I did a shootout last week between a few Rogue Audio amps and chose the Cronus Magnum II. It sounds great and looks fantastic. Just wanted to give you all an update and say thanks for the advice!
[My initial post from before](https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/comments/17ofp8h/rogue\_audio\_addiction/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3): Okay so full disclosure, I’ve owned all of these amps before. After playing around with NAD and Cambridge Audio, I came back around to Rogue Audio. I love their build quality, price point, and customer service.
I’ve called them a few times about my pre-owned units. Nick always pick up the phone during business hours, and he knows every little detail about each unit. These amps rarely need actual service, but I needed information for installing remote receiver units and processor loops by myself. Nick had perfect advice and mailed me the necessary upgrade parts at reasonable prices.
Anyway, here’s the deal: I don’t hear any difference between the CMII and CMIII when using digital sources. Sorry. The CMIII’s triode mode is slightly quieter than ultra linear mode, and I don’t think it’s a worthwhile change in my room and with my speakers (Magnepan 1.7i, Magnepan 3.6, KEF LS50 Meta with S2 stands). With analog sources, the noise floor is slightly lower with the CMIII. But that’s only if I’m standing right up against the speakers listening for a hiss. Cronus Magnum amplifiers are HOT and will heat a small room quite quickly.
The Sphinx V3 is an excellent unit for the used price. It sounds just like the V1 and V2, but with a bit less noise from the remote and a slightly lower noise floor when using analog sources. It plays my Magnepan 1.7i and 3.6 plenty loud in a small to medium room. The headphone stage is noticeably better in the V3 with my Sennheiser 650s, but only when directly comparing them. I’d be happy to own any version of the Sphinx.
The Pharaoh I is an excellent unit, but it’s basically just a more powerful version of the Sphinx in my experience. I simply use slightly less of the volume knob by comparison. It’s nice to have a ton of inputs and outputs if you’re using it in conjunction with a Home Theater, which I have done in the past. However, the versatility is completely unnecessary for me in a small dedicated listening room. The processor loop is nice if you have a separate EQ, but you can add one to any Rogue Audio amplifier for ~$250. My CMIII had this same processor loop added and seems to work fine. I’m glad that the Pharaoh runs cool and doesn’t require much space above it in case you want to mount it in a rack.
Verdict: I don’t hear much of a difference at all, and I will be keeping the Cronus Magnum II. For $1,000 used, it is an incredible value. I believe that we first hear with our eyes, and it’s a gorgeous unit.That said, I would highly recommend any of Rogue Audio’s amplifiers to most audiophiles. Their build quality, sound, and price point are all reasonable.
Please feel free to look me up anytime you’re in the metro Detroit area and we’ll have a listening session!
It’s interesting to see a set of Magies powered with tubes. I’ve always heard the Magies need lots of power to work well. I have a pair of 3.6 Magies & these are powered by a pair of Bryston monoblocks. The CD player has a tube preamp output, & I have to use a tube preamp for the turn table. So there are tubes involved with my system, & it sounds great.
I’ll bet those monoblocks are an excellent match for the 3.6! I’ve heard excellent things about Brystons and Magnepans.
Yeah, Rogue Audio’s designs are all high-current, which Maggies seem to like. I had their hybrid tube amps before, but even this all-tube amp is 100wpc. More than enough in my small room!
Thank you for this. I have owned a Cronus Magnum II for 5 or 6 years and been fighting the temptation to send it to upgrade it III. The only real upgrade I would be interested in is in the phono preamp but I highly doubt that upgrade would be better then my stand alone preamp (Chinook).
Oh you’re welcome! It’s a better amplifier on paper, and I’m sure that some people would notice the changes more than I do. But to me? Not at all. I don’t claim to have golden ears or anything, though. Anyway, which speakers do you have it paired with?
You already have an excellent amp, so enjoy the music!
I did a shootout last week between a few Rogue Audio amps and chose the Cronus Magnum II. It sounds great and looks fantastic. Just wanted to give you all an update and say thanks for the advice!
[My initial post from before](https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/comments/17ofp8h/rogue\_audio\_addiction/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3): Okay so full disclosure, I’ve owned all of these amps before. After playing around with NAD and Cambridge Audio, I came back around to Rogue Audio. I love their build quality, price point, and customer service.
I’ve called them a few times about my pre-owned units. Nick always pick up the phone during business hours, and he knows every little detail about each unit. These amps rarely need actual service, but I needed information for installing remote receiver units and processor loops by myself. Nick had perfect advice and mailed me the necessary upgrade parts at reasonable prices.
Anyway, here’s the deal: I don’t hear any difference between the CMII and CMIII when using digital sources. Sorry. The CMIII’s triode mode is slightly quieter than ultra linear mode, and I don’t think it’s a worthwhile change in my room and with my speakers (Magnepan 1.7i, Magnepan 3.6, KEF LS50 Meta with S2 stands). With analog sources, the noise floor is slightly lower with the CMIII. But that’s only if I’m standing right up against the speakers listening for a hiss. Cronus Magnum amplifiers are HOT and will heat a small room quite quickly.
The Sphinx V3 is an excellent unit for the used price. It sounds just like the V1 and V2, but with a bit less noise from the remote and a slightly lower noise floor when using analog sources. It plays my Magnepan 1.7i and 3.6 plenty loud in a small to medium room. The headphone stage is noticeably better in the V3 with my Sennheiser 650s, but only when directly comparing them. I’d be happy to own any version of the Sphinx.
The Pharaoh I is an excellent unit, but it’s basically just a more powerful version of the Sphinx in my experience. I simply use slightly less of the volume knob by comparison. It’s nice to have a ton of inputs and outputs if you’re using it in conjunction with a Home Theater, which I have done in the past. However, the versatility is completely unnecessary for me in a small dedicated listening room. The processor loop is nice if you have a separate EQ, but you can add one to any Rogue Audio amplifier for ~$250. My CMIII had this same processor loop added and seems to work fine. I’m glad that the Pharaoh runs cool and doesn’t require much space above it in case you want to mount it in a rack.
Verdict: I don’t hear much of a difference at all, and I will be keeping the Cronus Magnum II. For $1,000 used, it is an incredible value. I believe that we first hear with our eyes, and it’s a gorgeous unit.That said, I would highly recommend any of Rogue Audio’s amplifiers to most audiophiles. Their build quality, sound, and price point are all reasonable.
Please feel free to look me up anytime you’re in the metro Detroit area and we’ll have a listening session!
Enjoy the music!
It’s interesting to see a set of Magies powered with tubes. I’ve always heard the Magies need lots of power to work well. I have a pair of 3.6 Magies & these are powered by a pair of Bryston monoblocks. The CD player has a tube preamp output, & I have to use a tube preamp for the turn table. So there are tubes involved with my system, & it sounds great.
I’ll bet those monoblocks are an excellent match for the 3.6! I’ve heard excellent things about Brystons and Magnepans.
Yeah, Rogue Audio’s designs are all high-current, which Maggies seem to like. I had their hybrid tube amps before, but even this all-tube amp is 100wpc. More than enough in my small room!
Thank you for this. I have owned a Cronus Magnum II for 5 or 6 years and been fighting the temptation to send it to upgrade it III. The only real upgrade I would be interested in is in the phono preamp but I highly doubt that upgrade would be better then my stand alone preamp (Chinook).
Oh you’re welcome! It’s a better amplifier on paper, and I’m sure that some people would notice the changes more than I do. But to me? Not at all. I don’t claim to have golden ears or anything, though. Anyway, which speakers do you have it paired with?
You already have an excellent amp, so enjoy the music!