fellas
original post is from 2015
our pal sunnyjim probably has his new integrated! lol
original post is from 2015
our pal sunnyjim probably has his new integrated! lol
Looking for integrated better than my Rogue Sphinx
I have owned a Rogue Sphinx integrated amp for two years (100RMS). I don't have any specific complaints about its performance except at times when played loud, it sounds like it is clipping and delivering more distortion than clean signal. The Rogue retailed at time of purchased for $1325.00 (remote cost $100 bucks more). I thought it wise to check around with members as to their opinions about a step up in sound quality from the Rogue integrated before starting any serious searches.
Most higher end integrated amps today are decked out like cuckoo clocks and so this might be tough one. I have read a lot of good things about the Hegal integrated amps, but don't need a DAC unless it is going to be superior to the one in my Ayre CX-7emp CD player. In addition, I have no interest in computer audio and many of the accessory features of the newer amps will be useless to me.
However, I will need an MM phono stage, and will miss the one in the Rogue which is first rate.
Is it worth while to take a look at some of the older, highly praised integrateds, like Sim-Moon series of 7 years ago, or Krell, Vincent, Musical Fidelity, and possibly Conrad Johnson. CJ offered an integrated amp about 10 years ago and tagged it at $6500. It was rated 200RMS, but had no inboard phono stage It got excellent reviews at the time, though never took the market by storm ( probably because of its price tag in a depressed market) .
Having more power than 100RMS would be nice, but not a priority. My speakers are (newly acquired) Golden Ear Technology Model 7; so far, an extraordinary sounding speaker considering its price of $1400 per pair. Thanks to all
Most higher end integrated amps today are decked out like cuckoo clocks and so this might be tough one. I have read a lot of good things about the Hegal integrated amps, but don't need a DAC unless it is going to be superior to the one in my Ayre CX-7emp CD player. In addition, I have no interest in computer audio and many of the accessory features of the newer amps will be useless to me.
However, I will need an MM phono stage, and will miss the one in the Rogue which is first rate.
Is it worth while to take a look at some of the older, highly praised integrateds, like Sim-Moon series of 7 years ago, or Krell, Vincent, Musical Fidelity, and possibly Conrad Johnson. CJ offered an integrated amp about 10 years ago and tagged it at $6500. It was rated 200RMS, but had no inboard phono stage It got excellent reviews at the time, though never took the market by storm ( probably because of its price tag in a depressed market) .
Having more power than 100RMS would be nice, but not a priority. My speakers are (newly acquired) Golden Ear Technology Model 7; so far, an extraordinary sounding speaker considering its price of $1400 per pair. Thanks to all
58 responses Add your response
@sunnyjim I have heard the Pharaoh and Sphinx many times and owned the Rogue Cronus Magnum II for over 3 years. I also had the RP7 preamp and the Stereo 100 power amp. The Cronus Magnum sounds so much better than the Pharaoh and Sphinx. No comparison. It is one of the best sounding integrated amplifiers regardless of price. Although the Stereo 100 plays louder than the Cronus, I actually preferred the sound quality of the Cronus. I also demoed the Rega Elicit R ($3K) back to back with the Cronus and the sound of the Cronus blew it away. Open, transparent, refined, smooth, gorgeous. I heard some transformer noise near the amp but nothing from the speakers and listening position is dead silent. Stock JJ tubes sound great but take a while to burn in. The overall sound quality from the Rogue Cronus Mag is worth any minor inconvenieces it might bring. |
I have dealt with Rogue for my preowned Cronus Magnum 2 that i bought here in 2017. It was only 3 mos.old but the original owner decided to get the mono blocks instead. Anyway they did some upgrade work for me and were fabulous with their pricing. So yesterday, because of their quality products and service to even a second owner, i bought a used rogue sphinx here for my secondary system. I am awaiting a response for my inquiry into whether they will do the circuit board upgrade only as i use a tube phonostage and hardly ever use headphones... i do want the better cuircut design however. I get that the shipping can be pricey but when your having Rogue do a job for you thats not warranty related i dont see why they would be expected to pay for that? They would only make half of their upgrade fee in the case of the OP and honestly, Rogue is an American company doing some amazing stuff for what most consider fantastic prices... Just my opinion of course.. Btw OP, did you ever move on from your sphinx? I was also wary of class D but my plan id to eventually grab a vintage SET low watt tube amp to run through the sphinx for when i want the full tube sound say with my vinyl.... the sphinx can be used as a tube preamp only as well. I will have the class d ss power for when or if i move to a lower efficiency speaker than the klipsch quartets i run with the second system now... |
I want to thank all the members who responded to this thread and offered advice and recommendations I decided to go with separates and currently am looking for a pre-amp. If you tuned into some of my more recent threads, I recently purchased a used BAT VK-200 amp. It has been a revelation. I now understand what seeing into the music and recording means |
