Rogue Audio Sphinx hybrid integrated amplifiers are now shipping!

That came up earlier when I expressed interest in hearing impressions of the new Rogue amp. I've got a Brio-R, and casually mentioned the hum issue, explaining why I might like to make a change in amps. This thread is only two pages long, so it should be pretty easy to go back and follow the responses.

I definitely didn't intend on it becoming a topic within this thread... just happened to go that way I guess.

 

Only mentioned because there's about as many posts related to that then on what the Rogue amp sounds like. To the owner's/dealers: Has anyone done tubes/class D combo design or this Sphinx amp the first? How are the 12AU7's behaving in that implementation? I ask because microphonics of that particular tube is what drove me away from tubes years ago.

 

Tom I would really like to see this comparo myself. I recently talked to the folks that distribute Bada here in Illinois, Pacific Valve, about the Bada 225 integrated. They do not have a showroom, so basically will not allow you to demo the products they sell. I would really love to see how the Bada and Rogue sound next to each other on the same system. I am not sure how anyone would know enough about the components and technology going into a product, especially one from China, to make an informed purchasing decision like this. Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

 

Trust me, you need to hear your amp or at least be a little familiar with the brand or design, a total blind buy is not a good idea. I'd also consider the longevity and service record of any given manufacturer. What is the likelihood of these fly by night Chinese brands staying power? If you can't hear a Rogue sphinx at least try and hear some class D switching amp designs. They do have a unique sound IMO. The "Bada" with tubes and a high class A bias current would most definitely produce more heat and use more electricity.

 

Tubes and class "D" are a pretty common combo in Europe is my research. The Europeans are more concerned about energy costs than in the US. Rogue Audio didn't "invent" this combo but have adopted it to their products. Rogue likes to "voice" their amps to neutral even all tube amps sound Rogue "neutral" or modern tube sound. The 12AU7's used seem quiet enough in my experience. But are not "exotic". YMMV

 

Hey Guys..new to this forum. Just purchased a Sphinx through my dealer. Black with remote. I have a nice pair of Amperex 7316 PQ's I want to hear through this Integrated. I hear Rogue cant keep up with orders for them and reports are they are 10-14 days out if dealers dont have any on hand. Anyway, been at this over 30 years and have had all kinds of equipment from entry to hi-society/high finance stuff. Always appreciated the Rogue equipment for it's performance per dollar. To the headphone guys here... Im wondering if it would drive the HiFiMAN HE-6 Planar magnetic s which can definitely require a real HP amp to get the best from them.

 

So you do or do not have the uni yet? Congrats either way! Looking forward to more impressions.

 

Has anyone else heard this one yet?

 

I have sold several of them and so far, all that have purchased one love it.

 

Had it now for about 3weeks. In a nutshell, it is quite good sounding! The JJ ECC 802's (not the gold pins) are a nice sound in this amp. Well balanced and dynamic, with excellent bass and good top end sparkle and detail. Huge sound-stage as well. Im sure it is still breaking in and will get even better with hours on it. After about a week, I put my Amperex PQ 7316's in and they have been in there the last 2 weeks. The 7316's are exceptionally smooth and better textured with a significant sense of refinement compared to the JJ's. Bass is perhaps a bit leaner, but the mids and highs are smoother overall. The downside of the Amperex tubes in this amp is that the sound-stage becomes smaller to a degree and they dont quite have the gain (perhaps differing plate voltage or current) and I am having to goose the volume a bit more, compared to the 802's. My other issue with the Amperex is that they are micro-phonic in this amp, where in my old Cary pre amp..they were not. Even a slight touch of the knobs or case produces a pronounced ring. I will eventually go back and listen to the JJ's at some point soon.

My set up is a modest one and in my current set up, its somewhat downsized from some better reference gear I've been using. A VPI Scout 1.1/ Soundsmith Carmen MM, Oppo 95 player, and Martin Logan's little reference and affordable EM-ESL's. All mid price cables from Acoustic Zen ( speaker and IC) and some Tara Labs Prism AC PC's.

