Upgrading my Rouge Cronus 11 to what?

I owned a Cronus Magnum II and liked it. However, I always felt that the sound signature leaned a little towards SS for my taste. I sold it to another gentleman who had it upgraded to Cronus Magnum III and told me that it was substantially better. If you like the overall sound of your Magnum II, it's worth checking with Rogue Audio first.

It will help if you can specify your budget and whether you're open to buying used.

Budget is around 5 to 10 K and buying used is fine with me.

I keep my gear for a long time so the splurging is ok to get what I want.

How about from Rogue to Rouge? 

This Conrad-Johnson CAV-45 should fit the bill!

https://conradjohnson.com/cav45-stereo-control-amplifier/

Wouldn't say no to a 2 piece setup Im a bit of a loss to choose a pairing but Im open to it. 

My experience with Rogue has been great the only issue in 10 years has been the remote volume recently stopped working.

I currently own an Audio Hungary Qualiton a50i integrated amplifier that I prefer over a number of integrated amps (tube and SS). Soundwise, it sits somewhere between Cronus Magnum (tilts towards SS) and Conrad Johnson (more classical tube sound). I went through a number of amps in the last 3-4 years and the Qualiton was by far the best for my listening preferences.

Quicksilver is another great American company that offers great value.

If you’re not averse to buying Chinese, Line Magnetic gets a lot of respect on these forums.

Recently, I had the opportunity (in fact, the past weekend) of listening to a VAC 200iq (although it’s not an integrated amp). It was phenomenal, although I feel you pay quite a bit more for the pedigree. But something like 170i if bought used can fit the bill nicely.

Finally, don’t forget Rogers High Fidelity -- another American company offering amazing products. I owned their 65v2 (SET integrated amp) and loved it. But recently I heard their KWM-88 integrated amp and was extremely impressed. They can be pricey but you can reach out to the owner to see if they have refurbished units.

Thanks for the replies.

The Line Magnetic LM-219ia looks like their owners adore it and is something special! 

Line Magnetic 805 sounds more nuanced and detailed than Cronus II.

I have both Cronus II and Line Magnetic 508(old version)

Thomas

The Audio Hungary Qualition and Octave V70 SE would be right at the top of my list.  Best of luck. 

Try tube rolling the small signal tubes. I had a CMII and with the right tubes it was hard to beat at any price as long as your speakers are somewhat efficient.

12AU7 single tube- Amperex Bugle Boy Holland Low Noise.

12AX7 Amperex 1950s long plates.

12AU7 Back Row RCA 5963.

See brent jessee audiotubes.com.  he will screen for low noise.  

Going from Rogue to VAC is a reasonable progression - I’ve done that myself. The VAC gear generally has a much more beautiful romantic midrange, more holography, and more refinement. Where you might lose some "impact" is in the bass and dynamics department - that’s Rogue’s bread & butter of its tube amps. VAC bass can seem a tad soft and sleepy by comparison (system dependent too). Also VAC is much more expensive per Watt.

The Rogue gear is very responsive to tube rolling, and you can absolutely extend your enjoyment through that. But you’ll still never get a midrange quite like a VAC. As far as tube rolling VACs - proceed with caution! VAC components are extremely carefully voiced by Kevin Hayes for the STOCK tubes (a skill he’s gotten better at over the years). You can get in trouble trying to "improve" on that - then a few months later you pop back in the stock tubes and realize it was much better that way (I’ve been here, many times lol). It’s not impossible to improve, but it’s easier to go backwards than forwards when rolling modern VACs. With Rogues, you can pick pretty much any random tube and instantly improve on the stock set lol.

The 170iQ integrated is a nice choice. That IQ bias is wonderful (I have 200iQ monos). I still remember many years ago hearing the older 170 driving then-just-released Magico S1 (Mk 1) and being pretty blown away how enjoyable that simple little setup was.

I agree with other gentlemen that tube rolling made a huge difference in Rogue.

Amperex ECC82 and Telefuken ECC83 is my favorite tubes in it.

After tube rolling with cost of around 400$, it is a very good value.

Thomas

With that budget you can pick up an awesome integrated. Depending how much power you need. ARC has a nice tube integrated. 

Also…SS units…Something like Pass Int-250 or Luxman 509 or 590. Next level. Huge step up! And no hassle with tubes. 

Oh and IMO no tube rolling on CMII will get you to that level. 
 

Another option is to look into separates if you insist on tubes in example, a used Audio Research Ref5 or Ref5SE tube preamp. Pairing that with a good solid state amp like Pass Labs (Class A or A/B) or even ARC’s own Ref75 tube amp will give you what you are looking for. 

I went from a Cronus (which I liked) to the Anthem STR. Superb in every way.

Yes Avanti1960 the Bugle Boy was hard to get but was my pick too. After reaching out to Brent jessie I installed a Mazda grey plate in the 12AU7 I believe that has a largest effect on sonics but may well do the others as I will move it over to my other rig.

So many choices what fun this hobby is eh? : )