Music Reference RM9 - user comments please

Not sure what Roger did from I to II, but I do know that he does makes this changes unless they are real and substantial, so as Clio9 says, that might very well be a worthy improvement - the RM9 is a classic, might as well go to MKII.

Thx for the input guys. A phenomenal amp.
I have sent an email to Roger inquiring about the upgrade.
Clio09 - can I ask a few questions?
How did the sonics change with the upgrade ?
Do u remember what got better what worse - or was it all good ?
What speaker/s are you basing the impressions on ?
Much appreciated.

You should go to AudioCircle and join the Music Reference forum, you'll find lots of answers to your questions, and a possible reply from Roger himself, or Music Reference lunatics that know the equipment well.

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?action=circles

When I owned the RM-9 I was using Spendor 1/2e speakers. The RM-9 was the only tube amp I tried in my system that I liked with the Spendor's. Normally I have used solid state with them. At the time I owned the RM-9 I lived just a few miles from Roger. So I took the amp over there and he bench tested it with me. Darn if it didn't operate nearly 100% to spec, and put out more watts than its rating.

The upgrade includes the addition of chokes, and new caps in critical places. I think he makes some other changes as well but forget what they are. Roger also does a thorough inspection of the amp and brings it to full spec in all areas. Upon picking up the amp the bench test indicated it was putting out nearly 125 watts/channel. Up about 20 watts from the previous test. As for the sound, I felt the MkI was a bit tubey in nature and with the MkII you will be getting a more transparent and neutral presentation. I myself liked that. I did end up selling the RM-9 and somewhat regretted it. Now I have both an RM-10 MkII and EM7-12v SET from Roger with much more efficient speakers and these sound wonderful.

Be patient with Roger on emails. He is hard to reach as he is quite busy. I suggest you try to reach him through Sal at Audio Summa. You might get a faster response and more information to help you make a decision on whether or not to upgrade.

"transparent and neutral presentation" seems to be his design goal, with no apologies to SS, but with the bloom you can only get with tubes.