Rogue Audio. Reliability issues? Anyone?


I recently have been loving an Atlas Magnum power amplifier. I had a tube go bad, a fuse blow, and now red-plating. All of this could be related. But I am trying to decide if I want to pay shipping both ways ($90 each way), pay Rogue’s $175 bench fee (minimum) and then spend ungodly amounts on tubes that are hard to find.

I have friends, two to be exact, inform me that Rogue is notorious for this crap and their amplifiers are money pits. Is this normal tube stuff? Should I go for it or cut my losses and buy something else. I really love the way it sounds amd I really want to love Rogue. 

128x128nickrobotron

The amp uses KT120s

Per the amp’s manual:

Using the bias tool, slowly turn the screw on the potentiometer that is adjacent
to the switch until the bias meter reads ~ 35 miliamps (mA). Turn the screw
clockwise to lower the bias and counterclockwise to raise the bias. Note that
there are two ends on the bias tool. Using the end with the recessed
screwdriver will greatly facilitate this operation.
9) Flip the switch back into the “run” position thus disengaging the tube from the
meter circuit.
10) Repeat the above steps for each of the tubes in both channels.
As it is a quick operation, the tube bias should be checked on a regular basis. Note
that the bias will change slightly on a day to day basis as the wall voltage
fluctuates. Constant biasing will wear out the bias potentiometers prematurely so
do not adjust the bias unless it is more than 4-5 mA from the correct setting.

The Op didn’t state how many approximate hours he has on the tubes, but unless they are all nearing end of "expected life" , there’s no reason to replace all since each is individually biased. That said, the bigger immediate issue for the Op based upon a google search is that new KT120’s appear to be out of stock at a number of vendors.

 
Not sure I follow this statement by the Op "So much attention went into matched tubes. How am I supposed to just replace one tube and throw out all that paid-for attention to detail? "
 
Other than selecting matched quad when ordering there's not a whole lot of attention required

 

They might have got somewhat of a bad rep for their cathode-bias amps of 20+ years ago. That would be the 88 and M120 models. These amps threw out a whole lot more heat, which can cause problems.

Their current tube amp models are manually biased via trimpots & built-in meter, and these have proven quite reliable. With any tube amp, there’s no 100% perfect fail-safe for a sudden catastrophic tube short. I had this happen with an Electro Harmonix KT90 in my Rogue Apollo monoblocks, circa 2010. It dusted a metal oxide resistor and singed ~ 1cm of circuit board trace. Trace was still working but the solder mask got burned off so Rogue replaced the whole board under warranty. So yes, a bad tube can cause collateral damage that requires service. I switched to KT120 tubes after that incident, and they’ve been exceptionally reliable. Never had another problem in the next 12 years of Apollo ownership.

Tube amps with advanced auto-bias & protection circuitry might have a slightly lower risk, and P2P wired amps have no PCB board to damage. Never had the slightest issue with my VAC auto-bias tube amps so far, though I’m only 4 years in with these amps.

In your case, I would definitely send the Atlas in. Bit of a bummer, but better to get this sorted now. It's a great little amp, and Rogue customer support is fantastic.

Power tubes are matched for Gm and Ip.

Bias controls static Ip [plate current].

Gm is how much the tube responds to drive change.

Mismatched tubes have more 2nd harmonic, i.e. fat tube sound coloration.

I match drivers, triode halves and power tubes. The difference is clearly audible.

See ieLogical Valve Tester.

@nickrobotron Tube gear is pricy to own. I had a GL KT88 eat its cookies at about 1k hours. [It’s silly to run w/o hour meters.] So now I have GL KT88 spare quad, spare pair and spare.

Most tube gear is pretty simple and easily repairable with a bit of knowledge and a schematic. Of course, if you’re careless it can kill you. $175 seems cheap enough.

I have had an RP-1 for years.  At about 2 years had to replace stock tubes. Then about 5 years had to send it in and have the front control panel board replaced as volume control went wonky. Proly $300 total.  They turned it around promptly. 
 

sounds great and I expect more years of service.  Good value product in my opinion.