Rogue Cronus

audiocr381ve

I'm curious about a lot of gear lately and am interested in hearing the opinions of those who have experience with the Rogue Cronus or Rogue in general. I have heard this amp on my speakers (PSB Synchrony One) and this combo blew me away. I know it sounds killer but I'm curious as to how it stacks up in the tube world and if their is another integrated out there that would give it a run for the money. At around $1,200 used I think it's a pretty good deal considering it has a phono stage too.

Anyway, thoughts please

soundfreak1

I dont know that brand personally but always recomend seporate amp/ pre when moving up. It affords u more flexability while getting knowledge and let u upgrade the pre and u learn more about "what u like". With intergrated u have to change amp and pre at once ( which increases cost and dosent let u gain exp. With as many diff.combo's.

doctor r

Rogue makes some nice tube equipment. It is an excellent cost vs performance product. I spent a long period of time listening in the Tyler Acoustics room to Ty's D20 speakers being driven by a Rogue Tempest integrated at the Axpona show this year and it was a very sweet combination.

brianle

I've listened to Rogue Cronus Magnum integrated amp in my room and it's more close to solid state sounding that tube sounding if that's what you're looking for. It was running with 5 Tele driver tubes and 4 KT-120 output tubes.

brgman

I recently picked up a rogue stereo 90 and it has displaced a newly rebuilt sunfire signature amp as my primary
Love the sound with sda's

charley95

I have the Mag. version and like it pretty well. Their customer service is second to none. It's nice to know that when you call Rogue that usually the company president answers the phone. Try that with a Made in China amp!

heiney9

Actually I can do that with a made in China amp too right in Naperville, IL. There is a price of admission, just remember that. You are paying for that stateside assitance. Nothing wrong with Rogue at all, great company, great service, highly recommended but the substantial extra cost is part of having that person available.

Just sayin'

H9

The Chinese made amp that ships from Naperville IL, is very expensive comparatively to other "straight from China amps", so I know some of that cost is built in.

brgman

I'm willing to pay more for US made high quality products that i can get superb support for.I have talked with Mark at Rogue a few times and had several emails back and forth just in the past 2 weeks.
Plus i do not think they are that much more expensive.Certainly not compared to some US audio manufacturers.

heiney9

brgman wrote: »

I'm willing to pay more for US made high quality products that i can get superb support for.I have talked with Mark at Rogue a few times and had several emails back and forth just in the past 2 weeks.
Plus i do not think they are that much more expensive.Certainly not compared to some US audio manufacturers.

Again, not knocking Rogue or their support. They are more expensive than the general "from China" gear, that was the entire point of my response to that post. A lot more expensive actually and while the quality and product is better you also pay to have someone available. That's all I was saying, that goes for any company including Polk. That level of CS is expensive and it's reflected in the price of the product. And knowing that helps make a purchase decision. Either spend less and understand CS may not be A++++ or spend a lot more with the expectation that you can call and talk to someone immediately.

H9

nooshinjohn

Rogue Audio is a very good company to do business with and they have very nice sounding gear. Before I began my monoblock build, I considered the M150 monoblocks, combined with the Perseus preamp. I would recommend this combination all day long, but you are looking at 3k used for everything. Excellent quality gear made right here at home. I would buy anything Rogue without a second's hesitation.

brgman

heiney9 wrote: »

Again, not knocking Rogue or their support. They are more expensive than the general "from China" gear, that was the entire point of my response to that post. A lot more expensive actually and while the quality and product is better you also pay to have someone available. That's all I was saying, that goes for any company including Polk. That level of CS is expensive and it's reflected in the price of the product. And knowing that helps make a purchase decision. Either spend less and understand CS may not be A++++ or spend a lot more with the expectation that you can call and talk to someone immediately.

H9

I understand your point.
I don't think it is really ALOT more and i don't buy based on CS.I buy based on quality.The CS that comes with Rogue is just hard to find.Also since my income is directly based on US Manufacturing i support it whenever i can.

leroyjr1

brgman wrote: »

I understand your point.
I don't think it is really ALOT more and i don't buy based on CS.I buy based on quality.The CS that comes with Rogue is just hard to find.Also since my income is directly based on US Manufacturing i support it whenever i can.

Same here. I try to limited the amount of Chinese crap I buy. It's very hard though because alot of stuff these days are made there. Wish the USA wasn't so dependent on that stuff.

Love the Cronus Magnum INT btw.

schwarcw

I have a Rogue Model 99 preamp that has had several upgrades. I believe it's currently a "Super Magnum". The compnay is first class. Great customer service, you can talk with the owners on the phone. They have done a "factory refresh" with one of my Magnum upgrades. Every solder joint was re-touched, questionable caps, etc were replaced. They will do mods or upgrades at very reasonable prices. Hand built in the USA and not all that expensive. A boutique company with some very nice gear. I believe their product and service are on the same level as Modwright products (which I also own). They are not as popular as Modwright but they have been around for many years. Highly recommended!

heiney9

brgman wrote: »

I understand your point.
I don't think it is really ALOT more and i don't buy based on CS.I buy based on quality.The CS that comes with Rogue is just hard to find.Also since my income is directly based on US Manufacturing i support it whenever i can.

I don't disagree, Rogue, regardless of where it were to come from is top notch gear. Definitely above most China made stuff, not all but most, especially the $399 and $499 and so on specials you see on Ebay.

Shane, you won't go wrong with a Rogue piece.

