[Vulcan00]

I would be very interested in how  your compairsom turns out. So please let us know

[jdodmead]

I hooked up the UltraValve yesterday and at first it sounded really exaggerated with bass, I finally figured out that my dual subs were the problem. I turned off the subs and everything came together, I no longer worry that 35 watts are enough to drive my speakers. There's plenty of power, but the volume knob is quite a bit higher, but not a problem.
Frank is right the mid range pulls you into the music and I've really been enjoying this amp. I'm now playing Muddy Waters Folk Singer(cd) and it sounds great.
I got about 3 hours listening yesterday and I'll get a couple hours tonight, then it goes back. The Rouges are supposed to show tomorrow.
It's hard to concentrate when this is playing....sounds so good
Jeff

[toobluvr]

I'll keep you posted, just don't be expecting a ton of audiospeak, I pretty much keep things short and sweet.

The best way if you ask me, Jeff!   

Way too much posturing, pompous audiophool blather,  and splitting of hairs on these boards, if you ask me.  For examples, see current threads on the "audio wanker" and "de-bunking the myths".     

[avahifi]

Probably the "too much bass" issue with your sub woofers turned on was a gain difference between the Ultravalve amp (voltage gain of 15, typical of many tube amps) and the solid state woofer amps (probably a gain of 20 to 25 - - - typical of solid state amps).

To blend the Ultravalve and main speakers to your subwoofers, (assuming you need the subwoofers at all with the outstanding deep base performance of the Ultravalve amp) you likely will just have to make some careful adjustments downward in the level to the subwoofers, and probably cross them over at a lower frequency.

Regards,

Frank Van Alstine

[jdodmead]

The Rogues showed up yesterday and I've got a few hours of listening. They seem to be a bit lighter on the bass than the Ultravalve and the Odyssey's. They are in the ultralinear setting and later on I will try out the triode. They do lean toward ss sounding with a touch of tube, I'm hoping to get more of the tube sound out of the triode setting. Not that they don't sound good, in fact so far, i'm trying to decide what to do with the Odyssey's. Keep them for my 2nd system or sell them.  The Rogues do get pretty warm, but I was expecting worse, after all I have read about them.

Jeff

[flintstone]

The Rogues showed up yesterday and I've got a few hours of listening. They seem to be a bit lighter on the bass than the Ultravalve and the Odyssey's. They are in the ultralinear setting and later on I will try out the triode. They do lean toward ss sounding with a touch of tube, I'm hoping to get more of the tube sound out of the triode setting. Not that they don't sound good, in fact so far, i'm trying to decide what to do with the Odyssey's. Keep them for my 2nd system or sell them.  The Rogues do get pretty warm, but I was expecting worse, after all I have read about them.

Jeff

I'm a little surprised about the bass...mine are almost Krell like (I had Krell Ksa-250, and Krell Kav-500 before I bought my Rogues). Maybe your tubes are getting old?....does it have KT-88's installed?

I've found my Magnum 120's to be fairly hard on tubes, or maybe I just use them to much 

I'm going to call Mark at Rogue audio and ask him about running Kt-90's in mine at my next tube replacement time.


Dave

[jdodmead]

Might be a stupid question(probably is), but does he mode have an effect on the heat generated? I was off on my statement that I expected more heat. I was checking in back by the tube, but the real heat is in the front, by the transfomers. I have it in triode now and I'm wondering if I switch it to ultralinear will the heat be reduced? I am loving the sound right now but not sure that I can tolerate the heat. I'm worried about the amps themselves and the components above them in my rack. I don't have options on placement.
Thanks
Jeff

[flintstone]

I doubt there will be much difference?... I use ultralinear with my fairly hard to drive Apogee speakers because triode didn't do it for me when I tried it. My amps are out in the open....hot, but no hotter than the Krell they replaced  5 years ago.

The Rogue 150's don't run as warm as the 120's I have read.


