Toooobs for Vantage ???? !!

[David Matz]

You MUST hear the BAT VK-55!!!

When people talk of the legendary panels / glowing glass synergy, they are talking about the VK-55 and the Vantages. I have not gotten much sleep in the last 3 or 4 days this has been in my system.


Wayne Garcia said it best upon awarding this amp a Golden Ear award in 2005:
"After more than ten months of pretty constant use this sweet-honey of an
amp continues to impress with its inherent ease and musicality.
While it doesn’t have the kind of “etched” detail some
audiophiles crave, and the bottom end doesn’t have ultimate
reach and impact, its warmth, natural textural and harmonic
qualities, and open, airy presentation are very satisfying.
It’s got what I call “musical detail, ” in that everything
comes through in a way that serves the musical whole, allowing
you to enjoy and become immersed in each performance."

 

[twich54]

Jeff - Sounds like your a 'happy camper' with your Rogue set-up. I did talk to Mark Obrien @ Rogue and he invited me to come up for a little tour whenever. My parents have a small Chalet about fifteen minutes from his operation in the Pocono's so it would be a natural.

David - BAT, great stuff ! just adds another possibility to the mix !

Speaking of great stuff, while enjoying Turkey dinner at Ma's yeaterday my oldest son brought up the name "Melody HiFi". I wasn't familiar with them but he said their build Quailty is top notch and they are as good or better than anything coming out of China right now. I went on line looked at their M88Q monoblocks, looks wise they are drop dead gorgeous. Does anybody have comments or knowledge on these puppies ??

 

[Joey_V]

Papa Dave!

I definitely think you should give Rogue gear a shot. The Zeus amp is one hefty monster and it's not too much on the used market. Or the M150s. My local dealer has them and they definitely sound good.

BAT would definitely be on my list if I were you. Something about that black monster with tubes and the large toroids in the back just scream sexy to me.

Good luck with your search! I'm sure you'll end up with something out of this world as always.

 

[twich54]

A very nice tour of the Rogue Audio Plant

A great Mid-Day was had up in Brodheadsville, Pa today as Mark O'Brien, owner/chief designer of Rogue Audio gave me the 'cooks tour' of the place. First off the guys a "Gear head" so you know we hit it off right away, Tom, you should see the motorcycle (that he races) that was sitting just off the production floor. Some kind of road racing Suzuki.

Back to the tour, Mark was a great host, going over all phases of their small, modest, but very precise production operation. They had on the bench burning in the 'Flagship' pre-amp, the 'Hera', a $7500 beauty that I suspect will give ARC and CJ a run for their money. This thing is a two chassis design, fully balanced topology, running eight 6H30P tubes. The 'stepped' volume attenuator is a proprietary Swiss work of art to say the least. I plan on another visit at which time Mark said I can come over to his house for a listen on his refrence system which naturally has this pre in it.

The bottom line to all this is hopefully by weeks end I will have a pair of Rogue M-150 Monoblocks up and running against my Vantage's.

 

[jhorowitz128]

A great Mid-Day was had up in Brodheadsville, Pa today as Mark O'Brien, owner/chief designer of Rogue Audio gave me the 'cooks tour' of the place. First off the guys a "Gear head" so you know we hit it off right away, Tom, you should see the motorcycle (that he races) that was sitting just off the production floor. Some kind of road racing Suzuki.

Back to the tour, Mark was a great host, going over all phases of their small, modest, but very precise production operation. They had on the bench burning in the 'Flagship' pre-amp, the 'Hera', a $7500 beauty that I suspect will give ARC and CJ a run for their money. This thing is a two chassis design, fully balanced topology, running eight 6H30P tubes. The 'stepped' volume attenuator is a proprietary Swiss work of art to say the least. I plan on another visit at which time Mark said I can come over to his house for a listen on his refrence system which naturally has this pre in it.

The bottom line to all this is hopefully by weeks end I will have a pair of Rogue M-150 Monoblocks up and running against my Vantage's.

Hi twitch54,

Glad you had a chance to get a tour of the "barn." Both Mark Walker and Mark O'Brien were gracious hosts during my visit also. I have no doubt that you'll be happy with the 150's. Congrats!
Jeff

 

[slowGEEZR]

So Dave, how's the experimenting going?

 

[twich54]

So Dave, how's the experimenting going?

Steve, Good evening, I 'think' I might have the makings of a winner.

Right now my concern is will they open up on the top end to at least equal the Plinius. I've got less than ten hours on them so needless to say I'm not prepared to make critical judgement yet.

My hope and expectation was/is for no loss at either end of the spectrum and a little more 'euphoria' in the middle, a tough act to follow given the refrence in my system(Plinius) to which I'm comparing it to.

 

[slowGEEZR]

Excellent!

Oh, I forgot. They will take 500 hours to break in. ...just kidding!!

 

[eknuds01]

Dave,

Those amps look awesome!! Let us know how they are sounding soon!!!:rocker:

 

[twich54]

Those amps look awesome!! Let us know how they are sounding soon!!!:rocker:

Well, my months demo is over and the bleeding in my ears can now heal, boxed up and gone !!.............. Only kidding ! The M-150's are keepers, with some break-in time and the change to DH Labs 'Air-Matrix' cables I have a very satisfying and musically engaging pair of amplifiers.

When time permits I'll write up a little something for the 'Amplifier section' as they compare to my Plinius as well as my overall feelings.

 

[slowGEEZR]

Ha ha; I knew you'd love 'em!

 

[nsgarch]

Ha ha; I knew you'd love 'em!

Tube amps are like MSG and lip gloss for electrostats

 

[Jungle Jack]

Hello,
How about the Rogue Audio Titan? Though modestly priced, the amp exceeds it's stated specs handily. There is a Stereophile review available online. Here is the link:http://stereophile.com/tubepoweramps/307rogue/
Cheers,
Mark