Price Paid:  $0.00 from Audio Emporium

Summary:
I had been debating whether to buy a tube or a solid state amp for two years. I was using my 5 channel Rotel as my main amp to drive my Definitive 3000's and it was time for a change. I had the Audio Research 300.2, Mac 402, Audio Research VS110 and the Rogue 150 Mono blocks in mind to purchase. l decided on the Rogues for a number of reasons. I like the idea of mono blocks and at 150 watts per, I figured that they had plenty of power. I like the sound of tubes and the Rogues give you a great open sound. The top end is sweet and the bass is strong. For my speakers, the bass ability of the Rogues was not an issue, the Definitives have powered subs built in. It is nice to know, however, that if I change speakers, I have and amp that can keep up. The Rogues are great sounding.

Let's face it, if you are an audiophile like me, you like tweaking the gear. I don't mean buying pebbles or things like that, I mean practical tweaks, like speaker placement for example. The Rogues need to be biased ocassionally and it is quite simple to do with them. They have a built in bias meter. I like the idea of biasing them, gives me a "hands on" feeling. If you think that that NOS tubes makes the amps sound better you can change the input tubes. You can even call and ask Mark O'Brien, one of the designers and founder of Rogue for suggestions in this area or any other matter concerning the Rogues. He will cheerfully answer you. I am still enjoying the stock tubes for now. This brings me to another reason I went Rogue, tech support is excellent. You call them, they talk with you or call you back!! Rogue is made in the Good Ole USA. I like that.

If you want, you can also switch playback mode from ultralinear to triode. Triode is sweeter while ultrlinear is more transparent. The imaging is great in both modes. Choosing one may be difficult. Either way, your speakers will enjoy one of these modes, and so will you (if not both modes).

I like the way the amps look. I bought mine in black. Simple and understated. When I set them up there was no hum or undo noises, just clean and concise. They don't call attention to themselves in a decorative sense and they don't call attention to themselves when they play music. What more could you want.

I kow what more you could want! You may want to buy a well built, super sounding amplifier whose company backs up it's product, and sells at a good price. Well at under four grand, they are reasonable and a bargain. I couldn't get the Mac or Audio Research Mono's for a price like that. Hey, I am not trashing these other companies because they are also great, but with all the reason's I've listed, the Rogue mono's spoke to me. I answered and I recommend them whole heartedly.

I am using an Audio Research SP16L preamp, the Rotel 1072 CD player as a transport to the Musical Fidelity DAC, power supply and tube buffer, Perspective turntable with Blackbird cartridge and as phono preamp, the Conrad Johnson PV8. The PV8 has a killer phono stage built in. The speakers are the Def Tech 3000's. Now some people say that the Def Techs are not "audiophile" speakers. Well I tell you what, you should hear them with the Rogues. I like it! But as it goes with this hobby, everything will be upgraded in the near future, Except the Rogues. They stay for a while.

Strengths:
Clean looking, great sounding, versatile(mode switching) Great Price. Built in the USA

Weaknesses:
The amp has showed me no weakness but Update the manual. There is no longer a ground lift switch on the back of the 150 and the manual still pictures one..

Similar Products Used:
Audio Research, Conrad Johnson

Price Paid:  $2100.00

Summary:
Although every other component in my system other than my turntable is tube based I always believed that I needed a solid-state power amplifier to deliver the tight articulate bass that I like.
My reference amp had been the BAT VK-500 with Bat Pak that had been upgraded from an Aragon 8008 that had been upgraded from Linn. After buying a pair of Quad 988 electrostatic speakers that replaced my modified Magnepan 1.6 QRs the musical magic was gone. My research concluded that Quads love tubes so I embarked on a quest for a tube amp. I decided on the Rogue Audio monoblocks, with KT88 output tubes, because all of the reviews that I read confirmed that they held a grip on the bass that was untubelike without sacrificing that midrange magic and they accepted XLR inputs which I have learned over many years usually provide a better sound.
Thanks to all who influenced my decision. These are wonderful amps that can be run in triode (75 watts) or Ultra Linear (150 watts). I have had a lot of fun trying out both modes and for most of the music that I play I use Ultra Linear because it is more immediate and subjectively more accurate and detailed. The triode mode is softer and gives a slight euphonic spin on the music that is usually too soft for me except on over bright cds that were mixed for radio. Perhaps if I had solid-state components upstream I may prefer the Triode mode. In any case it is nice to have the choice.
The largest surprise was that the bass is better than the Bat VK-500 both in power and articulation. So much for my belief that solid state is always better than tubes in this regard.
The midrange is accurate and inviting.
The highs are extended.
The greatest compliments that I can give this amp is that it is neutral across the frequency spectrum, involving and dead quiet. I thought that my previous amps were quiet but now the only thing that I hear when music is paused is the fan in my Power Plant. I never used to hear this so obviously there was other noise that masked it. Music plays without drawing attention to any instrument. By comparison, the BAT projected the highs into my room forward of other instruments. The midbass hump that I have is from the Quads and not from the amps.
Soundstage size and depth are on par with the BAT, however, the Rogues are much more transparent. Remember that Quads are very revealing of everything upstream.
Compared to the pricing of competitive products and the raved about customer service, the Rogue Audio M-150 monoblocks seem to be a bargain. I can only say that they are the best that I have ever had in my system and are a wonderful match with my electrostatic speakers.

Strengths:
Bass, neutrality, low noise, price

Weaknesses:
Look at bit "solid state" and tube biasing is manually done.

Similar Products Used:
BAT, Aragon, Linn have been owned but many other have been auditioned.