Rogue Audio of Pennsylvania makes some of the finest tube audio gear on the market. The musical performance challenges the most pricey gear out there. Owner/operator Mark O’Brien is a bit of a throw back to the good old days where the owner/designer ran the show.
With almost everyone else these days, the brand name has been sold to a hedge fund that simply won’t employ the TLC you get from Mark.
Rogue’s prices are barely a notch above what’s coming over on a slow boat. Please take a strong look at what you get from Rogue and consider supporting an American company, vs an import with 101 features.
First of all, Rogue makes its own gear, in its own factory in Brodheadsville, Pa. Most of the imports are made by electronic job houses. These houses pump out numerous brands on a contract basis. Rogue has superior audio performance, better reliability and you’re supporting Americans who aren’t just punching out widgets.
Let’s look at our most popular amplifier category- integrated amps. All models are available in black or silver.
Rogue Sphinx V3 $1700 With Remote
{100×2 into 8 ohms}
Sphinx is my favorite integrated amp value! It is barely more expensive than the Chinese imports and yet it sounds much better. The Sphinx sounds more clear and open because Rogue puts its money in the build quality, instead of features.
Sphinx is a bread and butter integrated with tubes in the preamp section. As you would infer, you’ll derive a warmer, more breathy character in your music with Sphinx than the imports.
Sphinx has a solid state amp section. If you love singers and acoustic instruments in particular, Sphinx has a more translucent, less congested midrange presentation than the Asian imports. The intimacy and air of Sphinx make the imports sound foggy.
To accomplish this realism, Mark has made some sage choices. Sphinx doesn’t have Bluetooth or a DAC built in. The Chinese do. Mark doesn’t want to muffle Sphinx’s musicality by degrading it with a DAC or BT on board. You can buy them a la carte plenty cheap.
Sphinx has an outstanding MM/MC phono section and a cut above headphone amp on board.
Sphinx also has pre outs so you can add a bigger amp or powered subwoofer.
There’s no better choice out there for the investment than the Sphinx V3!
Rogue Pharaoh 2 $4500 With Remote
{250×2 into 8 ohms}
P2 is a high powered integrated amp with tubes in the preamp section. Of course it has Rogue’s terrific MM/MC phono section and a cut above headphone amp. Like Sphinx, Mark won’t put a DAC or BT on board because it will compromise P2’s musical immediacy. With P2 you’ll get a powerhouse of an integrated with the panache of tubes in the preamp stage. The amplifier on board is solid state to generate big time power.
With Rogue, the tubes are not just used on the input side of the equation. Mark also uses them to drive the on board power amp- to achieve a warmer timbre than if they were used in the input stage alone. P2 has variable pre-outs so you can add a powered sub. You certainly don’t need a stronger power amp!
P2 is a great value in that it will drive muscular speakers like Magnepans and Brystons quite well. Sphinx does a nice job for its price class- but of course it can’t throw medicine balls around the room like P2.
Rogue Cronus Magnum 3 $3500 With Remote
{100×2 into 8 ohms}
CM3 is a FULL TUBE integrated. It has five tubes in its preamp section and runs four output tubes as well. And yes, it has Rogue’s MM/MC phono section and cut above headphone amp. It has the pre-out feature to add a powered subwoofer.
CM3 is designed for the customer who wants the full fledged, lush tube sound. It won’t hit as hard as Pharaoh 2 above. Instead, it gives you that big, breathy soundstage and tube balance.
The market is full of low powered tube integrateds and straight power amps- for this price and much higher. CM3 is a bargain because it provides you not only a tube preamp and power amp on once chassis- but does so with enough power to drive the vast majority of speakers out there. Most tube integrateds near this price point are made in China and deliver about 20 w/ch- even though they claim double that!