praljak Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Hi all, I am thinking of purchasing some Kismet monoblocks, or a Kismet integrated amplifier from Odyssey Audio the US to run my Triton 1's. Has anyone heard these amplifiers or know much about the quality? I couldn't find much about them on the web, so thought I'd see if anyone has any first hand knowledge of them. Cheers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winter Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Very good amps. Well build.I know Ed Kramer is a big fan of them. Should be a bit about them online or try audiogon forum(s). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firedog Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 I have the stereo version (in the Khartago case, cheaper that way) of the power amp. Very good amp, very happy with it. But if I had it to do over again, I'd get the monoblocks. Again if you get the power amps you can get a less expensive Khartago or Stratos case and save money. Klaus is a bit of a pain to deal with - super nice guy, and tries to get you value for money - but he is hard to get a hold of and will tell you your order will be ready in 8 weeks - but it takes 12. But the good side of dealing with him is that he really makes everything specifically for you. Essentially custom. The best thing to do is to call him late night his time and talk to him about your system and budget-he will help you figure out exactly what you should buy, without trying to oversell you. There are some very positive reviews of the Kismets online - both the monoblocks and the integrated. Just Google it. The other similar company you should check out is Van Alstine audio - also very good amps at a good price. Another place where you call and talk to the owner and he helps you figure out what suits you best. But he keeps regular business hours. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgehifi Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 Maybe you should ask? I don't know about the Kismet monoblocks, but I queried what I saw inside the Khartago monoblock (attached), as being just a bridged version of the Khartago stereo amp (attached), as can be seen by an experienced eye. Cheers George Khartago Mono Extreme SE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praljak Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 Cheers for the responses folks. I did get hold of Klaus and we worked out a great Kismet monoblock configuration in a pair of Khartago cases, all for what I think is an unbeatable price!! Now to work on the pre-amp......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limniscate Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 His Candela preamp is very good for the money. I have an early version of his Kismet in Stratos cases and HT-3. They sound pretty good for the money but don't come close to my Sanders Magtech on my Magnepan 3.7's. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firedog Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 Maybe you should ask? I don't know about the Kismet monoblocks, but I queried what I saw inside the Khartago monoblock (attached), as being just a bridged version of the Khartago stereo amp (attached), as can be seen by an experienced eye. Cheers George Khartago Mono Extreme SE I don't think he makes any secret of the fact that the monoblocks are bridged versions of the stereo amps. So your point is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgehifi Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 I don't think he makes any secret of the fact that the monoblocks are bridged versions of the stereo amps. So your point is? Not trying to be argumentative, please link to where he states they are just bridged stereo amps? As two friends of mine got these "monoblocks" and were quite disappointed when they found out they were just bridged stereos. And you would understand if you know what the difference is, slew rate increases, distortion increases and damping factor increases (the ability to drive low impedances). Cheers George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocketfrogs Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 Very good amps. Well build.I know Ed Kramer is a big fan of them. Should be a bit about them online or try audiogon forum(s). Is that Ed Kramer the sound engineer (Hendrix, Zep etc) or Ed Kramer from 2nd Hand Hi Fi World in Woolongabba? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luc Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 @@Rocketfrogs That would be our very own Kramer. Or you could find him over at FB >>.Click Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firedog Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 (edited) Not trying to be argumentative, please link to where he states they are just bridged stereo amps? As two friends of mine got these "monoblocks" and were quite disappointed when they found out they were just bridged stereos. And you would understand if you know what the difference is, slew rate increases, distortion increases and damping factor increases (the ability to drive low impedances). Cheers George He states on the website that if you want to "upgrade" a stereo amp to monoblocks, you send it to him and he changes the stereo amp into a mono amp at no charge and charges you only for the single matching monoblock. It's pretty obvious he isn't building a new amp in that scenario. Klaus (unfortunately) like a lot of small businessmen, doesn't do much updating of his web site. But he's a very straight up guy and will give the straight dope on any question like that. Why were your friends disappointed? Did the amps not sound good? Seems to me "bridging" amps - even very expensive ones - is very common in high end audio. You have theoretical objections: in practice, every individual and every reviewer I've ever heard of who compared the stereo vs. monoblock versions of his amps said the mono's were significantly better. Klaus himself puts the improvement at around 30%. It's great to object on paper. That doesn't necessarily translate to real life performance and listening. If the monos are better than the stereo versions, your objection is pretty meaningless. Edited August 18, 2016 by firedog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelossus Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 I have a pair of Kismets mono's. They are excellent and definitely the best SS amp I have owned, I have only owned older Classe and ME amps so take that as you will. They are most certainly bridged stereo amps as can be seen in the photos of there internals. To me they are musical and don't flatter any particular frequency. One thing I will say is they don't sound like an overly muscular amp. Not like a 250w Classe Twenty-Five which you could