The new Rogue pharaoh II slams

Rolling tubes can make a significant difference. Before I upgraded to the RP9, I had the RP7 and the Telefuken tubes were more articulate, more dimensional, wider soundstage and better base.  They were not "cool" or solid state sounding, but not syrupy warm either.  Better than the default tubes.  Mark at Rogue suggested I make the switch and he was, as usual, right "on the money."

The RP9 is built around the Russian 6J30P tubes and does not as such lend itself to much tube rolling, although there are a couple brands of 6H30P tubes. Thus far, the default tubes are excellent.

I've owned a lot of nice gear.  When I had to downsize, I needed an all-in-one solution.  The Pharaoh (original) may not be perfect, but Mark has assembled a stellar product; a great value with all the phono-pre-amp I need for now and the foreseeable future.  They say he designed it for his personal use, something for his vacation home.  A great original design.  In the period of time that the CM went through 3 versions with many tweaks, the Pharaoh remained unchanged under the recent redesign.  I wanted to sweeten the vocals, so Brent Jessee sold me a matched pair of Mullard 1960's OEM 12AU7's that did the trick.  All I have to do now is enjoy the music.

@drgregc as a previous Sphynx v3 owner I always looked forward to the next Pharaoh.  Alas I decided to try my first tube amp before that but thats another story.  Perhaps you meant to say "until the recent redesign" instead of "under the recent redesign" as the latest version (among other things) now incorporates their "TubeD" design like the DragoN amp and uses a much more recent iteration of Hypex output modules.  For the money the Sphynx v3 was outstanding yet it didn't use TubeD design.  Another outstanding aspect is that Rogue will perform upgrades to existing units at fair cost as they release changes.

Update, I have now installed Rca clear top 12au7s and they offer greater clarity and bass punch over the gold lion I was using, the soundstaging is huge on some recordings which is super fun! 

A local dealer has a show room. There are always a bunch of guys hanging out  on Saturdays listening to different products that come in to the shop. They usually play everything through a Pharaoh. Always been impressed by its SQ and the wide range of speakers that it drives well. I wouldn't hesitate to own one.