Are you still happy with your Cronus? I'm looking at one right now in the "magnum" package, for use driving a pair of Salk Songtowers (4ohm, 91db). Slightly underpowered given Mr. Salk's recommended 125wpc rating, but have driven them with low power already and not noticed any significant problems, plus these are tube-watts. Anyway, let me know what you think now that you've had it a while!
Review: Rogue Audio Cronus Tube amp
Category: Amplifiers
Wow. Only two hours into this after setting it up, firing it up and listening to this amp. Compared to the Jolida 302B, everything is greatly improved in every way. But especially jazz piano (Lisa Ekdahl and trio, Back to Earth, BMG/RCA Victor), there's so much harmonic content in there. The extension has the equivalent of the best solid state amps I've heard (Krell 400cx in my main system) and the imaging is very wide and outside the speakers. Front to back depth is huge. Emotional connection is unavoidable. I will write a follow-up to this review as the amp hasn't even broken in yet, but siffice it to say that Vandersteen and Rogue are truly compatible and together are greater than the sum of the componenents.
Before installing the tubes and firing it up I opened up the unit to change the impedance taps over to 4 Ohms. The build quality in there is stunning. High quality ceramic tube sockets, huge power and output trannies, heavy solder masked circuit board with quality components.
After warming it up for the required thirty minutes, I checked the bias on the pre-position specified Svetlana EL34s and they were right on the 35mV setting. The pre tubes are Sovtek LPS 12AX7 (2), EH 12AU7 (2) and one special low noise german made 12AU7 (Siemens?).
This amp just oozes quality though and through. It's comforting to know that Made In The USA still means something.
The only weakness so far that I can see is the speaker binding posts could be the better all metal type, but these are much better than the usual plastic KEF type that I can't stand, stay tuned for more...
Wow. I'm a Rogue Audio fan big time. And that piano...
Associated gear
Music Hall MMF7
Jolida JD100 CDP
Jolida JD9 Phono Pre
Jolida Tuner
Vandersteen 2Ce Signature
Tara and Synergistic ICs and Speaker Cables
Similar products
Jolida JD302B
Rotel RA 921
Wow. Only two hours into this after setting it up, firing it up and listening to this amp. Compared to the Jolida 302B, everything is greatly improved in every way. But especially jazz piano (Lisa Ekdahl and trio, Back to Earth, BMG/RCA Victor), there's so much harmonic content in there. The extension has the equivalent of the best solid state amps I've heard (Krell 400cx in my main system) and the imaging is very wide and outside the speakers. Front to back depth is huge. Emotional connection is unavoidable. I will write a follow-up to this review as the amp hasn't even broken in yet, but siffice it to say that Vandersteen and Rogue are truly compatible and together are greater than the sum of the componenents.
Before installing the tubes and firing it up I opened up the unit to change the impedance taps over to 4 Ohms. The build quality in there is stunning. High quality ceramic tube sockets, huge power and output trannies, heavy solder masked circuit board with quality components.
After warming it up for the required thirty minutes, I checked the bias on the pre-position specified Svetlana EL34s and they were right on the 35mV setting. The pre tubes are Sovtek LPS 12AX7 (2), EH 12AU7 (2) and one special low noise german made 12AU7 (Siemens?).
This amp just oozes quality though and through. It's comforting to know that Made In The USA still means something.
The only weakness so far that I can see is the speaker binding posts could be the better all metal type, but these are much better than the usual plastic KEF type that I can't stand, stay tuned for more...
Wow. I'm a Rogue Audio fan big time. And that piano...
Associated gear
Music Hall MMF7
Jolida JD100 CDP
Jolida JD9 Phono Pre
Jolida Tuner
Vandersteen 2Ce Signature
Tara and Synergistic ICs and Speaker Cables
Similar products
Jolida JD302B
Rotel RA 921
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- 17 posts total
- 17 posts total