Rogue Audio and Audio Research Comparisons

@mulveling looks like someone has some fantastic experience with various manufacturers components.  That's what makes this hobby fun.  I'm glad you think Rogue amps are quite good.  Definitely enjoying mine and from my experience and Rogue offers a LOT of value. I agree the midrange can be a little dry at times however,  rolling in NOS tubes helps. I inserted a pair of Mullards in the 2nd slots in my Primaluna Evo 400 preamp behind the Brimars in the front slots and that helped richen things up.  

@samzx12 

Sell your gear and get all Primaluna :)

mulveling:

Try the Rogue RP9 preamp with the Apollo Darks... Mark even says that the RP9 is "airier" (his term).  I do wonder what will happen to this model since it is based on the Russian tubes (hope there are other sources).  Do you find the Apollo Dark amp's bass a little less dynamic or impactful?

I did try the RP9 with Apollo Darks. Ref 6 or VAC Master is a better match in my system, even with the Apollo Darks. Actually the older Rogue Athena was a better match too. Hera II sounded really good but was too microphonic and noisy. RP9 sounded the most solid-state like out of all (and the Ref 6 is a hybrid too, though mostly tube). If my system was too warm and dark, the RP9 would be a great fit. Yes, it is very airy (so is the Ref 6). But I still feel the Master and Ref 6 are more refined and nuanced.

At least with the RP9 and Athena, a quad of 6H30 shouldn’t be terrible to source for a while and each set should last a long time. The ARC Reference components use 7 of these tubes each, and I'd be a little nervous if I didn't have spares.

The Apollo Dark’s bass impact and dynamics are superb. What did you mean "less" in reference to? Actually it can sometimes be TOO much here, with certain preamp / source and tube combinations (I like to use 12BH7 in place of 12AU7 which definitely contributes to this). I don’t like it to swamp the music, so system matching must be done with care. But it’s got more on tap there than the VAC 200iQ monos, for sure.

When I first bought Audio Research Ref 75Se last year and listen,I did not found it is such a good amplifier compared with Audio Research Old one VT100 MK iii.

The sound is different style from VT100 MK iii. When I listen and listen everyday, I realize 75SE is a big step up from VT100 MK iii, although I still love VT100 MK III.

My understanding for the amplifier right now is that  if the amplifier do the emotional narrative or not.

REF 75SE  in my opinion might be the top 10 best amplifier in the price under $10000.  Now there is REF 80s and the price is almost 50% higher.

Have no experience on Rogue Audio.