Look again SLICK!.
All the integrates and amps are your boys Hypex and Purfi
Curds are in your eyes.
Hey they have some 7 channel stuff. LOL
Showing 18 responses by jerryg123
Or maybe they are just junk! QLN and Sonner, Speakers, Simaudio 680D DAC, Treated room, and the system sounds great with my Rogue Audio Pharaoh II, Simaudio 600v2, Simaudio 390, 330A. Bel Canto E1X. Both the M32 and M33 sounded like shite along with an M10 I almost forgot about. So that is that D.B. Purfi is not all that.
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Actually you are wrong the entire Pharaoh was revamped and re-designed hence the II designation. So here is a snip from Marks interview. Like I said Purfi is garbage in my opinion no matter what you spec sheet jockey’s say.
September 2022
Rogue Audio Pharaoh II Integrated Amplifier Review
Rogue Audio has once again upped the ante with their Pharaoh II hybrid integrated amp. I’m always a bit wary of the ’New & Improved’ versions of any products that come to market. I seem to gravitate to original models (brands) of most premium products. Why do you ask? Well, because Herculean engineering efforts usually go into the development and production of a groundbreaking design. The Pharaoh I was launched in 2013, nearly ten years ago! It has been my reference amp for years. I have seen the evolution of many Rogue Audio products over time and had asked Mark O’Brien, designer and owner of Rogue Audio, periodically if there was going to be a revamp of the now classic Pharaoh. His answer was always, not at this time. The Pharaoh II is a hybrid design utilizing the famous Bruno Putzi Class D Hypex Ncore amplifier module with a tube front end. One of the first integrated amps to feature this pairing. Class D back in 2013 was still a novelty piece of gear. The Pharaoh was a breakthrough design that rivaled many pure vacuum tube or solid-state amps in sonic performance. A powerful beast of an amp along with possessing the musicality of a single-ended amplifier. I own the first version of the hybrid Rogue Audio Sphinx, which is powering my vintage Martin Logan SL3 speakers upstairs in our living room. Try that with a single-ended amp! A smaller version of the Pharaoh. The DNA of the Rogue Audio hybrid designs has flourished, capturing the "Best of both worlds" of tube and SS with true intent and purpose of delivering those superb sonic qualities in spades! I reviewed the Sphinx 3 a while back and was very impressed with the improvements over the previous series 1 and 2 with retrieving detail and offering more resolution from recordings. Knew that was going to filter down to the Pharaoh at some point. Well, here it is folks.
Let There Be Light This was a 3D experience of listening to sound emanating from all directions. It made surround sound without any other array of speakers in the room. Total immersion along with spotlighting every instrument in the mix. You could reach out and touch the performance actors. I listened to the entire album. It is a wonderful spiritual instrumental recording. Next was to listen to some vocal recordings to see how Pharaoh II portrayed the human voice. I also listen to recorded sounds of nature to calibrate my ears to the real world. Yes, animals have ears too. They listen to us, so turnabout is fair play. With a lot of electronic gear, one has to identify, Oh, there is more detail, or Oh, there is more soundstage, or Oh, there is more there-there? The Rogue Audio Pharaoh II comes right out of the gate to say, "Let there be Light" to witness. I played several vocal tracks that illuminated the vocalists separated in the mix allowing the listener to witness the shape and presence of a person in recordings. You could tell how tall they were! It was as if the sound coming from singers was squeezed out of their bodies. No, not in the literal sense, more of a release of energy from the vocalist’s body. Not like the soul being released from the body, as in the Movie Ghost, however, freedom from a hollow heavy mix in recordings. The sound is integrated with musicians and vocalists in the performance. LIGHT! Some amps are too heavy sounding with the upper mid-bass tilted up. Guess you could say, Open sounding and airy without the sacrifice of weight. A full-bodied sound, but is not thick. Like a chorus line dancer, who is light on their feet, and able to pound the floorboards with a heavy thump when needed. Radio City Rockets come to mind.
