Jolida 1501RC hybrid integrated vs. Rogue's Sphinx

Now you're entering into the world of tubes so you'll have to take into consideration the speakers you intend to drive. Do your speakers need SS to get the most out of them or are they tube friendly?

I've heard the 90 watt Cronus Magnum and it is excellent. The new Cronus has the KT120 output tubes, so hopefully someone here can give you an answer.

Cronus Magnum is a very fine tube integrated and sounds fantastic with the right speakers to match.

HAve not heard the Sphinx hybrid yet. Need to get down to my local Rogue dealer and see if he has it. I would expect similar good results but not best performance with the same speakers as CM. CM works best with higher efficiency, higher impedance "easier to drive" speakers and also well with planars, like Magnepan. Sphinx I would expect good results with all speaker types, including smaller modern designs that are less efficient, harder to drive, and attempt to squeeze more low end bass response out of a smaller box and drivers. With planars like MAggies, either might come out on top, not quite as sure, but I would give the edge to CM.

Thanks to Lowrider for the additional comment.

Mapman, I have a pair of Acoustic Zen Adagios. They are 88db efficiency and are 6 ohms. They use a transmission line design, but I think the bass is only about a C+/B-

I drive them with Red Dragon M-500 digital monoblocks which 250RMS each. Also, I have a Bel Canto PRe3 pre-amp line stage. The combo sounds good to very good, but like every other obsessed audiophile, I would like to eke out some additional performance.

Financial concerns have forced me to post a sell classified on AG for the combo separates. Whether the Rogue Sphinx or the CM can deliver more performance is a question up for grabs. I have never used a tube amp or pre-amp with the Adagios, and I may be sacrificing some aspect of performance by dropping to an integrated amp.

Lastly,a CD player will be my only source, after all is said and done, through both Rogue IA's, supposedly have good phono stages. I am looking for the best sound, and easy of operation. The Sphinx offers a chassis you can put a CD on top of; the CM is a only for a rack or side by side installation. Thanks again to all for your advice.

Sunnyjim, I see Rogue specs these amps at 100 wpc/8 ohms. Give Mark a call at Rogue and ask about driving your 6 ohm speaker. I'll bet the Class D Sphinx would not have a problem, but the Cronus has 8 ohm and 4 ohm taps so you'll need some advice.
The guys at Rogue are very cool to talk to.

I had a chance to listen to both the Sphinx and Cronus Magnum recently, just a few weeks ago. Visited my local dealer to hear the Sphinx specifically, and while there figured I'd branch out and check out all-tube options as well. We tried a fun exercise - we went through the CD collection and tried to find what we thought would be the lowest-fidelity, most poorly produced and possibly lousiest-sounding CD we could...and we chose a Great White CD from the late '80s. I wanted to hear how it would sound on the CM vs. the Sphinx, to see if an all-tube design would make a difference with a "bad" recording. The rest of the system was an ARC CDP and a pair of Proac Studio 140 MKII speakers, with Nordost ICs and speaker cables. All together, some nice gear.

On the Sphinx, the Great White CD sounded lousy...borderline unlistenable. It was harsh, it was bright, it was strident, it was just not enjoyable. Which is nuts if you think about it - between the Proac, ARC, Nordost cables and Sphinx it was probably $22-23K worth of equipment, and the result wasn't pretty.

On the CM, it sounded worlds better. Dramatically better. Still a poorly produced CD, but the output was just more musical and less fatiguing.

I offer this anecdote not as criticism of the Sphinx - I enjoyed listening to it through the Proacs with other music, and The Cowboy Junkies Trinity Session sounded great through the CD7 into the Sphinx and Proac. But everything sounded better on the CM. It's very possible that was just a matter of system synergy with the Proacs, and through any other speakers the Sphinx would sound better. So take this anecdote for what it's worth. Our test wasn't scientific, just going back and forth with one CD between two amplifiers to see which we liked better. But I did change course and ended up buying an all-tube integrated instead of the Sphinx that I originally went to demo. I didn't get the CM, but only because the dealer had just taken in a mint pre-owned ARC VSi55 with new tubes and the money was similar - if the ARC hadn't just come in, I'd have walked out with the CM.

And side note, I did take the CM home for a night and tested it with my B&W PM1, which are difficult-to-drive speakers, and that was a great combo. So I wouldn't hesitate to pair the CM with speakers that people might otherwise consider best with solid state, depending on your specific room and speakers, of course.