Rogue Audio Sphinx hybrid integrated amplifiers are now shipping!

Well, it's not really practical to separate the phono stage from the power stage as they are integrated amps and are not designed to be used in any other capacity and likely would not be. I know what you are saying though. Both amps have quite nice phono sections. The thing that I am pointing out is that after the phono stage, the speakers are driven by the power stages and those are quite different and so the results through the phono can be compared similarly as to the results through the line inputs. As for other other functionality, the Sphinx offers a headphone amp.

In a direct comparison of phono only capability, using tape/line out and going into another amp for instance, it might be found that the Rega indeed has the best phono section. I have not done that as I find it rather pointless but I think the Rega may have the edge there. The phono section in the Sphinx is no slouch though. It's better than those that come with most receivers and integrated amps, heck even many preamps. The sound is comparable to a decent quality, budget outboard stage but is not equal to more expensive stages.

Certainly you will get better results with all separates from any single maker than with any of that maker's integrated amps. So Rogue offers a Perseus preamp that has an excellent phono section, about equal to their Triton phono stage. When paired with their Hydra power amp, or one of their full tube power amps such as the Atlas or Stereo 100, that offers much higher performance. None of the Rogue Audio components really have a vintage flavor to their sound. The pure tube units can have a bit softer sound but not by a wide margin from the very best available solid state units. I am not really a fan of tubed phono preamps in general as they don't stay as clean or dynamic at that critical first stage of gain. I prefer to introduce tubes in an intermediate gain stage such as the line stage and in some systems as a final output stage. In Rogue's top end phono preamp, the Ares, which is an all tube design, it manages to get pretty low noise and wide bandwidth but not quite that of their Triton solid state stage. Also the Ares makes use of a step-up transformer for moving coil amplification ahead of the tube gain section in their Ares preamp to keep the signal to noise ratio as high as possible. That ads to the cost just as the tube circuitry does, so it's really hard to make a tube phono stage that has the performance of a SS one at near the same price. The Ares sells for twice what the Triton does. For those that want a all tube system, that's about as clean and sweet as it's going to get. There are of course some other companies who make much more expensive tubed phono stages which are also excellent but if we are considering the amount paid, then your options get pared down considerably.

The Sphinx is a killer amp for it's cost, yes. It's not the "tubiest" sounding amp made. I find most tube offerings, especially those at lower prices, to have a colored sound that shows the limitations of their designs. The same can be said for cheap solid state, which I dislike even more as it can sound rather bad when not designed very well. The Rogue Sphinx manages to use a better piece of each technology and avoid their pitfalls and so it's a very good sounding amp with much less coloration or limitations of many other designs.
-Bill

 

Thanks for this detailed response Bill, sorry, I meant to reply ages ago ( I actually thought I had) but it somehow slipped my mind.
I'm seriously considering the Sphinx to pair with an analog front end and my recently acquired Harbeth P3ESRs.
So far I haven't had any luck tracking down a Sphinx to demo here in Vancouver, so I have no personal reference point.
From what I've read, and you've wrote (if I'm reading you correctly) the Sphinx is very un-colored and I'm wondering how well it pair with the Harbeths as they are so incredibly un-colored as well.
Many thanks Bill
–R

 

It should, if nothing else, give them a needed good kick in the tail. I drive smaller speakers here with the Sphinx amp and it really wakes them. The specs on the Harbeth are similar to the Dali speaker models that I have tried here and found to work well. It should be worth the shot. If you don't find it as inspiring as your current amp, you should be able to easily sell the Sphinx with little loss as they are very high value at their new price and should have a lot of other buyers waiting to try one who are just to cheap to buy a new unit.
-Bill

 

Thanks again Bill, I agree, it would very interesting to see how the Harbeths respond to the 100W the Sphinx provides to the Brio-R's 50W.

 

Here's the recent review of the Sphinx from The Absolute Sound ......

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/rogue-audio-sphinx-tube-hybrid-integrated-amplifier/

 

That Rogue amp is mighty tempting

 

Thanks for posting this Moops, I'm really, really tempted to grab this amp right away and give it a shot over the winter as I mull over a bigger amp upgrade. The high praise for the phono stage from Ron in the write-up may have just sealed the deal.

 

I am considering an amplifier change in 2014 and am intrigued by the Rogue line. I have never used tubes but their Class D - hybrid line looks like a good entry point. I don't want something that runs hot or requires significant maintenance or is difficult to bias.

My speakers (Fritz Rev 7) are 4 ohm speakers measured with a sensitivity of 89 db. It seems like this or the Rogue Hydra may be a little underpowered. Based on those measurements, would the recommended choice be the pharaoh (integrated) or the Medusa (separates)?

