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Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum III

I’ve been putting a new system together and was initially decided on a solid state integrated, but I’m starting to have a change of heart and thinking about going for a tube-based integrated instead. 

The Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum III (non Dark Edition) has piqued my interest based on the positive reviews I’ve read and the recommendation of an authorized dealer I’ve been working with.  My only source will be a turntable so I also need a high-quality phono stage.  With a desire to keep things simple, a built-in, flexible MC/MM phono stage like that in the Cronus Magnum would be a definite plus.

Before I decide to pursue the Rogue Audio integrated, I was hoping current or previous owners could weigh in.  In particular, how reliable has the product been?  In terms of sound quality, I have heard it said that it sounds more like a solid state amplifier than a tube amplifier, so that has given me a bit of pause.  The other reason I’m hesitant is that I see quite a few of them for sale online right now, which makes me wonder why - unless it’s just a matter of typical audiophile fickleness/upgraditis and not a reflection on the quality of the product cheeky

I should mention that I’ll be using a pair of ProAc Tablette Reference 8 Signature loudspeakers (which are fairly easy to drive), and my current listening room is pretty compact at 11’ x 13’

If you’ve got any thoughts about the integrated, then I’d love to hear them.

Thanks in advance!

 

lpluvr
simao's avatar
simao
1,980 posts
 

Current Cronus Magnum 2 owner here. Absolutely love it. Powerful and transparent and neutral warm. Unless I have Financial needs, I can't see myself ever really selling this. I'm using Sophia Electric kt88 and electro-harmonics kt88. The Magnum 2 and the Magnum 3 are beautiful amps for an amazing price.

joekapahulu
270 posts
 

Bought a CM3 for an older friend on Kauai 5 years ago. At 84 she still listens almost daily as background music. I was over there a few weeks ago and listening thru her Gallo 3.1 speakers. She is still happy with the amp and I am asking myself why I never got one for myself (especially after getting a Hegel H120 and being unexcited by it). We had one issue with it a few years ago and emailed Rogue on a weekend hoping to get an answer I could address before leaving 5 days later, which I stated in the email. 4 hours later they had searched out her location and called on the phone on a Saturday. DAMN good service. Guy talked me thru some diagnosis and it turned out just to be a tube that got jarred when she was digging around behind her rack...she is an active 80+er. Reseated it and the amp was good to go. I have not heard the Magnum or Dark versions but I would not hesitate to recommend this amp and company. I went with Hegel after LOTS of pro talk on forums and in retrospect should have just gone with something I had already heard. 

pmzn
13 posts
 

Current owner CM3. It’s awesome. I built my system around this amp as I wanted an integrated tube amp under 5k. Primarily used for vinyl I used the integrated phono stage for a while but then added a luxman phono stage when I upgraded to a Hana mc cartridge. I’ve also rolled the center 12au7 tube to a nos smoothplate telefunken and both 12ax7 to smoothplate telefunken. I feel like the system still has tube warmth but feel the soundstage improvement. Not lean more crisp and punchy.  Bass is tight.  I drive golden ear t66. Again looked for speakers that punched above their price point. I’ve spoken to rogue audio about tube suggestions and I now plan to upgrade to dark version.  And this I believe is the biggest benefit of this amp. You can build slowly enjoy it while you decide your next rabbit hole to jump into. 

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