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I currently own a Rogue Cronus Magnum and a Triton phono preamp which I enjoy very much. But I'm using them with some classic JBL L166 speakers which like a lot of current to really get going. Also, I use them in my home office and I tend to stream jazz and Tidal all day long burning up the KT120 tubes. I really like Rogue Audio, especially their bang for the buck philosophy and being made in the USA. So I'm kind of eye balling the Rogue Pharaoh and thinking that it may be a better match with my JBLs, plus it has a solid state amp section which would be better for long days of listening. Does anybody have any actual experience with the Pharaoh? I'm also wondering if the phono section of the Pharaoh would be the equivalent to the Triton? Would it be worth the effort to make the switch?
Edits: 11/06/15Follow Ups:
Why not look into a the Rogue Metis tubed preamp and a solid state amp. With a good preamp it should be too hard to use almost any SS amp for a while. Until you find the right one you like.
Best of both worlds there!
Oh, no way! I'm done with those years. Been there, done that. I'm simplifying my life and only interested with integrated amps now. Tired of buying, selling and swapping trying to get things to play well together. Thanks anyway!
If you're just burning a lot of hours on it then why don't you just buy an Anthem or something like that for the office.
Lottsa juice, moderately priced, sounds great. Heck - a great office / workshop piece.
But yes I hear you on the simplifying your audio life. I bumped ALL my stuff down to two main critical listening systems - tubed.
And a work shop system - solid state.
What have I learned - I prefer tubes.
charles
I have one room, so one system. Yes, I like tubes too!
Yeah, you're outta the audio game - RIGGGHHHHTTTTTTT.
You got that hook stuck in you just as tight as the rest of use.
I love a good fight.
No really. Go get the Pharaoh and enjoy it. But we DOOO want a review posted!!!!!
enjoy
charles
If I get one, you'll hear about it! John
I have the Pharoah and previously used a Triton Vanguard II with a Rogue Metis preamp and Class D amplifier.
The Triton was a definite step up over the phono section in the Metis. I haven't tried the Triton through the Pharoah, but my general impression is that it is better: lower noise floor, greater detail. I'm spinning a Clearaudio Concept with the MC cart.
I think the Pharoah is a great amp. It's got gobs of power, of which I'm only using a fraction. I am itching to try it out with the Magnepan .7s.
Thanks. Let us know if you get some Maggies!
I have a Rogue Pharaoh and I love it. I've never heard the Medusa. I previously had a Rogue Tempest II and have also owned the Perseus. The Pharaoh is clean with tremendous bass resolution. My sources are a Rega RP8 with an Apheta cartridge and a PS Audio DirectStream DAC. I find the pho section to be quite good and listen to the system for hours at a time.
Some people do not like the Medusa as you can see in the comments, but Mark O'Brien has stated in an interview (in one of the reviews linked on the Rogue site)that the Pharaoh design incorporated Medusa technology but was modified to be compatible with preamp section. So you should try to listen to a Pharaoh yourself and not necessarily be swayed by people's opinions about the Medusa.
Happy listening with whatever you end up with.
Thanks for the post! I wonder if there is anything you miss about the all tube set up of the Tempest? Besides the bass of the solid state amp, do you feel the mids are about the same? Any direct comparisons would be interesting to hear about. Also, have you compared the phono in the Pharaoh with any other phone preamps?
I don't miss anything about the Tempest II as compared to the Pharaoh. I also ran a Perseus for awhile through the Tempest amp section and although my TT/cartridge setup wasn't as good as my current phono source (plus my memory factor)I think the Pharaoh phono section is quite good. You won't have as much flexibility in terms of loading and gain as you had in the Triton but I think most phono systems can be accommodated by the options in the Pharaoh (see the manual) and you know what you are currently using for settings in the Triton. Ask Mark or Nick about the comparison of the phono preamp implementation. I'm sure you've dealt with them before, but straighter shooters or nicer guys you won't find.
