Considering replacing my Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum with separates.


I am considering two options: a Pass Labs XA30.5 amp with a Don Sachs Model 2 or his latest custom 6SN7 preamp. The other option is the Pass Labs with a Rogue Audio RP-5 or RP-7. I like what I’ve read about the Don Sachs preamp, though I have not heard one. My only concern is that it is built by a small enterprise, namely Don Sachs, so not sure how warranties and repairs work once he retires or worse.

I am using Spatial Audio M3 Turbo S open baffle speakers.
pg62

Showing 2 responses by helomech

Interesting point of view. My concern has always been that you cannot match the performance of a really good integrated without equally good interconnects, power cords, cones, rack, fuse, etc. and by the time all this is done you have spent way more money to get about the same results as the integrated. If that.
My experience is the contrary. I’ve owned a Rogue CMII and it doesn’t take expensive separates or cables to exceed its performance. That goes for many integrateds. The CMII uses decent parts quality here and there but is built to meet a price point. Its volume control is one of the cheapest Alps Pots available.

The assertion that integrateds benefit from shorter signal paths and fewer insertion losses isn’t reality in my experience. The physical proximity of the low-level signals in relation to the power supplies seems a far greater detriment. And an additional pair of cables really doesn’t result in enough insertion loss to be an audible problem. Even a $3K integrated can sound quite a lot better if it allows bypassing of its internal preamp with an outboard unit, even if the outboard component is something like a $500 DAC/preamp combo.