September 2016


Best Of 2016 Blue Note Equipment Awards

Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II Stereo Integrated Amplifier
Price: $2495
Click here to read the complete review.

  Rogue Audio's philosophy states that they build designs they'd purchase themselves. They seek to employ the finest in highly-refined tube circuit topology and combine it with a nearly fanatic sense of engineering. During my review, not once did the Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II integrated amplifier hum, buzz or do anything other than play music. Put simply, it worked 100% of the time without flaw. The owner's manual is simple, yet informative and concise. Upon opening the shipping box, Enjoy the Music.com reviewer Steven R. Rochlin was impressed with not just the foam padding, Rogue Audio already has the smaller tubes in their place and the four KT120 output tubes' boxes are all labeled so you know which socket they belong.

Rogue Audio's Cronus Magnum II features improvements over the original award-winning design. There are upgraded binding posts, upgraded small signal tubes and a few tweaks here and there. Tube sockets are gold plated to ensure a long-lasting, and reliable, electrical connection. Ultra-high tolerance components throughout are mounted to two-ounce copper circuit boards. Switches are silver plated, and as we know silver is perhaps the very best metal for signal connection. Everything looks very neat and tidy plus Rogue Audio has over-designed things to ensure long-lasting operation and reliability. The Cronus Magnum II operated perfectly during the entire duration of Steven R. Rochlin's review. The outer chassis is highly resistant to scratches and corrosion. Available in silver or black, the machined aluminum faceplate is anodized to protect its appearance. The main chassis and transformer bits are flat black.

From opera and jazz to death metal, experimental to today's pop, our family put the Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II through its paces. My notes keep going on and on about a beauty in tone, timber, harmonics and robustness in sound delivery. Hmmm, all this for only $2495? It drove the very demanding Audeze LCD-3 Steampunks headphones fine, with the highly sensitive Noble Kaiser 10 (K10) custom in-ear monitors showing there was a teeny bit of very low-level hiss within the headphone amp stage, yet it never got in the way of the music.

"There is so much to love that, especially at this price level, I sincerely feel bad giving it critiques," says Steven R. Rochlin. "Yet so is the 'job' of a reviewer. The most subtle of microdynamics might not be fully rendered, and OK it might not deliver the widest of soundscapes that expands far outside the boundaries of the speakers, yet between and behind the speakers she was quite impressive. Perhaps some tube rolling with exotic new old stock jobbies would bring things into perspective? One of the many joys with the Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II is that you can easily tube roll as finances permit. Have you seen the prices of NOS tubes? Wow! Given the very high quality of this integrated amplifier, if you want to go ahead and invest in tube rolling to discover that special something you love about music I say go for it!"

Click here to read the complete review.

Previous Annual Blue Note Awards

Product of the Year Awards 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, and 2001.