Although I only mentioned the great bass definition I think the Pharaoh does the whole frequency range (at least up to where my ears still hear)in an exemplary way. Unless you've been around for awhile you may not know my speakers, original Allison Ones. They also like to be driven hard and the the Pharaoh does that far better than the Tempest II was ever able to do.
I've had the Pharaoh since April 2014 and I play it 5-6 hours per day (no new tubes yet), although I'm thinking of getting a spare set because I wouldn't want to be missing all the sweet sounds in the event of the ultimate tube failure.
I hope this helps. Do have a listen in your system if you can and tell us what you think.
Mike
Thanks very much Mike! I think I might have to see if I can go listen to one. John
Not totally related to your situation, but my friend just replaced a Rogue Medusa with a Rogue Atlas Magnum. This is a fairly high resolution system and the difference between the two amps was quite apparent. About a week after fully auditioning the Atlas Magnum in his system, the Medusa went up for sale.
I had the "hybrid Class D" Medusa in my system for a couple months before I sold it. I kept my Cronus Magnum KT120 integrated amp.
I owned a couple all vacuum tube Rogue products like the Cronus Magnum Integrated Amp, Stereo 90 Super Magnum Amp, Ares Phono Preamp, all wonderful sounding products.
After reading all the "hybrid Class D" media hyped reviews including interviews with the Rogue founder / designer, I decided to try the Rogue Medusa. It uses a combination of Hypex UcD modules, vacuum tubes, and some Rogue 'tweaks'.
As much as I love Rogue, the company, the people, superb support, made in America, great value bang for the buck, etc., I thought the Medusa was total DUD. It was worse sounding to me than some 'straight generic' Class D amps.
The Medusa was veiled, compressed, rolled off, and pretty bad, IMHO. Sold it within a couple months but kept my Cronus Magnum.
Yes, I wonder what they might have done to the Pharaoh to make it better with the same technology, if that's possible.
The Medusa is "hybrid Class D" as is the Pharaoh but I have not heard the Pharaoh. There's a possibility that they changed things up and improved it. If you can audition it first, or have the option of returning it, that would be ideal.
Sorry if I sound so negative on the Medusa. It might be a personal preference thing and I just didn't care for it much.
I definitely appreciate your thoughts on it Abe. I know what a huge Rogue fan you are, as am I. On a side note, have you ever tried using a sub with the Cronus?
No, I have not tried a subwoofer with the Rogue.
I'm in a rather small home office with floor standing speakers with 8" drivers and haven't found the need to try a subwoofer. I also ran the Rogue in a larger room on my larger Thiel CS2.4.
I have a Rogue Cronus Magnum Integrated which gets 8-10 hours of continuous use daily as it is in my office system. I change the tubes every 9 months (all the tubes) and although this system is about 1/3 the price of my reference system, I enjoy it immensely. I believe it's because of the tubes. I wouldn't think of going to solid state on this system.
"Far away across the field
The tolling of the iron bell
Calls the faithful to their knees
To hear the softly spoken magic spells."
Yes, I really like the Cronus Magnum. What's really cool is how you can tailor the sound by rolling the center tube. Plus the guys at Rogue are just the best! A real pleasure to deal with.
Edits: 11/07/15
My mac C 2500 and MC 275 tubes last for years. ( 2.5 years so far)
Do the Rogue tubes start to sound bad, or is it a pre-emptive strike?
The question is how many hours are on the tubes. Do you listen to the Mac for 8+ hours a day, every day?
My experience with toobs is the SQ deteriorates much faster than is admitted and way before they measure poor/Bad ...
Go Rossi ......
The problem is, the SQ deteriorates gradually and you might not notice it over time. And then you swap out some tubes and have an 'aha' moment. ;-)
If he's running his amp 8 hours a day, that's nearly 3000 hours a year.
Is it not unusual to replace power tubes somewhere around 2000 - 3000 hours?
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