Rogue Cronus Magnum III

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by bajaed, Jan 1, 2019.

  1. bajaed

    bajaed Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Anybody have one yet?
     
  2. BayouTiger

    BayouTiger Forum Resident

    Just looked at it on NeedleDoctor. Looks very interesting. MC/MM phono stage, better headphone amp, New Ultra linear/ Triode mode switch. I wonder if te phono stage is similar to the one on the RP5 which is excellent.
     
    Last edited: Jan 1, 2019
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  3. bajaed

    bajaed Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    I think it is based on the conversation I had w Rogue.
     
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  4. vinylontubes

    vinylontubes Forum Resident

    Location:
    Katy, TX
    Next time you talk to them tell them to put a mono switch on it and a phono stage by-pass. I might be tempted to get mine upgraded if they add these.
     
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  5. bajaed

    bajaed Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    I had them bypass the phono stage on my CM I. You can also use one of the other 3 inputs if you don't want to use theirs. The new stage is supposed to be really good. How many inputs do you need?
     
  6. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    I remember reading that you can call them to make that special request and they'll add the mono switch for a small fee. Don't know what you mean by phono stage bypass but might be worth a conversation too.
     
  7. bajaed

    bajaed Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    They will bypass the phono stage to give you a 4th input if you need it. However, I wouldn't do that now that the CM III has a quality MM/MC stage.
     
  8. gov

    gov Forum Resident

    Location:
    NYC Metro
    I did the same and had them add a HT bypass. So glad I did. Will also let me upgrade the amp to separates piece by piece if I decide to go that route.

    Should have had them add a mono switch too.

    The triode/ultra linear mode is most appealing to me about this one.
     
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  9. theron d

    theron d Forum Resident

    Location:
    Baltimore MD
    the two things I wish my CMII had. But still the Cronus Magnum series is a great sounding American made integrated!
     
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  10. bajaed

    bajaed Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Wonder when the first reviews will be coming out? Have seen a couple retailers advertising the III.
     
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  11. JNTEX

    JNTEX Lava Police

    Location:
    Texas
    My thoughts exactly and 150s
     
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  12. bajaed

    bajaed Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    As in KT-150's?
     
  13. bajaed

    bajaed Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Anyone have or hear one yet?
     
  14. theron d

    theron d Forum Resident

    Location:
    Baltimore MD
    bump for any reviews on the CMIII...

    This is coming from a loyal CMII owner
     
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  15. bajaed

    bajaed Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    I would think the III has made it to dealers and into a few homes.
     
  16. Louis Grignon

    Louis Grignon Active Member

    Location:
    Montauk, NY
    I am waiting on mine to be delivered. Any day now. it will be connected to a B&O Beogram 9000 tt w/ smmc 2 going through a pair LS50s. Additional mogami cables to Tascam cd RW900mk and a Tascam 202MKVII cassette deck.
     
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  17. bajaed

    bajaed Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    What amp do you have now Louis?
     
  18. Louis Grignon

    Louis Grignon Active Member

    Location:
    Montauk, NY
    a Denon. Due to age, I simply cannot remember the model. 100 wc 7.1, loads of surround sound and video hookups. I just don't use it for that.
    I guess my real question is; will the Beogram 9000 turntable with a SMMC2 cartridge deliver the quality I think I'm looking for when hooked up the Cronus Mag III and going through wired Kef LS50s? The Tascam CD recorder and cassette deck are new and will do what they do, I am OK with that.
     
  19. Louis Grignon

    Louis Grignon Active Member

    Location:
    Montauk, NY
    also, I was told by Rogue that my amp shipped out this morning, should have it on Monday
     
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  20. Troyh

    Troyh Forum Resident

    Louis,
    Please keep us updated. I'm really interested in the amp. Currently, I have a McIntosh 6100, which I love, but would like to upgrade. For the moolah, this Rogue seems like a very good buy.
     