Some Q&A With Designer / Owner Mark O’Brien We use the new OEM version of the N-Core module because it is more transparent and sounds better than the UCD module we used in the original Pharaoh. The N-Core modules are more powerful and require a higher operating voltage than the old modules, so we need to use a larger toroid to provide the higher B+ voltage.
Has the topology of the circuitry changed from Pharaoh I? Yes, the new Pharaoh is quite different from the original version and the circuit has been redesigned to achieve a higher level of performance. We use high-quality components in all of our equipment, but we did upgrade some of the critical capacitors and resistors in the Pharaoh II. In general, we believe the quality of the circuit is of fundamental importance, but better parts can improve an already good circuit.
Has the front end (tube) circuitry been improved? The new Pharaoh II circuitry was designed using a newer and much more sophisticated CAD system than the original version; this alone results in enhanced performance. Beyond that, the circuit grounding, as well as the tube design parameters, have all been improved upon.
Has any of the major specifications changed with the new revision? The biggest specification difference is the higher output power of the new Pharaoh II. It went from 185 Wpc to a 250 Wpc (conservative) rating. More importantly, the specs don’t indicate how much better the new version is. For example, the new version has a larger and higher quality power supply, which doesn’t affect the specs but improves the sonics.
Is there anything new in the headphone and Phono sections? The headphone has been completely redesigned and is effectively a single-ended version of our dedicated headphone amp (the RH-5). It features MOSFET buffers and higher output power. The phono design is similar to the original but uses better components for a lower noise floor and better sound.
Does the unit have to be on (Blue Light) for the Pharaoh to be used as a preamp? Tubes engaged? The unit does need to be turned on to use it as a preamp and it does incorporate the tubes when used in this manner.
Any similarity to the RP series of Phono Preamps? The preamp in the Pharaoh is its design. While it does have some similarities to the RP series, when you design a preamp for an integrated amp, you can optimize it for the power amp section. |
Hey @kuribo, D.B. You really have a great opportunity to show off your technical prowess and your electrical engineering expertise, by designing and building your own 6 channel amplifier. You can use your precious Bruno’s Purfi modules. Bet you miss that old B&O system.
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Exactly! So why did you post Gene’s review? And why is there so much of this Purfi stuff that is discounted, refurbed and sold used? Especially the NAD stuff? D.B. I really want to know.
Oh and to answer your stupid question I did not care for the Purfi amps nor the implementation by NAD, Nord and Apollo.
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Here you go D.B. WOW Look at it all. Then go look at USAM.
Factory Refurbished Products — Safe and Sound HQ
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The preamplifier is the actual heart and brains of the system. Almost every manufacturer recognizes this as a fact (PS Audio is not a subscriber to this) McIntosh, Pass Labs, Lab 12, EMM, Raven Audio, AGD, NAD, Audio Hungary, LTA, Simaudio, A-S, Rogue, on and on. Also it is interesting that the majority of owners of separates utilizing Class D power amplification are using Tubed Preamplifiers like LTA, A-S, AR, SUPRATEK. Quick Silver, on and on. So Mark is behind the success and makes Bruno's module sound good. Just saying and pointing this out. Have a good evening.
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@djones51 seems like a bit of a contradiction. You compare a tubed DAC in one post ? Just an observation. And yes the tube would make it sound better. @kuribo I believe it is in the HT Review interview that Bruno said his goal was a more tube like sound and that was one of the reason people were moving from valves to his Purfi amplifiers. (me I do not hear it with any of the Purfi equipped units I have listened to, may get a VTV with a tube buffer and give it another try) So valves are still the benchmark. Imitation is the best form of flattery no? I like the Pharahos II sound but I love the sound of my X200 and my Octave V70 Class A. No arguments just observation though they maybe subjective.
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Yet both modules measure the same. hmmm. Based my experience you will be in the same boat with the 23. I think NAD has implementation issues, no matter the module. I think I would look at the Benchmark amplifier.
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