Rogue Cronus Magnum II vs McIntosh

My CJ is solid state, love it!

 

I also have a SS Audio Research amp that I love. Especially fed from a tube pre.

The Phonomena II is also an excellent choice!

 

Perhaps the British design made a difference?

 

Could be. I know the British sound is valued and different than the sound of an American SS amp

 

I hope the Creek works out for you. I seriously thought about one when I was looking at Integrateds, but bought the Halo P5 and A23 instead (since sold). Nice small package but no chance to audition locally. I would really like to find the ultimate integrated with great Phono and DAC. McIntosh actually makes the closest thing to it, but I have never brought myself to try one.

 

how does it compare to the sound of the rogue cronus?

 

I'm getting close to biting the bullet on a new integrated. I've pretty much narrowed it down to the Cronus Magnum and the Creek Evo100.
I've tried the Evo50 in my system and it was magical. But on the other hand, I also have a Jolida 302a that really sings through my system. This is a serious purchase for me and just stumped on which route to go.

 

Isn't the Atlas Magnum essentially the Cronus Magnum without the preamp?

 

It is precisely the Cronus Magnum without the preamp. Your photo is old and shows the EL34 tubes. Here is how the current production Atlas Magnum looks without the cover and using the KT120 tubes.


The white circle in the center of the green board there is where the preamp tube would be installed with outlines for its supporting circuitry around it. Here is the Cronus Magnum for comparison.


-Bill

 

oops! Bill beat me to it!!!

BTW, If you think the Cronos is good go find you a run of the mill used SS power amp and throw a Perseus Magnum in front of it...

 

Thanks. For a modestly priced American-made tube amp/integrated, Rogue Audio is the only game in town. ironically, most imported tube amps from the Far East actually cost more ...

 

This is modular design ...

 

Sort of. It's just cost effective use of materials. They only have to have one chassis and one board for both products. Of course all of the power amp components are the same from both products in the same production run. The only difference in the photos is really just changing of vendors for electrolytic capacitors in use there.

 

do you think it would sound better than the perseus driving an atlas magnum?

 

i'm coming back to earth and and don't know why i would consider returning my cronus magnum ii for a creek 100a. i have until july 25th to return it and am starting to consider it i will keep it.
i don't think i would be happy without some tubes in the system.

 

I do not. Even though the question was not directed at me, I have tons of experience with all of their products, going back many years to the company's beginnings. The Atlas Magnum is remarkable in its power and linearity and gives up very little to SS designs in that area. It also offers a better 3D soundstage depth and a softer top end than most any SS design, and all at a very affordable price, so it's hard to fault really. The Stereo 100 has even nicer and smoother tube sound and still manages to have very deep and powerful bass performance.
-Bill

 

I guess that would depend on what the "run of the mill SS amp" was. That wasn't my point, which was that you could put together something very, very good based on the $2100 Perseus. Not a slam on the Atlas, just that the Perseus is an amazing piece of gear and likely the best price/performance in a line of gear that excels at that premise.

Also noting that it's probably easier to find a deal on a really good used power amp than most other components. At least from what I've seen.

 

Just out of curiosity, I checked out the Perseus preamp ...

 

Nice photos, I do wish tubes were never used on PC boards, a practice I dislike. However, PC boards today are much better than the early PC boards. Carry on and enjoy the music. Nice amplifiers.

 

The lack of moving parts certainly helps ...

 

Bose, read the original review of the 901 speakers in Consumer Reports. Just so you know, Bose sued because of the negative review it gave. I had a pair of Bose 301 bookshelf speakers, midfi might actually be over ratting them. As ou said, Bose has great marketing, maybe they spend more on it than design and testing. Macintosh and Rogue both are leagues above a comparison to Bose. Both great brands that make excellent products, Bose makes excellent advertising.

 

A number of years ago, I read that Amar Bose was worth some $400M and among the top 400 wealthiest Americans, not bad for an audio man ...

 

The high voltage capacitors are different- the Atlas uses larger and better quality filtering. Note the caps in front of the power transformer- two Nippon 1200 mf, and to the right two more Nippon caps. There may be other differences also, possibly the coupling caps (the Atlas uses bypassed Solens).

1200uF 350V 1200 uf NIPPON KMH Electrolytic Capacitor lot of 3 NEW »

I thought the CM2 had some of the Atlas magnum upgrades, including the Capacitor upgrades, but the picture above doesn't show them, unless it's a picture of the old CM1.

Regardless, the CM2 is no match for an Atlas Magnum driven by a very good preamp (I use a Rogue 99 Magnum), as one would expect from more expensive and capable electronics.

 

I just inserted my Jolida 302a back in to the system.
I upgraded a ton of capacitors, resistors, diodes,internal wiring and output transformers.
There is something about tubes with Triangle speakers that are just magic.
Everything is breaking in right now. Seems to get better with every album.
This makes me lean towards the Rogue even more for my next upgrade.
Has anyone compared the sound of the kt120s vs el34s in the Cronus Magnum?

 

I completely agree. The thought of hot tubes heating up and cooking a PC board just rubs me the wrong way. It's just a matter of time before the board warps and the traces lift. Chassis mounted tube sockets with flying leads to the PC board is the way to go.