Vacuum tube audio amplifiers have long been recognized by the audio community as providing significantly better sonics than solid state transistor-based designs. Unfortunately, well designed vacuum tube products are much more expensive to produce than their solid state counterparts. As a result, this superior technology has only been available to a small but fortunate group of audio enthusiasts. Enter Rogue Audio.
Our amplifier designs combine the finest in tube-circuit topology with meticulously engineered circuit layout to achieve superior performance. Unflagging attention to the integrity of the audio signal path and power supplies results in truly superior designs. The most discriminating audiophile will delight in the impeccable fidelity of recordings reproduced through our amplifiers.
The Titan series of products presented us with a significant engineering challenge; to create truly high end products at entry level prices. We believe we have succeeded! The Titan series offers outstanding performance and build quality that is accessible to almost anyone with a love for great sounding music. Entirely hand built in the USA, the Titan products are assembled to the same exacting standards as our most expensive amplifiers. Since their introduction last year they have won numerous industry awards.
Magnum Upgrade DetailsThe "MAGNUM" versions of the Titan series features significant parts upgrades that improve performance in your Atlas, Metis or Cronus in a number of important ways. Increased transparency, greater dynamics, improved bass and high frequency response, as well as a smoother and more refined presentation are all part of the Magnum upgrade. The extensive power supply mods permit the use of the KT120 power tube which increases the rated output power of the Atlas and Cronus to 90WPC! Please note that all of our current products other than the Titan series already use Magnum type parts. The Magnum package consist of the following modifications:
Larger power supply
Power supply mods
Polypropylene bypass capacitors
Precision Dale-Vishay resistors in critical spots
Upgraded binding posts
Gold tube sockets
Upgraded small signal tubes
KT120 output tubes
Magnum logo on faceplateTAS ReviewThe Magnum is also remarkably transparent to the source, allowing listeners to “peer” into a recorded performance in a way that is highly unusual in this price class. Turning to the playful brilliance of H.K. Gruber’s superbly recorded Frankenstein!! was akin to pulling back the curtain on the session. If you don’t have this Chandos CD, which was listed by Jonathan Valin in last issue’s “Guide To Audiophile Demo Discs,” you really should. It has it all. As channeled through this Rogue integrated this delightful cabaret-style piece of mad fun revealed not only the Cronus Magnum’s transparency, but also its excellent sense of focus, recreation of the air surrounding instruments, as well as Gruber’s own singspiel vocal delivery, dramatic dynamic swings, snap of the percussion, and a soundstage that at times extends well beyond the speakers’ boundaries, with nicely layered depth.
Witch Doctor ReviewI’d like to use a gastronomic metaphor to sum up my experience with Rogue Audio’s superb Cronus Magnum. For a guy who has cooked and eaten juicy eye-fillet steak (sorry veg editors Gaz and Ash) and been incredibly happy doing so, it’s tantamount to being treated to a 300gm slab of prime Wagyu beef – superb and delicious, with mouth-watering quality that will be remembered long after it’s been digested.
6 Moons ReviewDo you ever get tired of all the fuss? Delicately balancing your components' voices and wondering if that new cable with the hemoglobin-packed sheathing is just the thing your system needs to pump some life-blood back into your musical enjoyment? Did you ever want to simplify? Clean house? When that feeling moves you, there's no better salve for weary audiophile bones than an integrated amp. And the Rogue Audio Cronus offers a feature-filled 55 watts of solidly engineered and solidly built, value-packed juju. But don't let all that practicality and value fool you - the Rogue Audio Cronus has balls-to-the-wall (of sound) coupled with the delicacy and detail to transform your tunes from stored media to musical juju on tap.
Positive Feedback ReviewThe Cronus is an impressive amplifier, and while it may represent the lowest rung on the Rogue Audio ladder, it doesn't sound entry-level. I can't overemphasize the Cronus' level of musical involvement. If you want an amp that lays bare every micropscopic detail in your recordings, the Cronus may not be for you, but if you are looking for an amp that draws you into the musical performance, you can't go wrong with this amp. When you factor in the price and all of its standard features, the Cronus is a bona fide bargain. I urge you to listen to it before Rogue Audio comes to their senses and raises the price.
A/V Guide ReviewThe good news is what happens in line level also occurs through phono and – albeit to a lesser extent—through the headphone socket. The phono is quiet, well crafted and fun (although it’s relatively low gain for high-output MCs)—the perfect partner to the line stage. The headphone socket meanwhile is good, although no match for the ‘whole amp through the cans’ sound from the (admittedly more expensive) VTL IA-80 integrated.
This is one of those products that makes me think there is still hope for finding high-end sounds without the sort of high-end prices that currently dominate the market. Power, big valvey sound and a lot of fun, all wrapped up in a package that doesn’t need a banker’s bonus to own. Check it out now!
Needle Dr Reviews the Rogue CronusMore and more, vacuum tubes are being utilized in modern audio equipment these days, and with good reason. They're able to provide a certain liveliness and warmth to amplifiers of all types. If there's anything that holds tubes back from becoming the norm, it's their reputation. Often times ridiculed for being too warm, inaccurate, or downright sloppy sounding, tubes have had to change a lot of minds in their current resurgence.
The Rogue Audio Cronus integrated amplifier doesn't shy away, utilizing no less than 9 vacuum tubes in the signal path. Employing EL34s in the output stage, and 12AX7s on the input side, it's clear that Rogue was passionate about using tubes throughout the entire design. Maybe more impressive is the fact that Rogue has included a phono preamp on an amplifier of this class. We're all aware of the resurgence of vinyl, but consumers have yet to see this affect high end integrated amps. Until now. Apart from phono, the Cronus offers three line level inputs, and a built in headphone amplifier. For speaker hook up, Rogue has 4 and 8ohm outputs to drive just about any speakers out there. With a black or silver finish available, the Cronus can be ordered to fit the aesthetics of just about any modern hifi. It also includes a remote control - a simple two-button design to handle volume control from across the room. On to the sound…
Though a bit overblown sometimes, the critiques of tubed gear not having the resolution or etched out definition that their solid state counterparts offer holds some truth. Reference systems can certainly utilize tubes, and with great success, but all-out accuracy is something that solid state amplifiers have a fairly tight grip on. And then there's the Cronus... In listening to all sorts of music, the overriding quality of the Cronus is stability. For as warm or colorful as it should sound, it comes across more as a serious reference amp, capable of handling the smallest of nuances, with plenty of power to boot. Bass is extremely tight and controlled, and serves as a solid foundation for the rest of the audio spectrum. The Cronus doesn't stop there, either. Cymbal decay lingers beautifully, guitar strokes are distinguishable (something far too many amps get wrong), and vocals are lifelike. These words are certainly cliche at this point, but the Cronus really does deliver on all accounts. The Rogue Cronus is among a very small handful of amplifiers that should be considered as the best on the market for the price.
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