Dave

[jdodmead]

 The Rogue's are really growing on me. I have them in the triode mode and now are running off the 4 ohm taps. They have a really balanced sound, all the harshness I was hearing is gone now, I love the depth and imaging. They seem to have power to spare, even in the triode mode.
  I still keep shopping, buy I can't seem to find anything else that I want to experiment with. I did go listen to a Music Reference RM10 last week, but it seemed light on the bass. It could have been the set up, Merlins close to the wall and close togethr, with a lot of foam absorbtion around the room. I could save a lot of money buying one of those used. Someday when I downsize, I will probably pursue one of Frank's Ultravalve's, that is a sweet little unit.
 I am getting close to listing my Odyssey's, it's just hard to let them go. I do have to say that the Lorelei speakers are exceptional and they will be around for a long while.
Thanks for your input
Jeff

[FullRangeMan]

I now have Odyssey Stratos Mono Extreme's with Kismet innard's, VTL TL-5.5 mk II pre and Odyssey Lorelei speakers. The system sounds great, but I keep thinking that a tube amp might bring it up another notch. I went to visit Frank Alstine this morning to listen to his new UtraValve amp, but it's hard to tell how it would sound in my set up. It's lower powered than other amps that I've been considering from VTL, Audio Research, Rogue and Mac. Frank said that it would drive my speakers just fine. I know he has a 30 day satisfaction return policy, but I would hate to buy and return. Just talking out loud and looking for similiar experinces and any opinions.
I am happy with how it sounds currently and it may just be an upgrade bug that I'm going through.
Thanks
Jeff

Hi,
Congratulations for your Odyssey, they are very hi quality SolidState amps.  Iam in the same situation that you, but my amps is a low price SS.
I suppose there is millions of great SS amps owners custumers over the world, that would like to change for a tube amp, even listening a fine SS amp.    I realize some years ago tube amps are the real thing for sound quality.
Cheers,  Gustavo

Addendum: 
Other reason I like tube amps, is they are hard to get out of fashion, unlike SS amps that get obsoleted in afew time, as the stunning good Pass X and XA lines were super-exceeded by the even more stunning X.5 and XA.5 series.

[FullRangeMan]

I pulled the trigger on a pair of Rogue M120 Magnum mono's. I should make out ok, if they don't work out. I read a lot of good things about them and the only bad thing is that they generate a lot of heat. That's something I don't get from the Odyssey's.
Thanks
Jeff

Hi,
Tube heat is good only If one live in a cold area indeed.   100% Class A output in tubes or SS amps always made a lot of heat, I do not understand how the news chinese Krell amps are Class A output and do not made alot of heat.
Current MarkLevinson amps also do not made alot of heat, each maker have a different system to made a virtual Class A output.
Regards, Gustavo

[Ericus Rex]

The Rogue's are really growing on me.
Jeff

That's sort of been my impression of Rogue stuff too.  It's not one of those companies that totally "Wows!" you at first listen.  But it's solid stuff that delivers.  All too often, the stuff that does wow you in the beginning gets old really quickly.  Congrats!   

[decal]

That's sort of been my impression of Rogue stuff too.  It's not one of those companies that totally "Wows!" you at first listen.  But it's solid stuff that delivers.  All too often, the stuff that does wow you in the beginning gets old really quickly.  Congrats!   

I had the same impression when I first got my Rogue.I'm really glad I have a lot of patience because after a couple of weeks it turned into the best amp I have ever owned.Give it a few weeks and you will be rewarded with great sound.

[Frihed91]

I agree with everything said before me, the only thing I would add is that I found that I needed less tube power to push my speakers properly.  I went from 200 per channel SS to 100 tube and then down to 20/40 manley mahi monoblocks and am very happy.  My speakers are 91db efficient, the Lorelei are around 89 if memory serves me, so 30/50 should be fine. and the AVA is right in there.

That is because you didn't need as much SS power (or any other kind of power) in the first place.  Your speakers are 91dB sensitive.  But what dd the electrical load and phase diagrams look like?  The load that the speaker imposes on the amp is just as important as the sensitivity of an amp in determining if a given amp can drive a set of speakers well.  For example, an 82dB-sensitive speaker with 10 Ohm average impedance and a minimum impedance of 8 ohms can be well-driven by a single 300B (8w) in a small room with chamber music, jazz, and all but the biggest fastest music. 

The tube amp industry is going crazy these days, building huge 200-400W power amps to drive big, demanding multi-driver speakers.

Tube owners would be doing themselves and their pocketbooks a big favor by looking for well-designed 2-way loud speakers that are relatively sensitive and easy to drive to mate with amps in the 8-40W range.  If you cherish organ-jarring base, then I would stick to SS, but tube amps and good 2-ways can deliver excellent, tight, deep bass down into the mid- and even lower teens.