I so often see comments about power and watts. Watts do not equate to quality. First consider the power requirements of speakers, and the sensitivity of the speakers. One would not want to connect a 200wpc amp to a pair of Cornwall III speakers no matter the quality of the amp. With those speakers a low watt amp of decent quality would be better than a Mac 6600 with 200wpc. Recently at a shop in Indianapolis I listened to a Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II. The mid range is super. The bass, and especially the highs are lacking. It looks impressive but I can assure you the Jolida Fusion 3502S amp sounds nicer. I know the Vincent SV500 sounds really nice. The guy at the audio shop in Indy ignored my request to listen to the Sphinx- said it did not sound as good as Cronus. As for Jolida- final assembly, QA, shipping, warranty service, and upgrades are all done in USA. I sell for Jolida. I know. I would think the Vincent SV500 or almost any of the Yamaha integrateds would sound as nice as the Sphinx, and surely the Jolida JD1501BRC would. The styling of the the Jolida is simplistic, but the sound is great. Much of the gear that is supposedly made in USA is assembled in USA using Asian made components. That is why their gear is currently on back order for so long- floods in China are terrible, and have set production back. |
Unfortunately, I let this thread get passed me, so I want to thank every member who responded since my last appearance on it I want to update those who were kind enough to respond that I still have the Rogue Sphinx v1. I found out before CES 2016, that Rogue had issued an updated version of Sphinx v1 which is now in full production. Unfortunately, updating v1 version to v.2 is $400 plus shipping both ways. I live on the West Coast, so figure at least $200 to round trip the amp which weighs about 30 lbs boxed. which In my opinion this STINKS.They could at least pay the shipping both ways. Steve Guttenberg wrote a review of v2 on March 16 2016 for CNET and raved about the improvements 1) a revised and improved MM/MC stage that is quieter 2) The addition of 3 more RCA inputs 3) the head phone amp has been improved, probably meaning it has a higher output. 4) Mark O'Brien redesigned the circuit board, and claims the overall sound quality has been improved ( hopefully less noisy than the original!!). However, the remote up volume is still too great and you can't quite get the setting you would like......That's just great!! Let me mention, that I was advised by another member to upgrade the stock output tubes to Mullards 4003V in August, 2015. It made a difference in taking off some of the edge off the class D amp Rogue uses. The two tubes cost $185.00. For new buyers the price of the v2 is the same, plus $100 extra for a slightly revised remote that has a mute switch. After almost of 5 years of owning Sphinx v1, I am caught between a rock and hard place, because if I sell it to just move it, I will take a bath on the original price I paid, However, the changes that were made could pay dividends, for example, the MM stage offers not enough gain for a high out coil. I used a Dynavector 10X5 with it and had to crank the volume to 2'oclock to get decent volume for LP play. Hopefully the new MC leg of the phono stage has enough gain to support the lower output MC's like the Denons or AT's, etc. So, I need to consider my options because I now own a pair of Golden Ear Technology model 7's which sounds very good, but also very dead and lifeless. I may audition the new Magneplana .7 speaker which has received very good reviews However, Maggies need lots of power and are a pain in the butt tot set up in an average size room Cheers!!. |
One idea is to get one of the Hegel h 200 demos on sale now on audiogon. It has the great sound signature of Hegel without the bells and whistles (and dac) that the newer models have. Sufficient power to drive many options for future speaker upgrades. I just bought one will post on it later. if you like the sound of the Hegel but have concerns about obsolescence of the dac, the Apple stuff, etc., you may love this one. I like the sound better than the h300 and 160 even though both are supposed to be upgraded in some way. Others have disagreed and said the h 300 is much better - I didn't hear it that way. |
Greg, your story is incongruent with the well informed information I was given. I won't take the above information on face value, but will cross check that in my own time. Again, I am sticking to my guns until and if I confirm otherwise. As for my defensive reaction, I don't think you understand how small the audiophile world is, and how posting names can have serious consequences. If think i'm going to do that, forget it mate. |
Regarding Luxman, here is the deal. This information comes directly from the US importer who provided me current data as well as a 2015 Price List. 1. A few items were produced in China. These were the low end items. They are as follows: L-350AII Integrated P-10 Headphone Amp SQ-30u Integrated Tube Amp SQ-N10DR V Tube Integrated Amp SQ-N10 V Tube Integrated Amp D-N10 CD Player D-100r I Pod Dock D-03x SACD Player U-100 USB Converter The remainder of the line (and it is extensive) is made in Japan with the exception of 2 isolation clamps and 2 vibration isolation pads that are made in USA. 2. In January 2015, the decision was made to cease manufacturing in China of a very few low end models and move it all back to Japan. You can easily tell if a current Luxman product us made in Japan vs China as the brand logo will be script type for Japanese units and the Chinese units continue to use the box type letters from the 70's and 80's. Hopefully this clears things up. Melbguy1, I am not sure what I said that put you on the defensive. I was simply asking for a verifiable source to corroborate your statement - sorry. |
