The Rogue Stereo 100 also proved more "invisible" than my long-beloved PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium 35Wpc amplifier ($2195). Driving the Harbeth M30.2s, both were true reference-quality amps. The Rogue was more unobtrusive, readily disappearing from my awareness.
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The XA25 may be more transparent in the sense of the air between performers being freshly oxygenated and free of haze, but I can always tell when the Pass is driving my speakersI can feel its hyperdynamic presence. It had a way of disappearing, leaving vital, living music hanging in the air between the Harbeth M30.2s. To my taste, driving my speakers in my room, the triode-connected Stereo 100 seemed nigh on perfect. Both played diverse music with the authority of excellent design. Watt for watt, the XA25 stands tall and truthful next to any amplifier putting out less than 100W. The sound of the Rogue Stereo 100 was not as strikingly transparent as that of Pass Laboratories' XA25 25Wpc amplifier ($4900), nor did it feel more powerful. In a blind test, I doubt I could identify it as a tubed amplifier. More obviously, in both modes, the Stereo 100's sound was unsubtly not tube-like. The differences just described were actually subtle, and both modes of tube operation were enjoyable, but for different reasons. I preferred Triode mode because the most obvious difference between it and UL was an important one: Triode delivered bigger, deeper, more CinemaScope soundstages populated with denser, more vivid three-dimensional aural images. UL drew my attention to the tempo Triode showed me more mélodie Française. Manoff's pedaling was more obvious in Triode. UL maximized bass punch and string plucks, emphasized keystrokes and Manoff's left hand Triode favored the upper octaves, emphasizing decays, sustains, and harmonics. UL was more forceful and immediate, but occasionally peaky or hard.
In Triode, voices and instruments felt denser, more tactile, more a part of their surroundings.
I felt I was receiving less information, that those empty spaces had once been occupied by texture, color, light, and shade. In UL, music's empty spaces seemed too empty, in a slightly unnatural way.
Ultralinear mode was more sharply focused than Triode. The bass was tight and clean, maybe slightly lean, with no overhang or fuzzy harmonic additives. Both modes delivered detailed sound that was neither warm nor cool, just well balanced. In either mode, the Harbeth M30.2s were obviously well-tempered and well-nourished, power-wise.