Adding an 'Odyssey Khartago' Power Amp

[leifsundstrup]

Hi all,

This will be my new system (simple and clean). I am considering an Odyssey Khartago Amp. Any feedback on the Khartago?

iFi Zen Stream
MiniDSP Flex (with Dirac Live)
Odyssey Khartago
Martin Logan ESLs
Martin Logan Dynamo 600X Sub

 

[Robert D]

I've never heard of Odyssey, looks like quality stuff! I use a Aragon stereo amp that's made in Indianapolis too.
The two monoblocks for $2000 looks like the way to go. The pair of Stratos for $2700 is a good deal too.
Another option, Emotiva makes monoblocks that are high power and work great with electrostats. I use one for my center channel. We have another member that uses 3.
https://emotiva.com/products/hc-1

 

[leifsundstrup]

Thanks a lot Robert. I will look into the Emotiva monos also. Cheers, leif.

 

[Leporello]

I seriously considered Odyssey before a used pair of Parasound JC-1 monoblocks became available to me. TAS has given them several favorable write-ups, suggesting that while you can spend more money on amps you don't really need to (something I can well relate to. New JC-1+'s are too rich for my blood). You get good value with the direct marketing model. One small turn-off (or rather, lack thereof) is that there is no 12 volt trigger. The designer recommends leaving them on all the time. I am not big on increasing my carbon foot print and power bill, and hastening the heat death of the universe, all because they might sound better.

With Emotiva you don't get guaranteed stability down to 2 ohms, or doubling of power down to 2 ohms, but you will save a bit of money. I'm sure they would do fine. I am currently using a 3 channel Emotiva for center and surrounds--for now cheapo ML bookshelf models. You do need good amps for ML ESL's to sound their best, but you don't need to spend the equivalent of a suburban house in a mid-sized metropolitan area.

 

[ttocs]

Firstly, if you haven't yet purchased the miniDSP Flex, wait. I've heard from reliable sources that they are coming out with a device that will be Dirac DLBC/ART compatible. It was supposed to be launched this month, but with each passing day it's not looking good for an April launch. The most recent mention, under his breath, was by Mathias from Dirac when he mentioned in the same sentence that there is a new device that "will be coming" that can support ART, and then said that miniDSP has some very good devices, and continued on by saying that they at Dirac always recommend to their partners to offer at least 16 channels. We will see, hopefully soon.

Regarding the Khartago amps, these seem interesting to me. Especially with the prospect of: "Custom bias for your system prior to purchase. The customer has to provide system information to check feasibility. Free of charge."

I would want to know more about the output power at various impedances.

But, since this company has some upgrades available, and since the amps are reasonably priced, I would definitely go for whatever upgrades are possible. Also, the 20 warranty on parts is excellent! It's 2 years labor.

The Khartago vs Emotiva HC-1 is a mixed bag.
Khartago uses a 400VA power supply.
Looks like 8 output power devices at 110 Watts.
Unbalanced Input.
Class A/AB - how much of the power is Class A?

HC-1 uses a switch mode power supply.
6 output power devices.
300 Watts @8Ω, 600 Watts @4Ω,
Balanced and Unbalance inputs.
Class AB only.

I own a HC-1 and it works very well. I tested a pair of them with my 13A speakers and was comparing the sound to my Krell S-1500 amp I had been using. Soundstage was better with the HC-1 mono amps, but the sound otherwise was so close to the Krell that I decided to continue to use the Krell for my 13A speakers. However, I continue to enjoy an HC-1 with my Focus center speaker. Full disclosure, I currently use a different Krell for my 13A speakers.

 

[leifsundstrup]

Thanks ttocs for the advice. I was just about to push the "buy" button for the MiniDsp Flex! There's a lot to consider for separates, and I am enjoying the research. The guidance given on the forums is so valuable. I am trying to get a system that is budget friendly to a certain extent and hence attracted to the Khartago. I have a small room and will also need to add some diffusion/absorption: I think this is where the real difference will be made for good listening once I have acceptable HiFi setup.

 

[leifsundstrup]

I seriously considered Odyssey before a used pair of Parasound JC-1 monoblocks became available to me. TAS has given them several favorable write-ups, suggesting that while you can spend more money on amps you don't really need to (something I can well relate to. New JC-1+'s are too rich for my blood). You get good value with the direct marketing model. One small turn-off (or rather, lack thereof) is that there is no 12 volt trigger. The designer recommends leaving them on all the time. I am not big on increasing my carbon foot print and power bill, and hastening the heat death of the universe, all because they might sound better.

With Emotiva you don't get guaranteed stability down to 2 ohms, or doubling of power down to 2 ohms, but you will save a bit of money. I'm sure they would do fine. I am currently using a 3 channel Emotiva for center and surrounds--for now cheapo ML bookshelf models. You do need good amps for ML ESL's to sound their best, but you don't need to spend the equivalent of a suburban house in a mid-sized metropolitan area.

