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Gear / Technical Help => Playback Forum => Topic started by: raymonda on September 08, 2014, 09:40:29 PM
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I have a pair of Rogue m120 mono blocks coming in a few days that I'm going to try on my Maggies. I'm hoping that the 120 watts will be enough to control the. 3a's. This pair is in exceptional condition...almost like new. The come with new tubes and have been fully serviced.
I'll report back on the pairing and whether it is a combination that works. Keeping my fingers crossed.
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They'll be arriving on Tuesday of next week. Following ups tracking is like watching the Santa radar on Xmas eve. These are going to be some long days. Mean while I've been digging the 2nd system......gta/heresy.....and I'm really enjoying the sound coupled with 2 M&k 150 subs. Dynamic and expressive. As long as I don't push the heresy beyond....say 95 dbs, afterwhich, they become harsh in the mids and the soundstage flattens.
They also ingrate well with the subs, adding that much needed low end that the heresy miss. Great combo!
Anyway.......can't wait until Tuesday.
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I stopped home for lunch and my "new to me" Rogue M120's had arrive. I unpacked them, quickly hooked them up to the Maggies, set them to ultra-linear and fired them up. I first tried LP because my Sutherland puts out more volts than my DAC. Going to a passive pre I wasn't sure if I would have enough gain to drive the Maggies with the M120's. Well, my concerns were quickly put to rest, as I had plenty of gain and headroom. Dire Straits, "On Every Street" sounded great but I'll save that for later. Next was my DAC going to my passive pre. Would 2.5 volts be enough to enable the amps to drive the Maggies? Well, the answer on a quick listen was.....for some CD's it was just enough and for others it more than enough. Further listening will tell me more but my guess it will depend largely on the mastering of the CD. Some will be more compressed and seem louder, while others, will be less compressed and may just barely have enough for "home alone, kick out the jams" levels. I do like my music loud at times. I was generally able to get mid 90's to 104 db peaks, depending on the source and which is plenty loud. Coupled with my subs the volume was satisfying and I may not need to get a line level pre-amp and be able to skate with my passive.
Now for my initial listening impressions. I had been running the Maggies with Classe' amps since 1997 or so and IMO, the are great amps and do a fantastic job. Going this route was a risk but a risk I was willing to take. Hey, this hobby is about fun and it was damn time that I moved beyond my comfort zone. What I wanted was a more enveloping sound. Something that really grabbed my soul when playing tunes. It had to be more organic. Meaning, sound more "real". Flesh out the real body of the instruments and have truth to timbre. All this with out giving up the ability to handle the Maggies without falling apart when pushed. Well, my initial impression are that this pairing might meet that bill. I'm not fully committed to that being realized here until further listening but at this time, under a brief listening session, things seem to be moving in that direction and are promising.
We'll see, or hear, how things pan out over the next few days and I'll report back.
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always fun to add a new component to your system and hear results. I recently did that by rolling in differnent tubes in my pre and amp. Having more fun with my system now than I ever have
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I have been lurking in the shadows following your story. I am jealous. I so want to go tube at some point... I have really been considering a Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum tube integrated or the Rogue Audio Sphinx Hybrid tube integrated amp... Still need to get my DAW set up the way I want, but I am making progress. I would love to see some gear porn of the M120's.
peace OOK
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Unfortunately one of the KT88's that came with the amp was defective, so I had to order another. Seems to have been shaken during shipping. I'll give the seller the benefit of the doubt. I also ordered new driver tubes.....since the seller had an unusual mix of tubes. Looks like what ever he had he threw into it since neither side matched. Oh well, it is good to have fresh matched tubes anyway. All should be in by Tuesday of next week and then I can get back to enjoying the amps!
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I have been lurking in the shadows following your story. I am jealous. I so want to go tube at some point... I have really been considering a Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum tube integrated or the Rogue Audio Sphinx Hybrid tube integrated amp... Still need to get my DAW set up the way I want, but I am making progress. I would love to see some gear porn of the M120's.
peace OOK
I'll post pictures after I replace the binding posts and tubes. The amps are fairly clean with no scratches and look the part. Before I noticed that a tube was gone....I was enjoying my brief lunch time listening experience. Later on, at night, I notice no glow coming from one of the KT88's.........bummer!!!!!!! Now the waiting game continues.
