Stratus vs Polyend Endless: Two $299 AI Pedals With Very Different Ideas

Updated September 18, 2026. Written by Chaos Audio, maker of Stratus. Product specifications and comparison sources are linked below.

Both pedals let you describe an effect and take the result onto hardware. Stratus adds that creation workflow to a mono chain with up to three NAM A2-Lite models, a looper, and multiple presets you can recall while playing. Endless runs one loaded effect in stereo with its own expression and hardware-control options. The useful distinction is what you want around the effect after you create it.

Stratus can add that saved chain to an existing board, or supply several stages of a mono rig. It still needs an amp, powered speaker, or suitable interface and monitoring system. Endless is useful when the job is one reconfigurable stereo effect.

Three NAM models, one Stratus preset. With the latest Chaos Audio app and Stratus firmware 1.0.100, Stratus runs up to three NAM A2-Lite models simultaneously in a single preset/chain, using your own uploads or TONE3000 captures. Each NAM block now uses roughly half the CPU it used before this update; other effects still share the pedal’s processing budget.

As of September 17, 2026, Stratus is the only factory-built compact pedal under US$300 we’re aware of that natively runs three NAM A2-Lite models simultaneously in one preset/chain. Its price is $299. See the latest Stratus and FX Builder 2.0 update.

The short version

• Stratus: Up to three native A2-Lite blocks, surrounding effects, a looper, and presets you can recall while playing.
• The alternative: Endless runs one loaded stereo effect, with direct expression control and USB patch loading. Both offer a description-to-effect workflow.
• Start with the rig: decide which sound, control, or connection you need before comparing catalog totals.

Side by side

How the AI actually works

Both systems can generate playable effects from descriptions. The relevant differences are the editing, refinement, loading, and hardware workflows around the result.

For a particular sound, describe an effect in FX Builder 2.0—for example, a delay with darker repeats and gentle movement. Audition the result, ask for a change, then install it in your Stratus chain. Pedal captures can feed an amp capture, with other effects sharing the available processing power. Once installed, your sounds run locally and can be recalled without a phone or internet connection. Hear FX Builder 2.0 examples and explore the workflow. The examples on that page are software-rendered demonstrations.

FX Builder 2.0 is now on mobile. Build effects directly in the Chaos Audio app for iOS and Android, then use them in your Stratus chain alongside NAM captures. These current app screenshots show the builder and a finished effect.

Polyend Playground lets registered Endless owners describe an effect and generate a patch for the pedal. Polyend documents code generation alongside use of its DSP components; it is inaccurate to describe it as only rearranging a fixed library. Playground uses tokens, including for further iterations. Consult current Polyend terms and prices for the allowance attached to a new or used unit.

Stratus owners get 30 free AI builds every month for creating and refining effects. Both tools support iteration: listen to the result, adjust the request, and keep the version that works for your playing.

One effect versus the whole chain

Endless is designed to run one effect at a time, loaded over USB. Think of it as a deep, boutique single pedal whose identity you can swap. It slots into a board like any other stereo stompbox.

With the latest Chaos Audio app and Stratus firmware 1.0.100, use up to three native NAM A2-Lite blocks simultaneously in one preset/chain. The entire chain shares the CPU budget, so the effects you add determine the remaining capacity. Choose from all 600,000+ amp and pedal NAM captures on TONE3000, or load your own supported uploads. See the current Stratus update and installation guidance.

Amp modeling

Stratus plays all 600,000+ amp and pedal NAM captures on TONE3000 natively, without conversion to a proprietary pedal format. Every capture has been retrained to A2, and each A2 model includes both Lite and Full modes. Stratus uses Lite mode, letting you combine up to three captures in one chain. Browse models and IRs in the mobile app, or import your own supported files.

For a concrete sound, try pedal captures feeding an amp capture, then audition a delay or modulation effect around them. A full-rig capture may already include the cabinet sound; use a separate IR only where your chosen capture and output setup call for it. All stages share the available processing power.

Endless does not list a capture format. Amp-style sounds are available as individual effects in Polyend's library or through Playground, but there is no equivalent of loading a community capture of a specific amp.

On stage

Stratus has two footswitches: the silver one and the black Multiknob, which clicks under your foot. In Preset Mode the knob steps through seven color-coded pairs of presets on the LED strip (blue, green, yellow, orange, red, purple, pink), and the silver footswitch flips between the two presets in each pair, shown bright and dim. That is 14 full effect chains you can reach without a phone. The pedal stores 128 presets, and a MIDI controller (over USB, with a USB host) reaches all of them by Program Change, plus CC control for master volume, bypassing or toggling individual effects by chain position, looper transport, and mode switching including the tuner. The looper gives you five minutes with unlimited overdubs, and holding both switches for two seconds brings up a chromatic tuner.

Endless gives you two footswitches and three knobs that map to whatever parameters the loaded effect exposes, so a well-designed patch can feel like a purpose-built pedal. Its TRS expression input is a real advantage for wahs, volume swells, and morphing parameters in real time; on Stratus, expression currently comes in as a MIDI volume CC through a controller.

I/O, build, and power

Endless provides stereo input/output and a headphone-capable output. Stratus has mono quarter-inch input/output and needs external equipment for headphone monitoring or recording. Stratus supports Bluetooth editing and USB-C power. The table lists each footprint and power requirement so you can plan the actual board.

Both use aluminum enclosures. Endless has magnetic interchangeable faceplates; Stratus uses a fixed enclosure with two footswitches and the Multiknob. Choose the controls and connections needed for your playing.

What it costs to keep making sounds

Stratus is US$299 with 19 free effects covering all effect categories, 30 free AI builds every month in FX Builder 2.0, and access to all 600,000+ amp and pedal NAM captures on TONE3000. See the product page for configuration, regional pricing, and shipping estimates.

Endless ships with 2,000 Playground tokens ($20), community patches are free to download, and coding your own effects with the SDK costs nothing. Playground generations beyond the included tokens are pay-as-you-go, and used units do not come with free tokens.

Openness

Polyend publishes an SDK for developers to create Endless effects. FX Builder 2.0 provides source access for its generated effects. Source access does not itself promise an automatically packaged VST/AU export for every effect. You can use the musical creation workflow without being a programmer.

Which one should you buy?

Choose Stratus when a custom effect belongs in a larger saved chain with captures and looping. It can join a board you already like or supply more of your mono signal path, with installed presets recalled without a phone.

Choose Endless when one reconfigurable stereo effect and a direct expression connection fit the job. Compare the current generation allowances and loading workflow alongside the hardware connections.

Sources

• Polyend Endless product page, tech specs, and FAQ
• Guitar World: Polyend releases Endless (NAMM 2026)
• TONE3000: Introducing Neural Amp Modeler Architecture 2 (A2), including quantitative and blind listening test results
• Chaos Audio Stratus product page
• Chaos Audio Stratus MIDI implementation chart
• Chaos Audio — three NAM blocks, firmware 1.0.100, and FX Builder 2.0 on mobile

Explore Stratus, its included effects, and current availability.