 

The Rogue Audio Hydra and Sphinx are hugely powerful, capable of providing 200wpc into your 4 ohm load. You'll not use all of that. The Pharaoh and Medusa amplifiers offer not only more power but greater sophistication of design, resulting in an even sweeter sound. If you don't already have a great preamp, the Pharaoh will be the best value by a long shot. They have really given that a lot of thought and included a lot of great features and top quality parts.
-Bill

 

Thanks for that comment. It was very helpful. It will likely come down to budget availability and my long- term decision on whether to upgrade my preamp in 2015 or go with an integrated.

 

Can anybody say if the Sphinx runs quiet? ie; hum or buzz?

 

The couple of units that we have had here on demo were both dead quiet. In fact, we have had one of their tube preamps, the Perseus, and the Hydra power amp combo here as well, which introduces quite a bit more gain and tube count and it was as I recall commenting earlier "one of the most quiet tube systems that I have ever heard". The Perseus is a pretty quiet preamp as per self noise but the real thing that seems to be in common with the systems mentioned is the Class D output section used. So that is probably the greatest factor in their being low noise.
-Bill

 

That's great to hear, thanks again Bill. I only recently noticed the uber-faint buzz of my Brio-R when monkeying near the amp (and I never hear it when music is playing), so was just curious if it's a Class A-B thing (or a power-supply thing – I notice it from my TT-PSU too when it's late and dead quiet in the apartment), and how Class D compares as I have no experience with it.
Cheers,
–R

 

You must be talking about mechanical noise coming from the units themselves. That's different from noise coming from the speakers and heard as hiss or hum, etc. You must have really good ears to be able to hear the mechanical noise of a component if your AC is in good order. That and a super quiet ambient noise level in your room. I have not noticed any of that but I have lots of windows and traffic, etc. Mechanical noise is typically caused by poor AC conditioning from the power company. If there is a DC component on the line, many transformers will resonate and so cause a vibration at the mains frequency heard as a hum. You can buy filters for that:
http://www.lcaudio.com/index.php?page=316
-Bill

 

Yes, I am. Nothing from the speakers themselves.
Interesting, not at all surprising about my AC coming into the apartment. This place is 60+ years old, I replaced a few wall sockets with a medical-grade ones last year and that definitely helped, but looks like I've a way to go. I'll look into the filter you linked to Bill!

Many thanks!

 

Outlets are not a source of DC but electrical devices can be. In your space, you should check to see if you have dimmer switches or fan controls, etc. Replacing light dimmers with simple toggle switches will often help or even cure that.
-Bill

 

No, nothing like that, plain switches, and I unplug most everything when not in use.
It's just a crappy, old, three-story building with awful electrics I imagine, in a great neighbourhood that let's us save $$$ for a downpayment next spring.
I'm hopeful that moving into a brand-new, modern building will solve most, if not all our issues (uneven floor, erratic heating, window gaps – all the charms of the bohemian lifestyle).
Cheers Bill

 

Ah yes, I know it well.
-Bill

 

Seconding what Bill said the unit itself is runs dead quiet, the outer casing becoming slightly warm to touch around the ventilation space above where the tubes are. It seems to reach a level of warmth and stays there. Coming into a decent Queensland summer should be a good test for it, but I'm sure it will be fine.

 

My room is approx 14ft x 20ft with my speakers along the short wall. My listening position is between 9 - 10ft from the speakers at the apex. My speakers are 6 ohm with a sensitivity of 93db and for comfortable listening at a decent volume the Sphinx's volume control hovers around the 9 o'clock position. That is ample for me sitting where I am and works for all styles of music. If you want to blow your hair back a little, I reckon you could do it. It's only onward and upward from there with the Pharaoh and Medusa sets I would imagine. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for the note. I am not worried about getting enough volume but just want to make sure that there is enough reserve to handle the peaks and give the music a relaxed feel. For a short time I was using a B&K ST140 (70 wpc into 8 ohms) with these speakers. I never had issues getting enough volume but the presentation of the music didn't feel relaxed and had no flow. With my current amp that is not an issue.

This notion of tubes with Class D is really intriguing.

 

Another recent review ........

http://audiofi.net/2013/10/rogue-audio-sphinx-hybrid-pleasures/

 

Hi there! I'm a new member of this forum and I have another (!) question about the Sphinx's phono stage. Right now, I use a Cambridge Audio integrated amplifier (640A) with a Cambridge audio phono pream (540p) and I would like to change/upgrade at least my phono preamp. I hesitate between a new separate phono section, like a PS Audio GCPH or a Lehmann Black Cube, and a whole new integrated amplifier with a phono section : the Sphinx. My question is: In this case, is that the Sphinx is a all around improvement of my system or I should just go with a separate phono preamp? Is that the phono section of the Sphinx is close of a very good separate phono section, or its just not the same ligue? Thanks!

 

Hi, Welcome aboard !

I don't use the phono stage on mine - I'm CD only - but Bill/KT88 will be able to offer some good advice here.
These reviews touch on the qualities of the Sphinx's phono stage .....

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/rogue-audio-sphinx-tube-hybrid-integrated-amplifier/

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0813/rogue_audio_sphinx.htm