thoughts on adding phonostage

It looks like you’re getting a lot of solid advice. If you follow

@mulveling he is VERY knowledgeable of Rogue and is extremely experienced with everything you seek. If I remember correctly he has involvement with the Rogue owners page on Facebook. I apologize for throwing him into the mix but I have a huge respect for his knowledge and politeness. If I may toss in a couple random things. I personally don’t leave my tube gear on for extended periods of time. If I’m coming back later in the day or occasionally overnight. If I’m not mistaken your amp has power tube sockets to printed circuit boards and not a full pin to pin wiring. So there is a fair amount of heat transfer, maybe put a small fan on it. Another random thought is your input tubes. I’m assuming that it came with the regular JJ’s which most people change for a noticeable improvement. Then there is the Mullard Vs Tekefunken sound difference. Most people prefer one drastically Vs the other. Rogue recommends nos Mullard to people to smooth out the sound , but for me as I have some , they are like throwing a blanket over my system. But my suggestion is to first look at your 12AX7’s , as they will have the greatest impact on your sound. In the current Rogue Dark upgrade they no longer provide nos tubes. For the 12AX7’s they use new production Tung Sol 5751 Gold pin’s at about $50 Ea. My M-180’s came with them and after breaking them in I rolled in a $318 pair of nos curve tracer matched Tekefunken 12AX7’s from Brent Jesse. To my surprise I preferred the new production Tung Sols. FWIT the 12AX7 family includes the 12AY7’s , 12AT7’s and the 5751’s. They each have a different Mu ( gain ) factor. I suggest that you try them and see if you like the sound. Later try changing the 12AU7’s to anything. Rogue used to provide RCA nos in that slot. As far as your power tubes I have the Psvane KT-88’s and they are not bad. Bill stated it’s the most reliable tube so they use it. However your amp will sound different with Tung Sol KT-120’s and probably make slightly more wattage. Also the KT-120’s tend to make more bass. In having a tube conversation with Bill , he stated that in my M-180’s going from the KT-120 to the KT-150 would slightly change the tone but not generate more wattage as the Rogue SS power supply limited that due to its fixed operating voltage. I know most of this is irrelevant to your thread question but I’m hoping to be informative and not bossy. And my apologies to mulveling for throwing you in the mix without prior permission. Cheers , Mike B. 

all vinyl, just broken in, making changes already?

I encourage you to wait 6 months, find out how hooked on vinyl you get before seeking change/improvements.

2m bronze, factory aligned, is a darn good start, stop reading, stop imagining something else, keep listening to what you have.

I imagine your Rogue phono sounds darn good, and is revealing enough that you would hear differences among cartridges, if you were able to easily compare.

then, you need to think long, because you have a TT with a single straight arm fixed cartridge which does not allow the use of alternate cartridges, so you, like others with fixed cartridges, think about a 'better' phono stage. I'd rather you build a stable of cartridges, Stereo; Mono; MM; MC; MI, and consider light tracking.

I found out yesterday, I got lucky again, Steve at VAS confirmed the used AT160ml I bought has no wear. It's a MM, with a MicroLine Stylus on a beryllium cantilever (the lightest/stiffest ever made) that sounds great, has amazing imaging, and tracks at 1.25g (some use it's lightest 1.0g setting).

I advise 'return' privilege's on any phono stage, because I sent 3 highly recommended phono stages back, and think it is a matter of finding 'preferred', not 'better' if that makes any sense to you.

@mitchagain + 1 - I've had a Herron tube phono preamp for about 4 years now, and it's great, it certainly is. And the used market is the only place you'll find them now as Keith has retired his business, but I do see them at USAM, Agon, or The Music Room now and again... 

i do appreciate the wait 6mo post. its def prudent and again, im in no rush to make any of these changes except for maybe the MC cart.  i am excited to explore experimenting with different tubes but will def wait on that. 

@larsman +1 - Thanks to prior comments by you and many others about the Herron Audio phono pre, that ended up putting me on the trail of the Herron VTSP - 3A preamp, which I am thrilled with!