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The Kt88 came on Saturday along with 4 driver tubes. I went with JJ's for that application because I have used them in two other amps I have had and thought they did a good job. I had to work a show last night so I only got to listen for a brief period. Today I have been able to give a much more thorough listening. So, here is the good, so far.......They certainly have an organic quality to them, delivering more weight along with the ability to sound refined and detailed. There is more flesh on the bone. Low level listening is more enjoyable than with the Classe'. I always felt I needed to goose the juice with solid state to get a volume that spoke to me. Right now I'm listening at low volume because the kids are sleeping and I'm having no problems relating to the music.
Turning up the wick does nothing to change the above, with well recorded music bringing out the best in the amps. I'm still not sure if I can reach the same db's I was able to slam out with the Classe', however, I have been kicking them into the mid 90's and they don't seem to be stressed. Although, the jury is still out until I can get in a few more sessions that raise the roof.
Just prior to getting these amps I undertook a complete rebuild of my Maggies including upgrading all the caps in the crossover and rewiring with silver/copper/teflon. Now that everything has had enough time to burn in things have improved noticeably, with what seems to be a more balanced and seamless transition between crossover points, as well as a better integration between the panel and ribbon.
As in most cases I can't sit back with the unit stock. I contacted Rogue and ask them for their thoughts for maintenance and they suggested increasing the rectifier value, as well as replacing the auto bias resistors. So, they have been ordered and I'll do the work over the next month or so. I'm also going to replace the binding post. God, I hate those plastic, nut job, binding post.
That's it for now. I keep folks updated.....if anyone should be interested.
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:drool:
Kt88 came on Saturday along with 4 driver tubes. I went with JJ's for that application because I have used them in two other amps I have had and thought they did a good job. I had to work a show last night so I only got to listen for a brief period. Today I have been able to give a much more thorough listening. So, here is the good, so far.......They certainly have a n organic quality to them, delivering more weight along with the ability to sound refine and detailed. There is more flesh on the bone. Low level listening is more enjoyable than with the Classe. I always felt I needed to goose the juice with solid state to get a volume that spoke to me. Right now I'm listening at low volume because the kids are sleeping and I'm having no problems relating to the music.
Turning up the wick does nothing to change the above, with well recorded music bringing out the best in the amps. I'm still not sure if I can reach the same db's I was able to slam out with the Classe', however, I have been kicking them into the mid 90's and they don't seem to be stressed. Although, the jury is still out until I can get in a few more sessions that raise the roof.
Just prior to getting these amps I undertook a complete rebuild of my Maggies including upgrading all the caps in the crossover and rewiring with silver/copper/teflon. Now that everything has had enough time to burn in things have improved noticeably, with what seems to be a more balanced and seamless transition between crossover points, as well as a better integration between the panel and ribbon.
As in most cases I can't sit back with the unit stock. I contacted Rogue and ask them for 5 heir thoughts for maintenance and they suggested increasing the rectifier value, as well as replace g the auto bias resistors. So, they have been ordered and I'll do the work over the next month or so. I'm also going to replace the binding post. God, I hate those plastic nut job binding post.
That's it for now. I keep folks updated.....if anyone should be interested.
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I'm checking this out Ray. Sounds like some sweet gear for your ears!
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It is working out for me. I'm liking the amps so far. Again late night listening is great......I can keep it down and be engaged. Get down to ithaca for a show and stop by for a beer. My wife a kids are going out of town in October for a few nights.....same time I've got a show at the center......sou d's like a 2fer.
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It is working out for me. I'm liking the amps so far. Again late night listening is great......I can keep it down and be engaged. Get down to ithaca for a show and stop by for a beer. My wife a kids are going out of town in October for a few nights.....same time I've got a show at the center......sou d's like a 2fer.