Many thanks for the info Leporello.

 

[Leporello]

Firstly, if you haven't yet purchased the miniDSP Flex, wait. I've heard from reliable sources that they are coming out with a device that will be Dirac DLBC/ART compatible. It was supposed to be launched this month, but with each passing day it's not looking good for an April launch. The most recent mention, under his breath, was by Mathias from Dirac when he mentioned in the same sentence that there is a new device that "will be coming" that can support ART, and then said that miniDSP has some very good devices, and continued on by saying that they at Dirac always recommend to their partners to offer at least 16 channels. We will see, hopefully soon.

Regarding the Khartago amps, these seem interesting to me. Especially with the prospect of: "Custom bias for your system prior to purchase. The customer has to provide system information to check feasibility. Free of charge."

I would want to know more about the output power at various impedances.

But, since this company has some upgrades available, and since the amps are reasonably priced, I would definitely go for whatever upgrades are possible. Also, the 20 warranty on parts is excellent! It's 2 years labor.

The Khartago vs Emotiva HC-1 is a mixed bag.
Khartago uses a 400VA power supply.
Looks like 8 output power devices at 110 Watts.
Unbalanced Input.
Class A/AB - how much of the power is Class A?

HC-1 uses a switch mode power supply.
6 output power devices.
300 Watts @8Ω, 600 Watts @4Ω,
Balanced and Unbalance inputs.
Class AB only.

I own a HC-1 and it works very well. I tested a pair of them with my 13A speakers and was comparing the sound to my Krell S-1500 amp I had been using. Soundstage was better with the HC-1 mono amps, but the sound otherwise was so close to the Krell that I decided to continue to use the Krell for my 13A speakers. However, I continue to enjoy an HC-1 with my Focus center speaker. Full disclosure, I currently use a different Krell for my 13A speakers.

In order to get balanced ins with Odyssey, you have to go to the Stratos line, which is what I was considering. I haven't looked at the Web site in a while but I believe those were rated into 2 ohms.

I have a home made 12 volt triggered power switch with a relay rated at 15A AC, but I was uncertain how it would hold up to repeated turn-ons with the inrush current those large (and upgradable) capacitor banks the designer boasts about would produce.

I have zero regrets about my Parasound purchase, but am pretty confident I would have the same amount of regret (i.e. zero) had I gone with the Odyssey (unless it burned out my relay). If anyone calls the guy and asks about the feasibility of driving our favorite speakers, and how he would set the bias accordingly, please let us know here.

 

[Russr]

@leifsundstrup - Hi! I assume you're only looking at a 2-channel (music) system? If not, I might suggest looking at a decent "1-box-stop", with something like an Anthem MRX 540 or 740. Anthem is a sister company of ML, and incorporate the more full-featured versions of ARC that ML uses on the higher-end ESLs. While the general consensus is that mini-DSP does a slightly better job at handling multiple subs on initial setup, folks seem generally hapy with the audio quality. They don't have ALL the bells & whistles on your Denons or Marantzeseses, but they seem to hold their own on ARC & Audio Quality. Since Anthem is also owned by Paradigm, you might experience SOME benefit when it comes to trouble-shooting, etc, but I do not know that for sure.

I was running my 5.1 system (SL3s, Stage, Aerius i's) on an old MRX 500 after I downsized from my Anthem AVM/Bryston separates, and for the listening I was doing, it filled the void pretty well.

One other thing, if you go ahead with the Odyssey amp(s) with no triggers, you might look at an external box like this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WV7GMA2/
tho' @Leporello would be better equipped to weigh n on the specs of this device

All the best

 

[Leporello]

One other thing, if you go ahead with the Odyssey amp(s) with no triggers, you might look at an external box like this:

Yes this looks like it would do the trick. It has very complete specs (though I had to use the magnifier applet to actually be able to read them). Good for 500,000 switches at 12A resistive (a power transformer feeding a filter bank is not strictly resistive, but close enough). It seems primarily geared to microcontroller and "internet of things" users but the control can be 3-48V DC or 12-120V AC right out of the box. You could even use it with an old school pre with an "accessory socket" like my Dyna, Crown and Adcom preamps had, if you're rightly hesitant about switching these beasts directly from them. As for the $37 price tag, I don't think my home made box, consisting of 4 quad "handy" boxes and covers (it has switched and unswitched sockets), a relay from Radio Shack and good quality Leviton receptacles, cost me much less to build, if at all. It looks nicer too.

p.s. reading the specs it does appear to use a mechanical relay. Solid state relays are very bad for audio, they add crossover notches to the AC waveform. I have tried solid state relays (SSR's) for this purpose and things plugged into them buzzed that were quiet plugged directly into AC.