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RE: NEO 250's

I can't say I miss them that much because my goal was to get a cooler running pair of amps that didn't need tube replacement.

The Bryston 7BSST2 amps did a great job at 600wpc each but they didn't compare to the Manleys for that harmonically rich and robust sound that I tend to enjoy. The Brystons were refined enough and had lots of punch and dynamics but were a little dry. I used the Aesthetix Calypso tube linestage to warm them up and the combo was outstanding. I was happy.

I was always curious about the Rogue Cronus Magnum tube integrated and when one showed up used a few months ago, I bought it, mainly to try in a second system with more efficient Tannoy speakers. To my surprise it sounded very good (after upgrading to KT120 tubes) even on my Thiels. I decided to downsize the system even more. I sold the Bryston amps and the Aesthetix Calypso Signature linestage.

My main setup now consists of the 100wpc Rogue Cronus Magnum integrated driving the Thiel CS 2.4 speakers.

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The Manleys are inherently warm, rich, and robust sounding. The bass is especially good with lots of authority and excellent detail and very slight roundness. The overall presentation is smooth and warm, with an expansive soundstage. With 250wpc the music is always effortless with lots of dynamics.

If you like the way your Manleys sound but want to try something else, I would get another amp and give it a try before selling the Manleys, if you can afford to keep both for a while.

What I don't miss: The cost of replacing 20 power tubes and getting them biased. The bias on my Manleys settled down and everything was great after about a month of adjustment with the new tubes, but that last retube was rather expensive. The bias pots work fine but are a little touchy. The Rogue uses 10-turn bias pots per tube so it's much easier to dial-in and in this case, I have only 4 power tubes to bias.





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  • RE: NEO 250's - AbeCollins 11:51:13 07/04/12 (0)

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