I'll continue the rest in a PM- October 18th (SAT) kindms and I will be in Albany for Kung Fu. PM the date of your show. Sounds like fun.
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Been lurking on this thread for a while. Just want to give a shout out to the PrimaLuna line. Had read a lot of positive reviews, and demoed the integrated. Now have the Prologue Four amp in my system, replacing a Krell KSA-80. Couldn't be happier. The tube sound just draws you right in, and pleasantly surprised with the bass performance. A fine tube option, and reasonably priced, for the masses.
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I always wanted to try the mono blocks, the Rogue gear sounds great, I've enjoyed everything I've heard from them. Can't wait to hear your thoughts once you get a chance to air it out.
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Been lurking on this thread for a while. Just want to give a shout out to the PrimaLuna line. Had read a lot of positive reviews, and demoed the integrated. Now have the Prologue Four amp in my system, replacing a Krell KSA-80. Couldn't be happier. The tube sound just draws you right in, and pleasantly surprised with the bass performance. A fine tube option, and reasonably priced, for the masses.
I second the primaluna rec. I have a prologue 5 that I am using to drive my tweeters and it has been the most dramatic change that I have made to my system since adding vinyl playback.
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Primaluna is good stuff. I think both are fantastic values.
So, I have on loan a Melos Sha1 to try out as a gain stage because on some sources I need a bit more gain. We'll see if it is really needed or whether a passive will do. BTW, the headphone section in the Melos is nothing to sneeze at. I hooked it up quickly at lunch and a fast 10 minute listen told me that it'll give me more than enough gain. I'll see how I like it over the week.
I probably could get by with the passive but I'll listen to what this unit might bring. With the Classe ' 300 watts was more than enough to drive the Maggies with a passive. 120 watts of tube power may or may not be. This week should sort it out.
If I ended up keeping the Melos I'll be selling my Can Opener since I won't be needing it with the Melos being a tube powered head phone preamp. Anyone interested let me know. It is a great little unit and cheap, too.
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Well, I think I found a nice match for the Rogues, which is the Melos SHA1. It provides more than enough gain to give the amps enough juice to make the Maggies boogie big time. So this is the system I'm going to enjoy for now. It gives me everything, or close to everything, I'm looking for.
So, over to the yard sale goes a number of items I don't need. Take a look.....Some screaming deals are to had.
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For fun I swapped out the Melos and threw in my passive pre tonight hoping it would be closer to what I wanted. However, compared to the Melos it was no contest. The Melos has body and extension. The thereness that it delivers, in combination with the Rogues, is spot on. There is no getting away from it. You can not listen to this system as background music. It quickly grabs your ear with come hither intentions. It seduces you to stop what you are doing and pay attention to me. It not only provides the music but it also transports you to the venue or recording studio. This is a bit of hyperbole but I think you get the point of what is going on.
Anyway, what I was missing, or wanted to build upon from my Classe system I've gotten close to. We'll see how it holds up over the next few months and if some short comings become apparent but for now it is good. Very good.
My resistors and binding posts should be in by next week. When they arrive I'll install them along with the rectifier bridge and drop some shots. Sometimes I get ahead of myself and post too many shots before the project it complete. This time I'll wait
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A few more days have passed and I'm getting a better idea of what I wrought and it pleases me. The Melos SHA1 is so right and is a match made in heaven for the Rogues and Maggies. I was happy with the Rogues' sound prior to the Melos but now I'm over the top and gushing. This little pre and headphone amp is stellar. I'm digging everything about it. The Alps black beauty along with the tube, hybrid topology has amazing qualities. Full, dynamic, extended, deep and clear.
The headphone section is something else, too. It was created as primarily a headphone amp and listening to it brings both truth and enjoyment. It is a keeper. A month back I took a leap of faith and it paid off. I've gotten the qualities I was searching for. Glad I rolled the dice.
Now, buy my left over pieces in the yard sale. Oh, and pick up a nice set of mics while you are there, too.