Reviews of Attainable Hi-Fi & Home-Theater Equipment


Reviews of Attainable Hi-Fi & Home-Theater Equipment


To Hans Wetzel,

I enjoyed your thorough review of the Rogue Audio Sphinx. Wondering if you’ve spent any time with the Peachtree nova220SE? The latter recently fell into the price range of the Sphinx and getting them side by side is futile. I think I understand the technical differences, which keeps me leaning towards the Sphinx as I plan on using it primarily for record playing. I have a pair of decade-old Vienna Acoustics Mozarts (I understand their current model is far more advanced) and Pro-Ject's Debut Carbon [turntable]. Currently using an old Denon AVR-3802, which we can both agree is fueling my desperate search (I’m in audio resurrection mode). Any insight is appreciated. Cheers.

Jay F.
United States

The Rogue definitely has a phono input, while the Peachtree requires an external phono preamp to be record-friendly. That alone might swing your decision. Certainly, you'll get a lot more power out of the Peachtree (220Wpc into 8 ohms for the Peachtree compared to 100Wpc out of the Rogue into the same load), and that current might be required for those Mozarts of yours, which, at a glance, do not look to be the most efficient speakers out there. But provided you're not going to pound your speakers to outrageous volume levels, I suspect that the Sphinx will have no trouble keeping up with you. Should you require an external DAC, there is a litany of them between $300-$500 that should more than suit your needs. The Rogue is certainly a bit utilitarian, but, as you can tell, I loved its sound. Accordingly, the Sphinx seems an easy answer here. . . . Hans Wetzel