FWIW, I just checked the Luxman website and looked at the pics of the 505ux that is a current model. The picture of the back panel clearly shows "Made in Japan". Seems to me if they were being built in China, Luxman would take down this picture to avoid any controversy. Like Hegel. And if still in doubt, just ask a Luxman dealer to verify where its made by looking at the back panel. I think its safe to assume that Luxman is still a high quality, Japanese built brand even if owned by IAG. |
As you know, it all has to do with amp/speaker matching and I don't believe the Sphinx can deliver enough current into a low impedance load. My understanding is that high current amps produce a stable output of power that is coherent across the amp's impedance range Yes, that's true, but what if the speaker load is not stable? An amp that delivers high current can drive low impedance spikes in the bass frequencies with authority, and will have plenty of reserve power so that it does not go into clipping. There will be no distortion and the speaker will sound more dynamic. It will handle transients at all frequencies with power to spare. An example of a high current amp is one that can double it's power from an 8 ohm load to a 4 ohm. e.g., 300wpc/8ohms, 600wpc/4ohms. I don't think high current and damping factor are related, any well designed amp can have a high damping factor. A driver with a voice coil is in a magnetic field and for each motion, the coil generates current to the amp. The damping factor is like using the brakes on the voice coil and driver. Jim, you don't need an amp that doubles it's power to drive your new speakers, but you do need a bigger amp, at least 200wpc. I've always owned separates, but maybe look for a used Music Fidelity amp. |
To Lowrider, I used to know much more about the advantages of a high current amp and high damping factor. I am NOT sure they are related. My understanding is that high current amps produce a stable output of power that is coherent across the amp's impedance range A good choice for electrostatics, and planars, ribbon and piezo electric tweeters. Whereas, HIGH DAMPING FACTOR offers much greater control over woofer movement allowing for tighter and deeper bass. However, that said and assuming you are right, what high current integrated amps are on the market that also are very good in other areas of performance, e.g. highs, transparency, overall musicality?? If you know of a few, please let me know. In the meantime, I shall stay the course. I am not in a hurry to abandon the Rogue Sphinx, and not entirely sure the amp is clipping at high volume settings. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Audio_Group Melbaguy1. Where did you hear that Luxman was PRC owned and manufactured? Important to me since I am about to buy a Luxman amp! It seemed to me that when I was researching the brand that they were pretty open about what they made in China (L-305, SQ 30) and what was made in Japan. |
To Dweller, I definitely will check out if there are any BAT 300 SE available on AG, or possibly E-bay, and will precede from there,if I think the price is right, and the cap upgrade is reasonable. Fortunately,In SoCal, there is Upscale Audio which is the premier dealer possibly in the Southwest for purchase of replacement tubes, and also to get solid advice. Mtbrider. Sounds like good advice, worth at least Upscale Audio's free consultation service. You also mentioned and recommended the Anthem 225 integrated. One of our members recommended this unit to me several times, but I was never overwhelmed by the reviews, and just assumed it was another above average IA. I know the 225 model has been available for probably 10 years,maybe more; however, they don't come up that often o AG. Thanks to all who responded |
Melbaguy1: Check your facts. Luxman is owned by the IAG Group based in England. Ownership of IAG is by two Taiwanese brothers, Bernard and Michael Chang. IAG also owns Quad and Wharfdale I believe. Some manufacturing of lower end products is done in China but higher end things are still made in Japan and are of top quality. I generally agree with your assessment of Mainline Chinese business practices (follow the wine market?) but it is not fair to smear Luxman in this way. Taiwan and Mainland China are two different countries! |
Sunnyjim: "Which integrated is best" is on this forum at least once-a-month. I've responded (VK-300SE) so many times, I've stopped doing it. I must have been in the mood when I answered your query. The 300SE usually sells in the $2500 range (?). And yes, NOS 6H30 driver tubes go for $300 apiece. I tried replacements from ARC but they ask "which ARC product do you have?". My opinion is that when you don't have an ARC product, they send you their bottom-of-the-barrel offerings (mine failed after 6 months -these usually last 10 years (10,000 hours). I bit the bullet and bought NOS from BAT -No problems and great sound since. To me, $3100 for near SOTA sound is cheap. |
