An honest opinion about upgrading?

I had the Rogue 99 magnum pre and a pair of mono block 120 for a few months and while the 99 pre is pretty popular by demand, I found it was not very detail and transparent. Couple of buyers listened to it with my ML SL3 and they came with the same conclusion. If possible, you may get a ARC LS 25/ 26 as loaner and get some SS amp as Bryston 4bsst, you may be in for a surprise. In my set up, the Rogue 99 would not cut it for me, especially at low level listenning.

I own the Rogue 90 and 99 and they drive a pretty tough load, Dynaudio Contour 3.4s. I've tried a few more powerful SS amps (Plinius and Bel Canto), and I've liked none as much as the Rogue. More bass control as expected, but the Rogue stayed.

I also drove Paradigm Studio 100s for a time with the Rogue amp, and I thought it did just fine.

I recently tried a Cary 98L pre-amp and as Andrewdoan indicated, it was much more detailed and had a much more extended top end. Do I prefer it to the Rogue? I dunno, but if detail and transparency are your targets, you might audition pre-amps. By the way, I use Sylvania 6SN7s in the pre-amp.

If you are not running NOS signal tubes, you should give then a try. They really improve both the pre- and the amp. Better power tubes help too. And those are all cheap relative to a new piece of hardware...

Please do not get me wrong, Rogue makes some very good products for the money, it's a matter of personal preference here. It is subjective and bias when come to 2 channel audio. John Crossett recommended the Bryston 4 Bsst and the Audio Reseach SP16 while I believe the SP16 is dark and bloating in the bass department. As Bobmclean feels his sytem lacking the details and transparency, I would recommend to swap the pre to the Ls25/Ls26 and then amp to the Bryston SS amp. The Cary 98L pre is one of the clean pre-amp where you do not have to crank up the volume for optimum sound quality as with the Rogue 99.His Paradigm S8 ( do not know the version) is a very nice speaker. Good luck and happy listenning.

obviously you are getting a lot of different advice.

I recommend you try different cables and maybe new tubes before selling anything as substantial as your amp or speakers. It is just plain easier to buy/sell wire or tubes than components. You can get big improvements with good tubes too. Also selling components you will probably take a bigger hit (money wise) than selling and buying wire etc...

Just my two cents and also fwiw you can chase your tail forever in this HFOCs (hobby for obsessive compulsives)

Just my two cents and also fwiw you can chase your tail forever in this HFOCs (hobby for obsessive compulsives) Philjolet (System | Threads | Answers)

From Wikipedia:
"The phrase "obsessive-compulsive" has become part of the English lexicon, and is often used in an informal or caricatured manner to describe someone who is meticulous, perfectionistic, absorbed in a cause, or otherwise fixated on something or someone."

"These symptoms can be alienating and time-consuming, and often cause severe emotional and economic loss."

Wow Philojet, at least according to this Wikipedia definition, many here including me may be guilty as charged.