Rogue Cronus vs. Tempest II?

I had a Cronus for about 2 weeks, I wasnt sure how a 55wpc integrated would handle my B&W N804s. It handled them in style, I was very impressed with the Cronus, so much that I went ahead and snagged a Tempest II. The cRonus is a great unit, switching the pre-amp tube made the biggest difference, i threw in a NOS 12au7 Mullard & that took things to a new level. The reason i wanted a T II was to have a little more power for those times when im home alone & can rock the house. For regular listening the Cronus is just as good as the T II.

Jclyle, thanks for the feedback. Do you prefer the 'sonic signature' of one over the other or is it just the piece of mind of 90WPC vs. 55WPC that made you choose the TempestII? If you could describe the sonic qualities of each a little more it would be greated appreciated!

The T II does 60wpc in triode & 90 in ultralinear mode. The sound in triode mode is wonderful, very detailed & ohh so smooth. Ultralinear mode loses some detail but is great for loud listening. The TII has more bass than the Cronus thanks to the KT88/6550 output tubes. I did notice that the mid-range of the Cronus had an edge over the TII. Much smoother than the T II, I was using NOS Mullards in all 3 12au7 slots so im sure that helped

Thanks again! Are you currently running the stock tubes in the TII or have you attempted rolling there as well?

right now I have the stock EH KT88 power tubes. i switched to the EH 6sn7 driver tubes. As for the 12ax7 input tubes they change several times a week :) I have had best results w/ NOS Mullard box plates, but they are kinda pricey. The stock Sovtek LPS tubes are great, but they are a little too airy for my tastes. I recently got a pair of the Grove Tube 12ax7M "mullard clones" they seem to be OK but still need more break-in time.

one more thing, the T II doesnt have any tubes pre-amp stage, it has a passive pre-amp.

Jclyle I also have a Cronus and ordered a quartet of KT77s from Mark at Rogue. This made a huge improvement in dynamic kick compared to the stock Svetlanas that came with it. I am tempted to get a T2 for those times like you when I want to rock out, but for now the Cronus does this quite well with Vandersteen 2Sigs.

Hi I have a pair of martin logan aerius and am considering either the coronus or th e Model 90? any thoughts?Nick