I didn't make the comment to disparage Rogue one bit, just a food for thought type thing based on the remark in that singular thread about "Chinese Crap" comment. You'll get no argument from me about the quality or service from Rogue audio, top notch.

H9

schwarcw

The Chinese black glass Treasure Tubes sound real nice in a Rogue!!

audiocr381ve

Very cool to hear guys. Their is one on the gon' for $1,200. Can't pull the trigger now but I hope a good deal comes up on one when I'm ready

tireDad

New to the forums, but my two cents: Rogue rocks. Yeah, it's cool to call with a tech or service question and have Mark answer the phone...but there are probably other small companies where similar things could happen. Yeah, it's cool to support a "made in the USA" company that actually does so...but, again, Rogue's not the only one doing so. They are, however, the one doing a really killer job of "bang for your buck".

I bought a Rogue 99 Preamp and an older Rogue 88 Stero amp off Audiogon to replace a Adcom 555-II/GTP600 duo running my 3.1TL's. Blew me away. Called with some questions about my second-hand amps and Mark gave me Tubes 101 and made some suggestions as to tubes I might try based on my equipment and stated preferences. Found his recommended tubes and things just got better. Sent the 88 amp to him after about a year of ownership for the upgrade--very reasonable considering how little of the "old" amp survives the rebuild process--and went from "wow, so that's why folks like tube equipment" to "Holy crap, I never want to turn this off!". It's a year later and UPS has literally just picked up the 99 preamp for the magnum upgrade today. You can spend more money, undoubtedly. You may even get better made and sounding equipment if you spend enough more money. But these guys get it and I don't think you can go wrong doing business with them.

schwarcw

tireDad,

Call Mark and ask him to do the "Super Magnum" upgrade for you! You will thank me later. I first got the Magnum, then the Super Magnum a year later. It was a good step up from the Magnum. Rogue will also put in an HT bypass or a second set of active outputs if you want to add a subwoofer. Mark will also do a factory refresh with his mods. Like you said, a great bang for the buck. You will spend $3K or more to get a better preamp than an upgraded Model 99.

Mike Reeter

Another Rogue Audio Cronus owner here. I would hold out for a "Magnum" version if possable. The extra wpc and upgraded components is well worth the extra cost. Can't say enough good about this int. amp. It has a rock solid low end, easily compared to an s.s. amp. The highs and the mids is where the magic is at. You can roll EL-34's, KT-77/88, and KT-90's in the Mag. version. You might call Rogue and inquire about the "Super Magnum" upgrades that Carl has mentioned.

The Cronus is my second piece of Rogue gear that I have owned and I have been very pleased with both.

aboroth00

Being made in the USA with great customer service, tube integrateds like rogues are hard to come by. Sure there are Jolidas and Shanlings in the price range,but they're China-made. Rogue as someone earlier said is more of a modern sounding tube amp like ARC and BAT. More inclined toward SS than tube bloom.

If you're not sure what you actually want to accomplish by adding tubes, separates are the way to go as you can pick and choose components to best fit what you want.

audiocr381ve

aboroth00 wrote: »

Being made in the USA with great customer service, tube integrateds like rogues are hard to come by. Sure there are Jolidas and Shanlings in the price range,but they're China-made. Rogue as someone earlier said is more of a modern sounding tube amp like ARC and BAT. More inclined toward SS than tube bloom.

If you're not sure what you actually want to accomplish by adding tubes, separates are the way to go as you can pick and choose components to best fit what you want.

I bought my PSB's based on an audition and what I heard was a match made in heaven between the Cronus and the PSB Synchrony's. If I'm trying to accomplish anything it's getting the sound I heard at the demo. It was rich and more 3 dimensional. Not that my system lacks imaging or weight... it would just be nice to have a little more. I'm absolutely content with the sound now. Maybe I want tubes to be with the "in" crowd? ;P

You need to come by again and hear the system now. It'll knock your socks off

aboroth00

audiocr381ve wrote: »

I bought my PSB's based on an audition and what I heard was a match made in heaven between the Cronus and the PSB Synchrony's. If I'm trying to accomplish anything it's getting the sound I heard at the demo. It was rich and more 3 dimensional. Not that my system lacks imaging or weight... it would just be nice to have a little more. I'm absolutely content with the sound now. Maybe I want tubes to be with the "in" crowd? ;P

You need to come by again and hear the system now. It'll knock your socks off

Sounds tempting. When I have some free time on my hands, I might just hit you up on that offer. I was just wondering if you wanted to accomplish something specific by going into tubes. Some people really like the tube bloom, or the warmth offered by tubes. Rogue doesn't really offer that in spades as much as other tube amp companies. The effect is as I said earlier much more inclined to SS than tubes. Maybe adding a tube buffer or tube preamp in your chain will accomplish what you want without the huss and fuss of dealing with tube amplification.

One other thing to consider is that you listened to the speakers in a different environment, possibly a treated room, so getting what you got at the dealers might be harder than you think . I can definitely bring by a couple of tube stuff if you want to plug and play . My local PSB dealer also loves running PSB speaks with Rogue, so you're definitely not alone.

toucanet

I have the following pieces of Rogue Audio gear:
Apollo Monoblocks (http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?102434-New-Toys-Rogue-Audio-Apollo-Monoblocks&highlight=rogue+audio)

Hera II Preamp
Magnum 99 (upgraded by Rogue last year)

I like Rogue's products and their customer service. Mark O'Brien is extremely knowledgeable and helpful if you decide to experiment with tube rolling.

Good luck!