WOW! The 90 must really be something then, cause my Atlas Magnum + Sunny speakers is quite dynamic, impactful and spacious.
But remember, your comparo is not exactly apples to apples, as it is separates vs Cronus integrated. And cronus is built to a price point which is only $200 more than my Atlas amp, so it is somewhat compromised by a modest line section. Using a decent separate line stage w my Atlas brings it up a notch over the Cronus. I've compared both in my rig.
To relate another story, this time more a direct experience.....
My buddy has identical speakers, and at one time he was using Rogue M150 (or maybe 180's?). Anyways they were the big and pricey monos, switchable to triode. The sound was incredibly dry, analytical, clinical, and agressive. Cold with no emotional pull or musicality at all. It sounded like bad SS to me. Could not believe I was listening to the same speakers, or --given how nicely my modest Atlas works w the speakers -- that it was an amp in the Rogue lineup, for that matter!
That he got stellar results w subsequent amps (PrimaLuna, Music Reference, VAC) says that the problem was not elsewhere in the chain, or with the room.
Just goes to show that sonic character can even change w/in a particular mfr's lineup, and pricier and bigger is not necessarily "better".
