When Editor Jim Austin asked me to review the new Rogue Audio DragoN monoblock amplifier, my first thought was, “Isn’t that Herb’s beat?”
A quick scan shows that Rogue Audio has been prominent in Stereophile. The magazine has reviewed quite a few Rogue Audio products, including the RP1 preamplifier, the several versions of the Sphinx integrated, the Pharaoh II integrated, and the Stereo 100 power amplifier.1 Indeed, Rogue has had a a near-continuous presence over the past decade on Stereophile’s coveted “Recommended Components” list. That’s an impressive track record, and accessibly priced tube gear has been Herb Reichert’s forté.
As a new Stereophile reviewer, that led me to a moment of panic: What if I get it wrong? Then I thought of something I read in this very magazine: Don’t think about the sound. Focus instead on how the review component impacts the music. And so I shall.
About the DragoN
The DragoN monoblock is the latest amplifier from Rogue Audio’s Mark O’Brien. The DragoN is a hybrid of tubes and class-D, using Hypex’s class-D NCore module in the output stage. Hence the big N in the name of the product.
Rogue Audio calls this its “proprietary tubeD circuit.” Rogue says the DragoN combines power, musicality, and finesse for “dynamics and transparency without any of the edgy, etched, or grainy sound that often accompanies solid state designs.” That you can read on the web, on the product description page.1 I asked Rogue General Manager Nick Fitzsimmons to expand on the concepts and design choices that make the DragoN monoblock different from Rogue’s other amplifiers.
