Help with possible left channel issue.

@buellrider97 

Thanks for the info on the tubes. Have a lot to learn and look into. 
Apologies as I did not ask Rogue Audio today about a dark upgrade for the Pharaoh II.  I’ll keep that on the back burner if it comes to fruition. 

Issue resolved…

This morning, I stopped in at Rogue Audio and they took me on the spot. 
Rolled the Pharaoh II out of my car into the shop and went to work on the bench.  Turns out one of the tubes wasn’t seating in the socket correctly. It worked in the adjacent socket, but for some reason was not liking its original home. Replaced it with a new tube and the left channel was up and running. While in there, they tightened up the toroidal transformer and I was on my way.  5 stars for the team at Rogue Audio…cordial and efficient. The shop itself was cool to see. Very well laid out and tidy.  Happy to be up and running again.

I just thought you might experiment as that unit makes pretty big power and sometimes things get bottlenecked at the power filter. I use a simple Richard Gray and when I replaced the heavy original cord with a Shunyata Venom HO I could tell a difference. I replaced my 15 amp duplex with a 20 amp Hubble duplex in order to accommodate the cord. I am aware of what I draw and was not concerned with an overload, although 20 amp circuits are more desirable. Also on tubes I have the RP-1 pre and replacing the JJ’s was absolutely huge. I tried RCA, Mullard, Seimens Nickle and settled on Tekefunkens. I checked the web site and did not see an upgrade to Dark specifically listed, but I saw a used listing for a Dark Pharaoh, maybe I was mistaken. When I recently received my upgraded M-180’s they no longer come with nos, shipping higher grade new production small signal tubes. They came with a couple pairs of the higher quality JJ’s and they were still poor sounding. However the 12AX7 slots had gold pin new production Tung Sol 5751 and they were really nice ! PM me if you have any 12AU7 questions and we can chat. I just had the M-180’s modded but where I live it was 105* today and we have the second highest power rates in the country. I’ll probably be considering something like the Pharaoh or Atmosphere class D mono’s this summer. I have Tekton DI’s coming Tuesday and even with 180 wpc, I think something like you have might be significantly better. I can’t say enough how much Bill and Nick have helped me. Cheers , Mike B. 

@buellrider97 

Thanks for sharing your experiences with the Rogue monoblocks.  Wonder if I’ll run into a similar situation regarding the static in addition to the left channel. Pre-purchase, I’d been emailing with Bill at Rogue about an ST-100 and using my Marantz Model 30 as a preamp. He suggested I take a look at the Pharaoh II.

Rogue is slightly over an hour from me, so hoping I can just drop it off.  Interesting thought on the dark upgrade.  I was not aware that it was available for the Pharaoh II . I’ve read positive reviews about to dark upgrade for the Cronus.  As you mentioned maybe if the repair could be covered with the purchase of the dark upgrade that might be that way to go.

With respect to the PST-8, I had the Rogue plugged into one of the unfiltered sockets and the Marantz SACD30N into the filtered socket.  I never A/B tested the sockets, I figured the digital source might benefit more. However, it might be redundant as I have a Shunyata V12 NR power cord on the Marantz SACD 30N. All The Marantz Model 30 and SACD 30N combo were very silent and laid back musically, but I felt that my speakers needed a bit more punch which I feel the Rogue added. 

Also , if available and you like the amp inquire about the  “ Dark Upgrade “ availability. I did that to mine , and it negated the service/repair portion of the fee. It was a noticeable improvement. 

I have different Rogue gear , and recently had a failure with one of my tube mono blocs. I have zero experience with class D, but I think you have a component failure and maybe something else. I had a resistor fail in the phase circuit of the 12AX7, which caused intermittent problems. I sent both amps in for a look over. They diagnosed and repaired the resistor. However they diagnosed both amps with issues with the diodes in the rectifier sections of both power supply’s. In retrospect I had noticed intermittent static and popping especially upon startup and shutdown. Call them on the phone and talk to Bill or Nick and they will politely give you input. They are knowledgeable and never pushy, they will definitely resolve your problem. Most likely it will have to be sent in, I like Pirate Ship for postage. Also if I may suggest, change the tubes while you’re at it, and if they’re JJ most others are better. And out of curiosity did your amp show any difference into the outlet Vs the Power filter ? If you go NOS Rogue suggests Andy at Vintage Tube Services. Cheers , Mike B. 

@shredsled 

Not sure what you mean by “L/R swap the interconnects into the Rogue”

I was just referring to flipping the interconnets (left channel from source to right input on Rogue, and visa versa for the right channel) to confirm that the left input wasn't the source of the fault.

Regardless, I would say that you have confirmed the is a failure in the Rogue.

Good luck.  

-Jeff

jefbij,

Tried connecting the Rogue to the Marantz SACD 30 via input 2 on the Rogue and still no sound out of the left speaker. Also, tried directly connecting the Innous to the Rogue using the DAC of the Innous and no sound in the left speaker either. Went back and replaced the Rogue with the Marantz Model 30 and all was fine.

jefbij,

Thank you for the insights.

I have not boxed up the  Rogue, so I will try connecting the Marantz SACD 30  to another set of inputs on the Rogue to see if that resolves/insolates anything.  

Not sure what you mean by “L/R swap the interconnects into the Rogue”

However, wanting to get back to listening, I swapped the Rogue for my Marantz Model 30 and everything was fine, so the source would seem ok.  Not that it would necessarily make a difference, but streaming internet radio from the Marantz SACD30 was fine and streaming burned CD’s from the Innous ZENmini MK3 was fine also.  I’m using the DAC in the Marantz SACD30 and the same pairs of interconnects and power cords as I have when the Rogue was set up. 

Hopefully, if it is determined by Rogue that one or more of the items you mentioned is/are the culprit(s), the repair is an easy one and not a lengthy turn around.

Thanks again. 

So, the speaker is ok.  Next L/R swap the interconnects into the Rogue to make sure the problem isn't with the source.  I'd then switch to a different "input" set on the Rogue as well.  

If both interconnect swaps/changes still yield a problem with the left side, then it most likely is the Rogue and you are back to sending integrated in for service.

Most likely you have either

• blown one of the 4 fuses inside the Rogue,
• had one tube fail
• or blown a capacitor.