It should be noted that Luxman have been bought out by a Chinese company & manufacturing of all their lines has returned to China. Personally, I don't have much faith in the motivation and skill of a worker who is probably earning $5AUD an hour in a market not known for manufacturing high end audio equipment. What you need to understand is, Chinese companies primarily buy established audio brands to make money, not for the passion of designing and building great audio products. |
To Mr M. One of the two Rogue Pharoahs had pre-amp or output stage tubes changed. I believe the the seller is the second owner, and praised the sound improvement, I guess he previously heard the standard version. I am not sure who made the tubes, but I believe they were purchased at Upland Stereo in California. He did not go into details of how the sound was changed. Some member recommended a similar tube roll for the Sphinx which I never got around to doing. For the record, the Sphinx and Pharaoh use the same phono circuits, and same design of the headphone amp. The remote is the same also. So basically, only increase in power distinguishes the two, though I have been informed that much better parts are used in the Pharoah over the Sphinx As far as those additional inputs and processor loops I could care less To Soix, see the above; I guess; more power usually is a plus, and could make "X" amount of difference in sound quality. However, even with a healthy resale return on the Sphinx, I would still have to put in about $1100-1400 more from either of the available Pharoahs currently on sale on AG, plus another $70-$100 for shipping I am looking to achieve with more power to get a fuller sound from my current speakers, GET's 7. Another members Dweller, claims he recommended the BAT 300SE integrated several times to me, also suggested to have the cap upgrade done. I don't recall either. Unfortunately, used 300SE's come few and far between, and usually command $3000-3400 at resale Also,I have no idea what the "cap" upgrade would cost, but it will not be cheap. Plus, tube replacements could be expensive. To Austinbob, the Luxman 505U is a beautiful looking integrated, but I always associated Japanese designed and manufactured electronics as clean, accurate but bright, etched sound, and canned. I am probably wrong, but I have owned a few Luxman amps over the years, however, not expensive ones, Thanks again to all |
I think my Luxman 505ux is an excellent value. I tried the Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum and the Luxman was much better. It has an excellent MM and MC stage as well. Plenty powerful and built very well with great remote. List is $4000, I paid $3200 and I've seen them on the Gon used for $2400 to $2800. May not be esoteric, but there's a reason its been in continuous production forever. |
If you want glowing reviews of the Rogue Pharaoh,go to their website and check out the review section. These reviews of the Pharaoh are stellar and what I believe, un-biased. I've seen a few Pharaohs out there on the used market for around $2500. They should be of current production cuzz there are no updated versions that I know of. You didn't state a specific price limitation, so I thought it would be game on for a more expensive amp. And remember, a tube change can make a BIG difference. Even with the Sphinx. I do realize this is your call, and your money. Just my opinion. |
For the ump-teenth time: Balanced Audio Technology VK-300SE. The first one I acquired was by far the best home stereo I've ever owned (around 2005). Thinking I was going to lose my job, I sold. Picked up another 3-4 years ago and, while not "as good" as the first, is just an outstanding piece. I think the first had a BAT cap upgrade which made it so freaky-good (I just could not imagine it sounding better). I'm planning my "Swan Song" system but may send the '300 to BAT for the cap upgrade. |
Jim, Here you go: http://www.soundstageaccess.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/506-arcam-fmj-a19-integrated-amplifier Cheers, Scott |
To Samac, What magazine was this comparative review?? I did see a review of the Arcam A-19 in the last issue of either TAS or Stereophile. Is this the review?? If not, please send me the link to that review Thanks, Jim To Plato, I came very close to buying the Rogue Cronus Magnum II with the KT120 tubes, but did not want to spend the extra $1000 over the cost of Sphinx Also, I was mindful that often tube amps can have a higher noise floor. Also, did not want to get caught up into tube rolling. The Rogue Sphinx is a very good product, and I have no guarantee that CM will provide a marked improvement in the sound, unless I can find a local dealer who will loan me one for the weekend To Mi8764ag, The Rogue Pharoah might be a great choice, but it retails for (I think) $3800. The dealer I bought the Sphinx from was in NYC and had them on sale, but not the Pharoah at the time. I would probably get badly beat-up on any trade-in toward $3800. and have to spend $100 bucks to ship it to NYC. Even if he gives me $1000-$1100, I will still need to come up with at least $2700-2800. He might spot me the shipping. but I doubt it So. add another $150-200 to the final receipt for roundtrip shipping to Los Angeles A local dealer might work a similar deal, but I would have to pay 8.5% sales tax on $2800. Regardless, I still would have to be convinced either by audition or a variety of strong reviews, that the Pharoah is much better across the board than Sphinx. I know that the quality of its parts are better...but Roksan Caspian II integrated?? Maybe, but only, if I can hear it with the red lights turned o0n. Thanks to all other who responded so far |