rogue cronus integrated or red wine audio 30.2?

your speakers and their positioning will make a bigger difference....you have a very nice system

definitely my speakers are very sensitive to setup. right now I have my system set up in our family/living room. when we casually listen the speakers have to be in between an armoire about 2 ft out from the wall.
for critical listening sessions I pull the steps out about 5 ft from the wall with them about 6 ft apart from each other and the listening chair 6 ft away.
I notice if I space the speakers about 8-9 ft apart then the sound becomes more spacious but the impactfulness(if that is a word) is lessened.
the near field thing sounds tight and full but a bit cramped in. these are the limitations of my room unforutately.

have you heard the cronus in relation to the cec?

the cronus will sound a bit warmer(than the cec)..i have not compared side by side...its(the cronus) strikingly similar to a vintage marantz 7/8b combo .its pretty incredible. the steps(and other great small monitors) do loose the viseral slam as they come away from the wall, and in exchange you get more of a disappearing act.......as good as the steps are, i would play with another pair of speakers....perhaps a warmer british type such as proac or spendor.

thanks for the responses jaybo, it hard to find folks who are familiar with the stuff I have for some reason.
I was considering getting into some good tube gear and then going with some high efficiency speakers. I have heard the zucable druids or presence are pretty great but havent heard them.
Mark at rogue told me he heard that combo and it was a good match.
sometimes I feel like this hobby/obsession is just splitting hairs anyways:)