Hi David,
Over in the “System Photos” page, post # 7923 I mention my first impressions of the Odyssey amps over the Emotiva. https://forum.psaudio.com/t/system-photos/8910/8080
And to add to that post, something else that has become quite apparent with these amps… They not only make the Maggie 1.7i’s sound like larger, more powerful Maggies, but also the same can be said about the SVS subs.
The Maggies sound fuller/larger as in the mid-bass and bass have filled in. mind you, it’s not fat or bloated, it’s just there now. Before there seemed to be a bit of a recess in the frequency range between say 50 Hz on up to around 120 Hz. With the Odyssey amps in place, that range has filled in nicely to a pretty flat response now.
This also makes the Maggies sound more powerful and forceful, giving a bit of a weighty punch in the chest that just wasn’t there before, which can also be clearly felt through the couch.
This is all with the subwoofers gains turned all the way down!
Now the subwoofers, which are crossed over at 37 Hz, are still being fed speaker level signals from the amps (which they always have been), and the Odyssey Stratos monoblocks have made the subs also sound more powerful and forceful.
The bass extension of the Maggies and subs have remained the same, but they both seem to extend further, but I think that’s because there’s now more energy and control provided in those frequencies, allowing there to be a little more output at those same frequencies. I didn’t in fact drop the gains on the subs by one or two dB.
The thing is, these amps have such a huge damping factor (at a constant 800), that the bass quality, texture and detail is quite extraordinary. There’s more air and space within the sound stage and within the room itself.
I can only imagine how all of this (plus everything mentioned in the other thread) will improve even more once I get those dedicated 20amp lines in this room. And it won’t be just dedicated lines, but also a dedicated sub-panel and it’s own dedicated ground.
One last thing I want to mention, these Odyssey Stratos monoblock amps just barely run warmer than room temperature. In fact, I was listening to a 130 minute long Simple Minds concert the other night at around 92 to 95 dB, and these amps were still considerably cooler than the Emotiva amp sitting idle!