Lvk47, I can only give you my oppinion on the Rogue 99. I owned a Magnum 99 that I bought new; it replaced a AES AE-3. The AE-3 is a great sounding preamp at a fraction of the cost.
I bought the Magnum 99 never hearing it. I read user reviews and the Stereophile review that Chip Stern wrote, and thought I would give it a try. Heck if I dint like it I could always sell it , as I have done in the past with equipment.
The Rogue had great soundstaging both wide and deep, but it was missing that tube charm or even presence that I grew to like. I tried many different NOS tubes hoping that might wake it up. I now had a good selection of NOS tubes, with a slight improvement in sound. Changing tubes is a chore...after removing the screws you have to fight(pry) the cover off, this was always a pain. The tubes sockets are attached to the curcuit board and there were times that I felt they were going to be pulled out before the tube. The Rogue is not a quiet preamp....you always know its there....at this price I thought it should have a black background with no noise at all. When using the remote on the Rogue, you will hear a sound like a vibrating cell phone coming through both speakers; I found this to be annoying.
I kept going back to the Stereophile article that says its sound is somewhat dry, solid state with a touch of tubes. You might want to read that review; they gave the Rogue good marks. They have world class customer service with Mark Obrien there to help you any question you might have.
Having bought the Magnum for over $2100 new, and finding it not to my liking, I sold it only a few months old for $1400 with a 4 NOS tubes. The new owner only had it for a short while and he also sold it. You can find used 99's here on AA at any given time.
Yes the Rogue is a nice piece of equipment, but I was not impressed at all. I bought a Cary SLP98, I find it superior to the Magnum 99....except that the Rogue does the soundstaging better.
good luck
I bought the Magnum 99 never hearing it. I read user reviews and the Stereophile review that Chip Stern wrote, and thought I would give it a try. Heck if I dint like it I could always sell it , as I have done in the past with equipment.
The Rogue had great soundstaging both wide and deep, but it was missing that tube charm or even presence that I grew to like. I tried many different NOS tubes hoping that might wake it up. I now had a good selection of NOS tubes, with a slight improvement in sound. Changing tubes is a chore...after removing the screws you have to fight(pry) the cover off, this was always a pain. The tubes sockets are attached to the curcuit board and there were times that I felt they were going to be pulled out before the tube. The Rogue is not a quiet preamp....you always know its there....at this price I thought it should have a black background with no noise at all. When using the remote on the Rogue, you will hear a sound like a vibrating cell phone coming through both speakers; I found this to be annoying.
I kept going back to the Stereophile article that says its sound is somewhat dry, solid state with a touch of tubes. You might want to read that review; they gave the Rogue good marks. They have world class customer service with Mark Obrien there to help you any question you might have.
Having bought the Magnum for over $2100 new, and finding it not to my liking, I sold it only a few months old for $1400 with a 4 NOS tubes. The new owner only had it for a short while and he also sold it. You can find used 99's here on AA at any given time.
Yes the Rogue is a nice piece of equipment, but I was not impressed at all. I bought a Cary SLP98, I find it superior to the Magnum 99....except that the Rogue does the soundstaging better.
good luck