  21. Doctor Fine

    Doctor Fine "So Hip It Would Blister Your Brain"

    I bought last years' Cronus II and am amazed how good it and its phono stage are right out of the box.
    And it got way quieter and sweeter with a ground purifier filter plug and some tube rolling.
    And now Rogue decided to make improvements to further quiet the STOCK III.
    Plus expand the phono section capability.
    And beef up the headphone output.
    Wow.
    None of this impacts me personally but I can imagine what a nice plus these changes make for many folks.
    I'll grant you I'm not really a fan of inexpensive 60dB high powered LOMC phono sections as transformers can add all the gain you will ever need without one bit of added noise you get from amplifier gain.
    But it is nice of Rogue to even try adding LOMC with the New III model...
    And the headphone amp upgrade of the III will be appreciated for those that don't already have an outboard headphone amp of their own.
    The one in the II is only average in quality---not bad, not really good either.
    Just for giggles I run my Cronus II with a customized turntable setup for LOMC with Lundahl transformers and handmade Denon DL-103r cartridges from Soundsmith.
    My Cronus powers some Spendor S3/5s with additional M&K Danish powered desktop sized subwoofers hooked up using the excellent rca left and right subwoofer outputs provided off the back of the Cronus.
    It all resides in a tuned control room at my studio.
    Every time I turn it on I am shocked how close this all sounds to my far field room system which is mastering grade all the way---in a much larger room with 40 grand of junk running the room.
    My desktop Cronus setup is just about as life like as I have ever heard.
    Rogue is amazing.
    For inexpensive truly high performance tube gear I can't imagine doing much better at twice the price.
    But it sounds like the new III is a definite improvement for most folks for a couple extra bucks.
     
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  22. Troyh

    Troyh Forum Resident

    Thank you, Good Doctor! I appreciate the info and information.
     
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  23. Louis Grignon

    Louis Grignon Active Member

    Location:
    Montauk, NY
    OK, I was using a Denon AVR 987. I hooked the Cronus III up last night. Gave it its 1 hr initial warm up and started with some pink floyd, outlaws, etta james and beatles. I adjusted the bias (very easy), they were off a few points 28 vs 35, and it just got better until 2:00am when the new amplifier police told me to quit it.
    I am very impressed. Not a hint of noise form either the unit, cd or tape. The phono giving me some noise. I don't think it is a ground issue as mush as it might be the actual feed cable coming out of the unit. The Beogramm 9000 will be on its way to soundsmith for a tune up in the near future.
    The KEF LS 50s have been playing over a month now. However, it seemed they woke up, smelled some good clean power and went to the next level of sound. Where 987 had a 110wc and the rogue has 100wc, the rogue power seems all there. Kind of like comparing the horsepower of gas engine to diesel. The torgue ( full sound) come out at an idle and just goes in a straight line with the volume. You do not have to rattle the window to hear what is there.
     
  24. jphabc54

    jphabc54 Forum Resident

    Location:
    NoVa
    LS50s and the Cronus Magnum are a stunning match -- could not be happier with my CMII and LS50s. Enjoy!
     
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  25. Doctor Fine

    Doctor Fine "So Hip It Would Blister Your Brain"

    I found with the Cronus II the stock 12AU7 center main preamp tube was making some hum and it was a stock JJ that sounded a little harsh anyway so I replaced it with a Mullard 12AU7 at a little over a hundred bucks.
    The new Mullard 12AU7 tube hummed even louder even as it sounded much more musical!
    So I went through the hookup looking for ground problems as it was 60hZ hum.
    Swapping preamp tubes can sometimes eliminate hum and noise but at some point the other cause of hum usually turns out to be how the system is all grounded together...
    The main ground prong on the amp's power plug was the culprit in my setup as the new Mullard hated being grounded with the stock wall outlet ground.
    I have no idea why, maybe Rogue corrected their topology with the III and the new ones aren't as problematic to ground anymore---who knows?
    Anyway, by using a "cheater" plug the hum vanished.
    All that was left was a teeny tiny almost zero bit of hum and noise from the 40dB of gain the phono section adds.
    The main section when set to a line input is absolutely totally DEAD quiet on full gain knob setting.
    You can only hear the extra gain induced phono section hum and noise at my chair if you turn the volume to full blast in a dead quiet room and even then it is barely there.
    It is just amazing how quiet this unit is for a tube setup!
    I am running a moving coil Denon with transformers for phono and can turn the amp up full blast and the phono section is remarkably close to dead quiet which for phono is what you usually expect from a very expensive outboard phono preamp---not a built-in "freebie!"
    As for the missing ground---I broke down and bought a ground filter which is a plug adapter thing from Amazon that filters the hum at the wall and lets you still have a ground.
    Good.
    I don't like ungrounded appliances in case the house is burnt down.
    So now EVERYTHING is damn near perfect with the Cronus.
    What a great sounding and performing piece of gear for the money!
     
    Mfisher702 likes this.

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