07:33:30 am
Nice review. Nice system.
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Loren
12/31/2020 06:24:03 am
I bought a Stratos Extreme to power Maggie 1.7i’s. WOW!!! Perfect match.
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