tell immediately had balls. I do prefer the Odyssey though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgehifi Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 (edited) Kelossus: My pics are of the Khartago stereo and monoblocks. I'm not saying your Kismets monoblocks are bridged, they may well be real monoblocks. Just letting the OP (praljak) know and to ask. Because your better off with just the single stereo version if it has enough watts, as it has better slew rate, better damping factor and better distortion and can also drive difficult loads better, and it will sound better because of it, than the same amp bridged, and you don't need two of them. If you need more watts your better off getting "real" monoblocks, not just bridged stereos. Leave the bridging of amps up to the car doof doof guys. Looks as though the Stratos monoblocks maybe are also bridged stereo, judging by this owners post. http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/amp/messages/15/150996.html Cheers George Edited August 18, 2016 by georgehifi 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelossus Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 Hi George I was referring to the pictures of the Kismets internals available online. They are definitely bridged stereo amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muznuts Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 i bought kismet monos off Ed Kramer through this site, they were a huge upgrade from an Emotiva i had before, the mid and bass from them was especially impressive, all the best with your purchase 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praljak Posted August 19, 2016 Author Share Posted August 19, 2016 Cheers @@muznuts......just need to sell my MF first :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firedog Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 Because your better off with just the single stereo version if it has enough watts, as it has better slew rate, better damping factor and better distortion and can also drive difficult loads better, and it will sound better because of it, than the same amp bridged, and you don't need two of them. If you need more watts your better off getting "real" monoblocks, not just bridged stereos. Leave the bridging of amps up to the car doof doof guys. Cheers George Again, you are telling him what's better based on close to zero knowledge of the amps. Find someone who's compared an Odyssey stereo amp to it's monoblock version who doesn't think the monoblocks sound better. But of course, that won't matter to you, b/c you've seen a picture or a couple of specs, and "know" - as a certainty - what sounds better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dddesy Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 Just to clarify a couple of things regarding kismet mono amps.They are definitely bridged stereo amps,have a single Canadian made Plitron transformer around the 400va rating and 120000uf power supply capacitors(total of 8 15000uf rated).Output transistors are made by Sunken and there are 8 of them per monoblock.The amps that Muznuts purchased from Ed Kramer were originally mine and were purchased brand new by me.They definitely are very good amps and well worth considering.-cheers Des Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelossus Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 I though the Kismet transformer was 650va per mono. I know the Stratos Stereo amp comes standard with a 400va. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dddesy Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 you may well be right.they may be 650 va in the original kismet chassis.however the ones I had were put in the khartago chassis(cheaper) and the 650va transformer would have been too tall(couldn't fit the lid) so they used the 400va transformer for the khartago chassis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychometrics1 Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Know this is an old thread but I am running Kismet monoblocks into GoldenEar Triton Ones and they sound spectacularly good, even fed directly by an Oppo 205 with balanced cables. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asedillo Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 On 05/10/2017 at 10:53 AM, psychometrics1 said: Know this is an old thread but I am running Kismet monoblocks into GoldenEar Triton Ones and they sound spectacularly good, even fed directly by an Oppo 205 with balanced cables. Hi psychometrics1, how much did you pay for the shipping cost of those Kismets? I am also thinking of getting Kismet monos + Candela preamp. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgehifi Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 (edited) Internal pic of it in Stereo Here is a shot in Mono block bridged mode. (You can see the other rca in and speaker are blanked) You can do some homework by Googling the "Pro's" and "Con's" of bridging a stereo amp, the only "Pro" you'll find for bridging, is extra wattage capacity. Everything else will take a hit that's is measurable with bench test places like Stereophile, Miller Sound Labs Australian hifi (Newport Labs) ect do. If you have enough wattage with it in stereo mode, that amp will measure and sound better, than a bridged one. Cheers George Edited December 29, 2018 by georgehifi 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asedillo Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 (edited) 3 hours ago, georgehifi said: Internal pic of it in Stereo Here is a shot in Mono block bridged mode. (You can see the other rca in and speaker are blanked) You can do some homework by Googling the "Pro's" and "Con's" of bridging a stereo amp, the only "Pro" you'll find for bridging, is extra wattage capacity. Everything else will take a hit that's is measurable with bench test places like Stereophile, Miller Sound Labs Australian hifi (Newport Labs) ect do. If you have enough wattage with it in stereo mode, that amp will measure and sound better, than a bridged one. Cheers George Thanks George. How much did it cost you overall including shipping cost? I've been reading some discussion at Audiocircle and can't remember it correctly but someone says the Kismet stereo comes with a separate power supply. Maybe I read it wrong. Or maybe that is for the Integrated version. Thanks again. Edited December 29, 2018 by Asedillo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychometrics1 Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 I bought the Kismet 8mono blocks from a fellow SNA member so shipping from QLD to WA was minimal. I now use Electrocompaniet AW180 monos in my main system. All the best 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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