rogue audio m150 owners

Chrissain, I own a Rogue 90 and found that the KT88s (Penta Labs) were reading "pretty darned tired" within a year. They still sound fine, though, and I could not distinguish them sound-wise from a fresh set.

If you retube your amps, consider something other than EHs. They are a reliable tube, but they don't sound as good as some others. Even though the Pentas sound very good, I won't recommend them as they have failed frequently for me; of the 8 or 10 I have, 4 have failed, some while very young.

My next set will be Genalex Gold Lion KT88 Reissue Tubes that most people really love.

Tweak, I recently bought a Bel Canto Class D amp (the 300 watt stereo version) which is surprisingly good. In the end, I could not bring myself to replace the Rogue with it (although I wanted to) because there seems to be a magic something the Bel Canto can quite match; very close, but not quite.

I had been driving a set of Dali Helicon 400s and just recently traded those out for a set of Dynaudio Contour S3.4 which the Rogues drive well, but surely are working harder to do so.

Bob

I had M-150s' for three years and had to re-tube them every year.

hey guys !!! Thanks for such prompt replies ! I will try to respond to your answers with the least amount of typing possible. first off, my amps are plugged into a shunyata hydra 8, so I dont think thats the issue. I have also tried the bel canto ref 1000 monos, I like the rogues better with my system,although the bass was more controlled
with the bel cantos. I have revel f32s for speakers and I was really interested in the dynaudios, somthing in the contour line, but that is getting ahead of myself. What is about the EH kt88 sound that you dont like ? the problem is I want my cake and eat it too ! I love clear open sound , but not at the expense of body in the midrange or
thinner sound. I have heard other people who dont like the
new genelex tubes, So what is it that you like about them ?
I was thinking about some SED kt88s, anybody heard them?
last off, Jsbail, what did you retube with ? was your amps blowing tubes , or was the sound not as good after a year ?
thanks for all your answers !!! Chrissain

My Rogue M-150's are connected to a JC Audio ISO 1100VA power conditioner and use stock EH tubes.I use my system on weekends only and have no isues with tubes failing.I don't have a tube tester so I am not sure how strong my tubes would read.Speakers are the Aerial 10T .The sound is fabulous and I highly doubt any digital amp can come close to that sound.Just last night I was listening to "Elvis Greatest Jukebox Hits" on CD and the soundstage was wide,deep and clear with different instruments sounds floating around.I could easily hear the breath on Elvis Presley during lyrics.Enjoy your amps.
George

> What is about the EH kt88 sound that you dont like?

I like them fine, but I felt the Penta Labs were better in just about every way. When new they also test much higher than the EHs, so in general it sounds like they just produce more power. Definitely not thinner sounding.

I have not yet tried the Genelex tubes, but 3-4 people I know that have tried them prefer them. They are next for me.

> I was thinking about some SED kt88s, anybody heard them?

I have a set and they look EXACTLY like the Penta Lab tubes and I don't know but bet they are made in the same factory as the Pentas.

For what it is worth, I bought the set I have from a guy who clearly preferred the Genelex tubes.

Bob