I auditioned the Sphinx. Nice for the money but the Bada Purer 3.3R that I compared it to was more to my liking. The Bada, a hybrid tube amp like the Sphinx sounded fuller, richer and has deep weighty bass with great attack & dynamics. I purchased the Bada from Pacific Valve & Electric (recently officially closed for business) as a demo for $1199. List price was $1799, not much more than the Sphinx although the Sphinx includes a phono & headphone amp. I noticed pronounced sibilance and a leaner overall tone with the Sphinx. The Bada had none of those characteristics. However, the Sphinx was not broken in with about 50 hours on it. |
Roscoeiii - I had the Cronus Magnum with KT120 it sounded ok with Harbeth 7ES3 anything else I tried, Paradigm,Totem,Sonus Faber, didn't really match..I also heard a lot of pop and clicks and all troubles associated with not so well engineered amps - u guess its just me who (:- I know that the higher up rogue products are excellent though heard the Sphinx/Medusa yesterday and found these to be so '-so . |
Thanks to all who participated in this thread. I almost forgot I had submitted it. Since last viewing the responses, I tried to work a deal with a Rogue dealer in New York who offered me a generous trade on my separates for the Rogue's Cronus Magnum. Several member suggested to go with the CM over the Sphinx because it sounded better but was $1000 more. (I actually like the design of the Sphinx because you can place a medium weight CDP on top.
Unfortunately, I had to put the deal on hold because shipping my separates to the dealer in NY state from Hawaii, and Rogue drop shipping Cronos Magnum from Pennsylvania to me was going to cost about $200-250. Considering the trade in allowance, the deal was only good for CM, because buying the Sphinx would have me losing money with the trade. I did not see the advantage of paying over $200 for shipping....that is one of the major drawbacks of living in paradise....everything costs extra money.
However, I am still not sure why the CM is worth almost $1000 more than Sphinx, and more importantly, how the CM is supposed to be much better than its "hybrid" little brother, except that it uses "better parts" When I return to the mainland in July 2014, I will probably try to salvage the NY deal unless I find something better.
Happy Holidays to all. Jim |
"also its very difficult to partner with gears from other manufacturers.."
I've owned Rogue gear and read five years worth of reviews and posts on forums and this is the first time I've read this. I'll never tell you you're wrong because this is your finding but it's far from my experience.
That being said if I was in the market for tubes at this stage in my life I would look no farther than Octave. |
Interesting Thegoodarcher. I haven't had any difficulty matching my Stereo 90 Super Magnum with other gear. What other gear were you pairing it with? Also, what amp did you have? The integrated asked about here is the hybrid Sphinx, not an all-tube design.
I have read on other forums that fans of the all-tube Rogue grar didn't like the hybrids as much. But in terms of speaker matching (crucial), I think that the hybrid designs may make more sense with Maggies. |
I've one owned a rogue amp merely from reading wonderful reviews on the net, the guys from rogue maybe great guys, but it was truly not my cup of tea..also its very difficult to partner with gears from other manufacturers..thank god i manage to get rid of the amp, nevertheless the built quality was superb, heavy and machined like a tank. |
Passet02 - were you drunk when you wrote your response? |
This may be of interest:
http://audiofi.net/2013/10/rogue-audio-sphinx-hybrid-pleasures/ |
I purchased one sometime back just out of interest really. For a torture test i connected it to a low sensitivity's and low impedance (down to 3 ohm) ESL speakers. I didn't expect much and was very surprised to find the Sphinx drove the ESL speakers much louder than I expected for the power specification. If considering the purchase of this amp do budget a little more to fund the swop out of the JJ tubes, they don't do the amp any favors. |
Hi. I'm pulling this thread out of the mothballs to see if the past five months have yielded more owners, more opinions, experience, or insight about the Rogue Audio Sphinx. It looks to be a strong candidate for comfortably and coolly driving a 4-ohm load. I'm considering it for my brand new (4-ohm) Magneplanar 1.7s.
Also, if I get this unit I can consolidate 3 components (phono stage, line stage, & power amp) into one, and hopefully offer a single, simple front panel to help my wife feel more comfortable operating the 2-channel rig. |
There is a review on Goodsound. |
Using there Metis Pre/Amp and I am going to have it possible upgraded to the Magnum issue, but hard to do since I like the sound so much. I use to have some really high end Musical Fidelity gear but with 3 young kids not much time to listen so I am looking for a budget piece that sounds nice.
Passet02 what color did you get? Black or Silver? |
I would also be interested in the Pharaoh. I haven't been on the Rogue web site and had no idea this was shipping so soon. There's a possibility this integrated could find a room at my place. The price is right, that's for sure. |
Passet02, Did you sell the Sphinx yet, I'm interested. Do you have the new Rogue integrated, the Pharaoh, or have you heard it yet? |
Jim I just sent you a PM check your inbox on Audiogon. TT |
Passet02 I will keep a look out for your ad for the Rogue Sphinx, should you decide to sell it. My only reservation is the remote which should have included a mute button, and not just volume up and down, should be part of the retail price instead of clipping buyers for another $100.
If you get a chance to try out the phono stage, let me know. I like to hear your comments. Rogue has been noted for very good phono stages in past components Thanks for commenting on this thread. |
Thanks to those members who responded so far |
Sunny , I have the new Sphinx now for a couple weeks . All I could say is how Rouge achieves this level of sound for the price is just amazing.Companies like Rega and Rouge got of there Asses good Market ideas and beat the Chinese garbage , There products are dissapearing from the Audio market in this country.Sphinx is clear and very powerfull a lot of dept in the music will drive just about any speaker. I upgrade the tubes to the Mullards from England its just gets better.The headphones sound is also excellent , haven"t tried the phono.You can bi amp also , "but" just alone very warm and Musical and accurate.I heard this unit at the show, 5 minutes later I ran yes ran to the ATM machine bought the unit on the spot .Ofcourse I had to go threw a dealer ,But Rouge customer service is 1st class too Had the unit in two days.I just can turn it off . The remote is made like a gun quality .I moving up there line to there next in line intergrate it has Ballanced imputs.Mind is up for sale .Don"t even think twice about buy it put your money into the speakers |
I too am interested in this integrated and am impressed with the reviews of the Hydra/Medusa enough to consider it.
Can't wait to hear more.
All the best,
Nonoise |
I would say that it's very musical. Nice detail, good bottom end. I'm still working on getting a full break-in of the demo, but so far, the soundstage is very nice also.
I really like the Hydra/Medusa amps, so I sort of figured this (and the upcoming Pharaoh) would both be great integrateds. |
Goldprintaudio, Thank you for your response
What aspects of the sound impressed you the most?? Is it high on the list in musicality and soundstaging?? I have been looking for a few months for a used Creek Destiny 1 or 2, but there been few to none on AG. I owned a Creek 5350SE classic a few years ago which is a great amp, but limited in power. If I had the money I would buy a used Jeff Rowland Concerto 1. There is one on AG, but is $3400. Thanks again!! |
I have a demo unit here and am quite impressed with it. If you had the chance to hear the Hydra or Medusa amps from Rogue, the sonic similarities are evident.
I consider it a pretty amazing value at the price.
***Rogue Dealer Disclaimer*** |
