Tpreaves

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
First let me state this, I do not know nor will I try to use, technical or audiophile terms. I am just a music lover and that's all.That being said, the Tempest II Magnum is the first piece of tube gear I have owned. I have heard a few tube amps and really liked the sound but was concerned about the maintenance and other quirks,i.e. weak bass, that I had heard about. I bought the Tempest off the Audiogon website after months of researching. I recieved the unit and the first thing I did was check the bias of the output tubes, a task made quick and simple by Rogue. When I listened to that first CD I thought,"This isn't that great." I kept listening and the sound got better and better. The longer it plays the better it sounds. Don't get me wrong, it sounded good from the start but it doesn't shine until about an hour, then, be ready for some great sounds. On really well recorded CD's, the musicians seem to be in the room with you. You can hear each individual instrument, not a garbled mess. The midrange is very natural sounding.Vocals, especially female, are as lifelike as I have heard from a recording . The "weak bass" thing is not an issue at all, it is very accurate and lifelike, akick drum sounds like a kick drum, the lower registers of the piano are spot on,stand-up bass is simply fantastic. The highs are crisp and clear with no annoying shrill. The MSRP is $2695 which is not a lot for a great amp.You can find good deals on used units on Audiogon and other places. Factory support is outstanding,when you call you get to speak with one of the owners!! They are more than happy to help with questions about "tube rolling" and anything else you can come up with.To sum up, the Tempest II is an amazing piece of equipment. Are there better amps out there? Sure there are, but, be prepared to spend a lot more money for one. I am completely satisfied with the Tempest II Magnum and can wholeheartedly recommend it to someone looking for a great sounding affordable tube integrated amp.

sellbywire

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Times are tough these days with the economy in ruins (but I remain optimistic for a turnaround). I had flown pretty high with a CJ Premier amp and pre-amp, but decided to sell. What to do about having tunes in my home? I have known about Rogue audio for a number of years, had listened to some Rogue amp a number of years ago, and liked the sound (but I bought CJ anyway). Having sold used my CJ for over 2x what this integrated amp cost me new, I held my breath a little. Well, I am breathing just fine, thank you. This is a great piece of audio gear. Different from my CJ preamp in that essentially what Rogue offers is a passive pre in the chasis of a power amp. In terms of sound quality, I do not miss my former CJ gear. I guess the bottom line on the Rogue Tempest II (mine is the Magnum version) is that it is an excellent musical solution for anyone. I was simply looking to 'downsize' but I did so without any real compromise at all. And my significant other finds having fewer boxes in the living room a plus.

Here's what I specifically like- Build quality seems nice. The ability to switch between 4 and 8 ohm output by the home user is also nice (to switch, my CJ amp would have to have gone back to the factory). Also, the ability to switch between triode and ultralinewar on the fly is a plus (though I am not sure I can hear much difference one way or another most of the time). Tube biasing is easy, and the company is delightful to work with. And the sound quality is definitely superb.

Dislikes- well, OK, I got spoiled with the CJ. The ability to switch sources via the remote was a nice touch (but actually rather academic because I would walk to the equipment rack to turn on the new source anyway). Also, the power cords on the CJ seemed heavier duty then what Rogue provides (is 16 gauge sufficient??) All these comments on dislikes have omitted any mention of sound quality, because there is nothing to say, and have to be taken in context of the CJ's MSRP having been nearly 3x the price of the Rogue. For that you should get heavier power cords and a full function remote.

Call me satisfied

danchurch

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.33 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $2150.00 from eBay

Summary:
It's only money, after all, though I had some doubts about improving on near-perfection. But Mark, being a master of understatement, convinced me to invest the $1,000 for an upgrade to Tempest II specification. And, of course, he was right. Superb rendering of everything from AC/DC to Handel with just enough power to drive my delightful Merlin VSM-MX speakers.

Strengths:
Effortless handling of dynamics Unrivaled musicality Lush

Weaknesses:
Could it deliver just a tad more power? (Is there such a thing as too much wattage?)

Misael

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
3.71 of 5, 7.00 votes

Price Paid:  $2695.00 from Audio Visual Driver

Summary:
I received my Tempest II last Dec., 2004. I'm from Philippines and there's only one store that sells Roque Audio and it only carry the Magnum Tempest. Since I knew that I would not buy from them I felt it would be unjust to audition the Magnum series. So when I asked AVDI to bring one in, my friends were very uneasy. I myself were in doubt. To buy one amplifier without audition seems very foolish.Although the Tempest got favorable reviews there's a few owners thats were extremely upset. So when I finally bought one I just considered it a gamble. So, I'm here most of my time enjoying the Tempest II for a month now. I played all my collections of xrcd, Super audio, 24bits CDs. And the beauty of it it runs quite cool. I'd audition VTL IT-85 and rises the room temperature.And the two Mark in Rogue Audio are very helpful and answering e-mail instantly. Make me wondered if answering email is their full time job. And would you believed, they allowed me to tube rolling without voiding the warranty. which I believed were not allowed in most brands. And I come to the point of no return... that is a tube-convert, no more solid state nor hybrid. Component used: Denon A-11 Arcam CD73 Polk Audio Lsi9

Strengths:
Good bass, great midrange, superb vocals.

Weaknesses:
Remote control needs improvement

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Rotel 02 Unison Research Unico VTL IT-85 Denon 3805