My former amps were Bel Canto Ref 500's monos paired with the Rogue Athena Pre Amp. I can tell you that the Sphinx is not quite the equal of that set up for sure. One would not expect it to be at its price points, however the Sphinx is a capable performer on its own merit and although doesn't have the ultimate dynamics and quite the refinement of the Ref 500/Athena, it is still very good. I mention all this because I am familiar with what tubes paired with Class D amps sounded like in the Bel Canto/ Athena set up for comparison. Although, technically the Bel Cantos are a bit different in topology and design.... The Sphinx has the same sort of sound to me and its strength's are similar with its hybrid topology. Great Bass and warm mids with a very good if a touch on the dry side in the highs..but very good resolution and detail form an amp of this price point is astounding to me. I think the highs may be a bit less dry and more clean with the Sphinx actually

The last thing to mention is the amp drives the ML electrostatics quite well! The newer Logans are much more efficient now (92 db) than the older designs and more seamless in presentation and bass integration as well. Im sure it could drive a less efficient load as well. Like I mentioned, I think it has more break in to go and will get even better with time on it.

 

I did forget to mention the phono section being very good as well. In my old set up, I wasn't using a true reference phono pre amp, but rather the excellent little German made Trigon Vanguard II budget phono pre. It was definitely the weakest link in my set up.While it was very good for a budget pre, last selling at $695 before it had stopped importing, the phono section in the Sphinx is superior overall. Perhaps the tubes add to the mix, but in my set up, I prefer it to the stand alone Trigon. Lastly, I have not tried the headphone output.

 

I'm running my Wayne Piquet Quad 57's with one and it is a wonderful combination. Best I've ever heard my Quads sound.

 

Hi all. Just signed up here when I saw this discussion after a Google search for the Sphinx. I've inherited a pair of Sonus Faber Concertinos, and have been looking for a good integrated amp in the $1K range. I pulled the trigger last week on a barely used Sphinx and it should arrive in a few days. Seems like a great value for what you get. I hope it pairs well with my Sonus Fabers ! I'm new to the hobby, so this is my first 2-channel setup. No vinyl (yet), just a Mac Mini serving my lossless music via a JDSLabs ODAC. Anyway, I'll post my impressions once I'm all set up !

 

Nice! Welcome to the forum. Just curious, what software are you using with the Mac Mini? Looking forward to hearing your impressions of the amp.

 

Enjoying the amp a lot ! Very good bass and detail all around. I'm using iTunes with BitPerfect to automatically switch the bit depth and sampling rate output for me on each track. Works perfectly well for my needs. I also picked up a used Burson DA-160 DAC so I have a few more inputs available then just the USB on the ODAC.

 

A review is here.

M~

 

A fairly nice review for its detailing the power and build. The author failed to even mention the basic input and output features however. The Rogue Sphinx amplifier includes a nice MM phono stage and a headphone amp. It also has pre-out connections for a powered sub should one pair it with certain tiny speakers and want for additional bass.
-Bill

 

Any further progress reports on the Sphinx, anyone purchased one at all ? Found out Rogue has a 240v model for export over here and they have a single dealer/distributor here, based in NSW . I haven't found a bad word about it searching the net so far.

 

Anyone able to compare it to a Brio-R? The -R has great instrument separation, and beautiful mids... wondering how the Sphinx sounds with jazz and classical, soundstage, imaging, etc.

 

I've never heard a Class D that I walked away impressed from ... Hypex, ICE - I've had both and I always walked away shaking my head about what the big deal was. I unfortunately sold a B&K Class A MOSFET amp to purchase a more expensive Class D amp and always kicked myself for doing that and that's actually what brought me over to tubes was the dissatisfaction of Class D altogether.

Perhaps the tube combo gives it something to make it sound a bit less dry or boring? Tubes are my preference and then Class A MOSFET as the closest solid state amplification behind them.

However, I can say that the Brio-R is as close to tubes as I've heard solid state get (it's my guess to one of the reasons that little amp is so popular). Its primary stage uses a single emitter (buffer) which reduces the load on the voltage amplifier and improves overall linearity. I know I read the Rega's lead engineer Terry Bateman used a Leak Stereo 20 valve amp as his benchmark when designing the new Brio-R.
There may be some help for Class D yet ... tubes to the rescue!

