American-made integrated tube amplifiers

Marco...

If one buys a used American product, it allows the original owner to perhaps upgrade within the same company.

It's not a hard and fast rule of course, as the person selling the used SLI-80 may be upgrading to something European like an Electrocompaniet set-up.

Then...the person who made the amplifier in Norway may buy a Chinese made amp.

Then...the person who made the amp in China can buy some rice.

Then...

Crazy world isn't it?

By the way, I used to import/distribute a line of Chinese high-end audio components, one of which was one of the amplifiers Facten mentioned in comparison to the Rogue.

The manufacturer was, at best, ambivalent about the quality of the products they were turning out. Rather than focus on some sort of core competency and go about maximizing the sonic and build quality of the products therein, there was constant churning of what was already waaayyyy too big of a product line. Their solid state and digital stuff broke far more than it worked. Whenever a component broke down, their reaction was that it was my, or worse, the customer's problem. They built it, put it in the box, and threw it over the wall, and at that point, they felt their obligation to it was over and done with. In their defense, the tube amplifiers they put out were quite reliable, but still a lot was left on the table.

In end, I didn't see much point in continuing on with the venture so I told them it was time for me to end the relationship. Now, I'm part of a new partnership intent on building the type of Made in the USA product that is being sought after here in this thread and I believe we'll become quite successful, but for now, as I said in the first post of this thread, I recommend the Rogue Cronus from my good friend, Mark O'Brien, to you unflinchingly.

Ejineffect said:

"I wonder how the Cronus fares up against Cayin , Prima Luna or Ming Da. At least these makes are mentioned in A-gon forums. Hard to find much discussion on Rogue. Why no hype? I know, I know,...DON'T BELEIVE THE HYPE"

Hummm...a generic search of Rogue, Primaluna, Cayin, under amps/preamps.... turns up more results for Rogue, than the other two combined?

Maybe you are not searching correctly?

Dave

Trelja - that sounds like a great goal. Manufacturing does need to come back here to this country in a big way, and with it a return of pride of workmanship. I only hear good things about Rogue here. I can echo the same kind of recommendation for Mike Sanders stuff, which is bomb-proof. Over the years I've owned five different pairs of his amps, the longest for six years. Not a hiccup from any one of them. When I accidentally broke a speaker terminal Mike took care of it in short order. Another very big thumbs up for Dan Wright of Modwright, whose components I currently use and favor highly. His new amp is outstanding, but unfortunately beyond the budget of the poster or I would have included it as a recommendation. Built by hand in Amboy, WA. He will be working on an integrated project at some point soon, but for now he has only the KWA150 (bridgeable power amp). Disclaimer: Dan is a client of mine. I also like Atmasphere products which are made here, but again, beyond the pricepoint. There's certainly no shortage of U.S. manufacturers of excellent gear, but the big challenge is making it affordable. If you can do that Trelja, my hat's off to you! Another good alternative comes to mind just now, the Portal Audio Panache integrated, which I think is around $2K. I'm not sure if Joe Abrams has those built here or elsewhere. It's a damn fine little integrated if you don't mind not having a remote. What about Odyssey...is Klaus making an integrated. His amps are bargains. Your amp-speaker interface is going to be important, of course, but that's a whole different thread, perhaps.

Ellery - thanks, as always, for the lesson in global economy. Ellery made my head spin with his mastery of that subject when he came over to visit recently. I bow in deference to his far greater knowledge on the subject. So how many used SLI-80's to feed a family of four in China for a week, Ellery? And what impact does it have if those purchases are put on a credit card via PayPal? How many Chinese families could you feed, clothe, shelter for a year and put their kids through Harvard Law on the bonus of an AIG exec...and still have enough left over to buy a Rogue Cronos? Ah, but I digress.

Jax2, as always, thank you for your insights. I agree 100% that it's imperative that we shift production back to these shores.

You'll perhaps be interested to know that while you stated that AtmaSphere suits the bill, but is outside of the pricepoint, they're exactly who we're partnering with in my reference above. We intend to introduce in this year all tube pre and power amplifiers, made right here in the USA for $995 - our integrateds will be a bit higher than that.