2. amps-preamps
  3. 1289028336

Rogue Audio 99 or CJ Classic Preamp?

I'd like to upgrade my Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum integrated amp to a separate preamp and amp combo. I know I want the RA M-180 monoblocks, but I'm still undecided as far as the preamp is concerned. It's a trade-in with my dealer who carries RA, CJ and BAT. He recommends the RA Stereo 99 line stage (I already have a separate phono preamp), but the CJ Classic is about $600 less expensive so I'd like to get your opinions on the choice. The Rogue has no doubt an edge over the Classic in many aspects: remote volume control, adjustable gain settings, mono switch, and separate power supply. The Classic, however, has pretty good reviews and I've always wanted to own a CJ.
In the alternative, I'd also consider another brand/tubed preamp in the $2,000 range. The rest of my system: VPI Classic, Lyra Delos cart, Camelot Technologies Lancelot phono preamp, Silverline Audio SR-17.5 speakers. I'd appreciate your opinions and suggestions.
actusreus
actusreus OP
733 posts
 
Reynolds,
This is great info; thank you! I set the impedance back to 8 Ohms and so far I like what I'm hearing.
Regarding the crossover; did you do it yourself or did you have the dealer do it for you? Also, where did you get the parts from and how much did it cost?
rusty_jefferson
8 posts
 
Since you're open to other brands, consider either Musical Design or Modwright. Simple, customizable, affordable. I recently replaced my Musical Design SP2-B preamp with a new (and higher level of modification) SP2-B. I auditioned the older one in a friends system who was running a Rogue 99 Magnum. He only had to listen for a couple of minutes to hear the difference. He bought my preamp, sold his 99 on Agon, put $500.00 in his pocket, and has a better sounding system. It doesn't look as fancy as it did, but it does sound significantly better.
reynolds853
386 posts
 
Actusreus,

You are quite welcome.

I did the crossover myself. If you are reasonably handy with a hot glue gun and a soldering iron, it's not difficult. In order to fit the larger capacitors on the board I made a little bridge. Please send me an email and I'll send you a picture of what I did. I'll be happy to make the bridge for you and send it to you. In this case the pictures I send you will be worth a thousand words.

Also, the pictures I have will show the Mundorf silver/gold/oil capacitors that I put in the speaker. However, I ended up not liking the sound and changed them out for Duelund capacitors and they sound great.

Again, please send me an email and I'll send you links and pictures.

The 3.3 micF Duelund VSF copper caps are about $200 each at partsconnexion.com, and you'll need two.

With the Mundorf s/g/o caps I used two 1-ohm resistors in series to give the required 2-ohm total. When I switched to Duelund I was also going to switch to Duelund resistors but broke one of the Duelund resistor leads when I was putting the crossover board back in the speaker. So, I just reinstalled the Mundorf resistors. The Mundorf resistors are $15 each, and you'll need four of them, 1-ohm each.

So, the project will cost about $460. I got the Duelund caps when they were on sale - I don't recall exactly, but I may have paid $170 each for them.

Oh, and you'll need some solder. I used WBT. If partsconnexion doesn't have any, I'm sure Madisound.com would. That'll take the cost of the project up to about $500 I guess.
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