 

Well, I’m the owner of a new Sphinx. Now I don’t come from a background of hi-end hi-fi at all, my previous amps for 2 channel listening, have been Denon and Onkyo AV receivers, then upon deciding to get a separate 2 channel system going, used Sansui and Technics units as finances permitted. When the Technics started to fail, I finally decided to get a decent 2 channel amp. I had a budget - up to $1500 - and the options were many. I’d had previous experience with a cheap tube buffer in my system, but that brief experiment was enough for me to decide that I wanted some sort of tube experience with my next purchase. Now, I also have limited experience in the pros and cons of amp classes, which could be taken as either good or bad as I don’t have a foot in either camp. Class D seems to spook some people but at the same time has it’s supporters if done right. I stumbled across the Rogue Sphinx when Michael Fremer gave it a great but brief recommendation. As I looked into it further and read more and more, it appeared to offer something different and more importantly a taste of tube-i-ness within my budget. Brisbane appears to have a dearth of places to go to audition Hi-Fi if you’re looking for something that’s not Yamaha or Denon but Rogue had a sole dealer based in Sydney. I had a 7 day trial period. If I didn’t like it, back she goes, no questions …. which is a pretty good deal from a dealer 1000 kms away. I listened for roughly 4 hours a day. Now taking into account my previous gear, straight out of the box I was aware of the jump in quality, though I felt there was going to be a settling in period for both the amp and the tubes. Now, I’m no good with Audiophile speak …. “transients” etc …. but my musical taste is quite eclectic. Everything I put on - from the Stones, Freddie Hubbard, Shakti to Slayer was reproduced amazingly well. Jazz really came to life, there was no harshness to trumpets and bass-lines emerged from the mix. Vocals, from solo acoustic accompaniment to band situation have a beautiful purity to them. All my previous amps had never satisfied me with bass reproduction. Before the Technics died, I was using the Loudness function. What I have now though is just a natural sounding bass, not what I thought I needed when I had the Technics. Bass emerges when required, but at other times just rides the song where it needs to be. I don’t require what now appears to have been a bloated sounding bass. So, in the end I’ve kept the Sphinx. Am I stupid in not auditioning other gear ? Probably, but everything I fed the Sphinx, came out great, and my speakers are mid-fi at best. Maybe further down the track I’ll look at changing the tubes which I read people do, but from looking around the JJ 12au7 tubes that come stock with the unit aren’t crap, and some comments, Steve’s included, about gear being matched with particular tubes makes sense, as the guys at Rogue seem to know what they’re on about. So, in summing up, I can say my first “proper amp” is a winner, give one a listen if you get the chance ....... and no Tone Controls !!!

 

Yes, I have compared them both as well as both to quite a few other amps. I have sold Rega electronics since I opened perhaps 18 years ago now. I have sold Rogue Audio components for nearly as long, just after their start. So I have seen and heard every change made from model to model and from version to version of these units. The Rega Brio for instance, started out as a 30wpc amp. It then went to 49wpc (Roy Gandy is quoted as saying "If you want 50 watts, you'll have to look somewhere else." ). The latest Brio-R includes remote control and finally, one can have 50 watts... The Rogue Audio Sphinx amplifier has way more power at 100wpc but I'd bet it's even more dynamically powerful than most other 100w amps. As clean and resolving as the Brio-R is, it's no match for the resolution of the Sphinx. Both are very good at imaging and bass control but the Sphinx takes it to the next level. In fact, it probably even jumps a couple of levels there. The Brio-R has a slightly warmer sound in most systems but gives up the deepest and most powerful bass. With speaker systems of a reasonable load, very few amps at any price can match the bass power and control of the Sphinx amplifier. It's detail and thus imaging also performs well above that of others at its price point.
-Bill

 

The build quality as evidenced by the picture in the goodsound.com review looks really nice!

 

Thanks for that Bill, high praise indeed for the Sphinx if it's besting the Brio-R for clean, resolved sound and still within a couple hundred dollars.
Can you comment at all on the phono stage compared to the Brio-R? My understanding is that the -R uses (basically?) the same phono stage as Rega sells in its highly-regarded dedicated/separate Fono MM.
I've been really happy with the Brio-R's phono stage, that said, I've also been pondering separate phono stages, as well as a better amp, in particular a tube amp and/or tube phono stage.
Some of the options I've been considering are the RWA Signature 16 (paired with a separate PS), the RA Sphinx and at a stretch the Audio Note Oto Phono SE (a few years away for that one, unless a really cherry, newer model pops up online).
Would the Sphinx be a good integrated entré into the world of tubes on a budget?
TIA!

 

I forgot to mention, my experience is based on CD playback only. From reading around though there's no reason to suggest that the Sphinx's phono stage wouldn't be impressive also.
Oh and my comment regarding tone controls wasn't to mean that they shouldn't be there, it was meant to imply a sense of anxiety on my part as this is my first amp without them.