BTW I have heard and like the Cronus Magnum very much and have considered buying one from time to time, but only for use with the right speakers in teh right situation meaning the speakers are not bottlenecked by the limited drive power of the amp (compared to Pharoah).
Having right amp for speakers is fundamental to best possible sound, much like having a suitable performance engine in your car for optimal performance.
I run various speakers in my home (the better ones from largest, most demanding to least in terms of power needed to max them out):
1) OHM F5 series 3
2) Dynaudio Contour 1.3 mkII
3) OHM 100 series 3
4) OHM L
5) Triangle Titus XL
Cronus Magmum (tube amp) would be my choice for 5 maybe 3 or 4 in a smaller room if not listening very loud. I would not even consider it for 1) or 2) unless in a smaller room and no need to ever go very loud.
Pharoah (hybrid) for 1-2 and most likely 3 though it would do quite well with most anything out there so it is a safer bet if unsure.
The two amps will sound different in most any case though and its certainly possible that either might sound best to someone in any particular case. What sounds "best" is always a very subjective things whereas what performs best (and therefore has the best "chance" overall to also sound best accordingly) is a more objective thing.
As is pretty much always the case it all depends and you never know for sure until you try.
