Rogue Apollo v. VAC Phi 300.1a

Thanks, Fanofdq10s. I'm surprised no one has any comments on the Apollo, as it would seem a relative bargain for a U.S.-made amp of its power rating.

My concern about the VAC 300.1 or 300.1a is bass. Some owners have called it somewhat light in the bottom, and my room eats bass waves as it is. Any VAC owners care to comment?

Hi Mulveling,

Many thanks for your thorough and articulate reply. The Apollos seem like an excellent choice, and clearly the better value. If I were to go with the VAC 300.1a, I'd have to buy used, whereas new Apollos would be manageable for my budget.

I'm intrigued by the possibility of tube rolling the Rogue via 12AX7s, as I already have a pile of nice NOS tubes. OTOH, it can also be a relief to leave the voicing in the hands of the manufacturer, especially when VAC does it so well. After extensive rolling of 6922 varietals in my VAC preamp I still think it sounds best with the stock tubes. Have you tried different output tubes like KT88, KT120, and KT150? I assume your amps came with KT90.

I'm also intrigued by the idea of upgrading caps, etc., as Musicmann1 mentioned. But that, too, raises the question of voicing and the manufacturer's intention. Have you had the urge to change caps and wire, etc.? Is it something Rogue does readily?

Again, I really appreciate your informative post.

Bill

Hey Mike,

I think we have similar ears. I rolled out the stock tubes in my VAC phono section, too, and '50s RCA blackplates are my favorite NOS in there. It's a sleeper tube, IMO. Hard to find super-quiet ones, though. Surprisingly, among new production I like the Sovtek LPS in that application. Unlike other Sovteks I've tried the LPS are not too edgy. They are exceedingly quiet and settle into nice extension and balance with some break-in. I also use and like a lot a Bob's SUT, though not with my VAC as it is dual MC.

Thanks again for all the excellent info on Rogue!

Bill