On In a Silent Way , the Hana EL did not generate as much radiant, glowing energy as the Ortofon 2M Black; instead, it surrounded Miles's trumpet and Herbie Hancock's keyboards with a more restrained but burnished glow that let my mind wander through the myriad polyrhythms and chord changes. The Hana EL was less detailed and transparent than the 2M Black, but it countered with an easygoing, tube-like, musical charm.
The Sphinx V3's MM/MC phono input did proclaim the virtues of analog.
Back to the Maggies
I connected the $995 Mytek HiFi Liberty DAC into the $1595 Rogue Sphinx V3 using Cardas Iridium interconnect ($250/1m pair) and used Cardas Clear Cygnus loudspeaker cable (about $1319/2m pair) to drive the $1400/pair Magnepan .7 quasi-ribbon panel speakers. This complete under-$6000 system made music flow and pulse via a transparent, super-detailed soundstage that filled half my room. It made recordings sound corporeal and overtly sensuous.
After J.S. Bach, the first classical composer who really captured my attention was Claude Debussy. I was a stoner-artist, and I loved him for his sensuous, painterly chromaticism and the way light flickered through his compositions. Today, he is marketed as drowsy mood music. No matter. I still need a good stereo to intoxicate me with his washes of rich tones, especially on piano. I experienced no New-Age drowsiness when Russian pianist Nikolai Lugansky made "L'Isle joyeuse" (Debussy: Suite bergamasque 24/96 FLAC harmonia mundi/ Qobuz) sound like edgy avant-garde with a solid, serious low register and a dancing, light-filled upper register.
The Sphinx V3 made the modest .7 Maggies sound like the best speaker ever. What more could I want?
Headphones
Except for the Schiit Ragnarok, I can't remember getting excited about any headphone amp included with any integrated amp. But Mark O'Brien said the V3 has "a completely new headphone circuit based on discrete MOSFET devices." He added, "I have used it with a variety of headphones, and I am pretty sure it will drive most of the difficult ones out there." So, as always, I started by using HiFMan's venerable but hard-to-drive HE6se ($1299) planar-magnetic, open-back headphones. The HE6se are only 83.5dB/mW sensitive with a 50 ohm impedance. They need gain and power from an amplifier. The Sphinx drove them to only moderate volumes. The sound was sweet and detailed but not tight and lively.
Next, I wanted to see what the Sphinx could do with the exquisite-quality, easier-to-drive ZMF Vérité dynamic-driver closed-backs ($2499), which present a 300 ohm load at 97dB/mW sensitivity. Loadwise, the Vérité is the closest I could get to the venerable Sennheiser HD 650, which many potential Sphinx owners might already own.
Okay, I know this is hokey audiophile-nerd stuff, but there are three minutes of wind sounds on "Chaos," Björk's introductory track to Vespertine – A Pop Album as an Opera (Live) (24/48 FLAC, Oehms Classics/Qobuz). I've listened to that wind dozens of times, but it never sounded as much like real wind as it did here. This wind track was suddenly very intriguing. The entire live opera held my attention and showed me subtle things I'd never noticed before. That experience testifies to the balance, acuity, and engagement factor of the Sphinx headphone amp.
My only criticisms: On a wide range of programs, with a variety of easy-to-drive headphones, the Sphinx headphone amp displayed a slight but consistent gray veiling, and—horror of horrors—the remote doesn't work when the V3 is in the required Standby mode during headphone use.
The Sphinx V3's headphone amp is not as powerful, dynamic, or transparent as the Schiit Ragnarok's, but it's closer to that than any others I've auditioned.
In sum
The Rogue Sphinx V3 is an unpretentious working-person's amplifier. It delivers music with an eager expressive energy, in concert with a forgiving musical nature. I compared the V3 with the original Sphinx using the Harbeth M30.2 and P3ESR, as well as the Magnepan .7 and KEF LS50. With each of those speakers, the improvements were not subtle. The V3 was always more exciting and engaging than its now-classic forebear. I promise, you have my word: The Rogue Sphinx V3 will someday be remembered, like the original NAD 3020 integrated amp, as one of the greatest high-value audio products of all time.
I connected the $995 Mytek HiFi Liberty DAC into the $1595 Rogue Sphinx V3 using Cardas Iridium interconnect ($250/1m pair) and used Cardas Clear Cygnus loudspeaker cable (about $1319/2m pair) to drive the $1400/pair Magnepan .7 quasi-ribbon panel speakers. This complete under-$6000 system made music flow and pulse via a transparent, super-detailed soundstage that filled half my room. It made recordings sound corporeal and overtly sensuous.
Except for the Schiit Ragnarok, I can't remember getting excited about any headphone amp included with any integrated amp. But Mark O'Brien said the V3 has "a completely new headphone circuit based on discrete MOSFET devices." He added, "I have used it with a variety of headphones, and I am pretty sure it will drive most of the difficult ones out there." So, as always, I started by using HiFMan's venerable but hard-to-drive HE6se ($1299) planar-magnetic, open-back headphones. The HE6se are only 83.5dB/mW sensitive with a 50 ohm impedance. They need gain and power from an amplifier. The Sphinx drove them to only moderate volumes. The sound was sweet and detailed but not tight and lively.
Next, I wanted to see what the Sphinx could do with the exquisite-quality, easier-to-drive ZMF Vérité dynamic-driver closed-backs ($2499), which present a 300 ohm load at 97dB/mW sensitivity. Loadwise, the Vérité is the closest I could get to the venerable Sennheiser HD 650, which many potential Sphinx owners might already own.
Okay, I know this is hokey audiophile-nerd stuff, but there are three minutes of wind sounds on "Chaos," Björk's introductory track to Vespertine – A Pop Album as an Opera (Live) (24/48 FLAC, Oehms Classics/Qobuz). I've listened to that wind dozens of times, but it never sounded as much like real wind as it did here. This wind track was suddenly very intriguing. The entire live opera held my attention and showed me subtle things I'd never noticed before. That experience testifies to the balance, acuity, and engagement factor of the Sphinx headphone amp.
My only criticisms: On a wide range of programs, with a variety of easy-to-drive headphones, the Sphinx headphone amp displayed a slight but consistent gray veiling, and—horror of horrors—the remote doesn't work when the V3 is in the required Standby mode during headphone use.
The Rogue Sphinx V3 is an unpretentious working-person's amplifier. It delivers music with an eager expressive energy, in concert with a forgiving musical nature. I compared the V3 with the original Sphinx using the Harbeth M30.2 and P3ESR, as well as the Magnepan .7 and KEF LS50. With each of those speakers, the improvements were not subtle. The V3 was always more exciting and engaging than its now-classic forebear. I promise, you have my word: The Rogue Sphinx V3 will someday be remembered, like the original NAD 3020 integrated amp, as one of the greatest high-value audio products of all time.
