Help! Need tube preamp to finish system.

hi tom, no problem about the typo, i'm an idiot anyway, remember - i dint even *see* it 'til ya pointed it out to me! ;~) regards, doug

i'm reading this rogue stuff w/baited breath - i yust purchased a demo 99 from a dealer w/o auditioning; it's on its way to rogue for them to install an additional set of rca tape outs & rca main outs. mark said they're also almost done w/a *magnum* upgrade, so i told 'em to tweek mine before shipping. i hope it's as nice as what's being said here. this is my 1st serious toob adwenture, & i'm looking forward to it, but i'm still not ready to advertise for sale my linn kairn/brilliant, until i have time to do a thorough audition. the linn is *excellent* solid-state gear, imho...

philefreak, i shall post my feelings about the rogue after i listen for awhile, but it mite be a couple weeks before i get the unit.

hi david, rogue installed nos phillips tubes w/their *magnum* upgrade. i'd be curious as to what other tubes might give tighter bass response in thte rogue 99. thanks, doug

tube pre-amp plus solid-state amp? (rogue 99 update!) i was also hoping that would be the ticket. years ago, i auditioned an ar sp9-mkll - it was so dull & slow, i passed. i really *wanted* to like it - it was so cool-looking! ;~) this was w/an adcom 555 amp & thiel 3.5's, both known for their tendencies to be bright, so ya'd think the ar would have balanced it - no such luck. i can't comment about any other ar stuff, or any other tube preamps - *except* the brand-gnu rogue audio 99, deluxe *magnum* version, that i just got this past thursday nite. well, it's a *lot* better than that sp9 was - great soundstage depth, airy highs, * very* detailed - from the midrange on up. the bass, however, is totally awol, and what little there is, it's very inarticulate. perhaps this will improve when it's broken-in? i don't think so - i've never heard of this aspect of a pre-amp changing much during break-in. and, i'm not talking about head-banger-electronic-type bass, either. listen to the bass on patricia barbour's *inchworm* & *ode to billie joe* on her "cafe blue" album - the bass was *fantastic* w/my linn kairn preamp. in all fairness, tho, my system's lo-end is a pair of bridged adcom gfa555's driving a pair of vmps larger subs, x'd over at 60hz. monitors are meret re's, bi-amped w/a pair of electtrocompaniet amps. maybe other less full-range systems wouldn't even be aware of this preamp's bass deficiencies, but for me, it's a sho-stopper. regretably, this is going up for sale, less than a week old... see audiogon classifieds for specifics. anyone know af a nice tube preamp with *accurate* bass response?

hi, idiot here! tm12, let me tell you a few things about the bass response of my system. two adcom gfa555's, bridged, are *more* than adequate to drive a pair of vmps larger subs, below 60hz - anything more is overkill - money that would be better spent elsewhere, imho. and above 60hz, i think my two electrocompaniet amps are more than adequate to drive my monitors in a bi-amped configuration. but, of course, i'm an idiot, so take my opinions w/a grain of salt. fwiw, prior to the rogue, the bass response was *real*, w/my linn kairn preamp. and, as i said before, i'm not talking head-banger music. the rogue does synth-bass, like nusrat fateh ali khan, just fine, tho still not as well as w/the kairn. it's on acoustic upright bass, as on patricia barbour's cafe blue album, where the rogue does not shine. it goes deep, yust doesn't have all the texture. and, as acoustic bass only goes down to 44hz, i don't think the adcom subwoofer amps are really at issue. but, again, as said previously, i *am* an idiot, so take my observations at your own peril. as far as the rogue 99's *other* performance aspects, i must say they are beyond reproach, i only hope the bass response improves - it *has* gotten better over the past couple days, but still not where i'd like it. regards, doug *the idiot* sedon

hi all, re: my adcoms, i really don't think there's a synergy problem here - bass was outstanding before, and while adcom stuff takes a beating in the hi-end press (mebbe too much value for money?), i've never heard anyone knock its bass response. only comments about its bass i've heard is that ya have to spend mega-bucks on something like a big krell/levinson/etc, to get marginally improved bass response. what i think is going on here is i early-called it in complaining about the rogue 99's bass response. it *has* improved markedly in the week since i've hooked it up, and while i hope it improves more, even if it doesn't, its *other* virtues are exemplary enough to satisfy me until i can consider the funds required to try something like a bat 50se, which is beyond my budget, even used. and, besides, the wife has already forbidden me to sell it & re-hook up my linn kairn! she *loves* it! ;~) so, i have pulled the ad, and shall place an ad to sell the linn. regards all, doug