Odyssey Stratos Stereo or Red Dragon Audio M500 MKII

[HEPD85]

Hello everyone,

As the title suggests I'm torn between the 2, I understand the entire experience of getting an Odyssey amp is more like getting a suit tailor made than simply placing an item into a shopping cart. But it's hard to ignore all the glowing reviews for amps like Red Dragon and IQ Audio...

Thoguhts? Anyone able to offer first hand experience with both Stratos and a well built class D? (D-Sonic, Red Dragon, IQ Audio, Wyred 4 Sound) Thanks for the help guys.

 

[agarwalro]

IMHO, both of these appear to be more show than go.

Based on electrical design, they are two very different amps. Stratos being Class A/AB and Red Dragon being Class D.

For a Class AB amp the Emotiva XPA2 or for Class D the Crown XTi 1002 seem very reasonable.

 

[jinjuku]

Most small/boutique amp houses that produce Class D designs are sourcing from others. Class D requires a deep engineering understanding and bench.

With the outfits that you mentioned you are most likely purchasing some B&O licensed technology.

Odyssey makes nice amps. So does Parasound, ATI, Yamaha, etc....

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Yeah, I prefer ATI/ Outlaw fully balanced 200WPC & 300WPC amps myself. Fully balanced. Fuse-less protection circuit. 30+ years made in California. ATI make amps for other companies like Mark Levinson, Lexicon, JBL Synthesis, Cary Audio, Theta Digital, B&K, and Outlaw Audio. To me that says a lot - that all these big name brands trust ATI to make amps for them.

Parasound is another superb amp if you don't care about fully balanced design, like most people don't care.

I would not just base my decision solely on user reviews, though.

 

[TheHills44060]

I really like the Stratos amps and recommend them under many circumstances. Have heard them with many different speakers and each time was a good experience. Can't say the same for the Red Dragons, not impressed at all. Most recently heard them powering various Swans floor standing speakers and blah is all i have to say.

 

[HEPD85]

thanks for all the input guys I'm gonna wait til Gene's review of D-Sonic's new amps before I decide on anything, they're suppose be a significant improvement over B&O designs (they're not ICE modules)

 

[Saverio]

I own an Emotiva XPA-2 gen 2 amp and an Odyssey Stratos Stereo Plus and I like them both, but I have to say I prefer the Odyssey.
Even though it's rated at 150 watts per channel and the Emotiva is 300 watts per channel, the Odyssey seems to drive my speakers better and the sound seems fuller somehow.
Odyssey amps carry a 20 year transferable warranty and they're built like tanks. Plus they're stable down to 2 ohms. They take a while to break in and you really need to leave them powered on all the time, but they're hard to beat for what you pay.

 

[HEPD85]

yeah that was a serious contender for me as well, until I heard it's a little of the warm side, I'm tryingto keep my system on the neutral side of things.