Now for the particulars. The Hydra offers up 100 wpc into 8 ohms, and 200 wpc into 4 ohms.  It retails for $2995. For comparisons sake, the Medusa doubles the power and retails for $3995. The amp features two 12AU7 tubes, high quality binding posts, XLR and RCA input jacks, and a custom machined silver faceplate that is classic Rogue. The build quality is typical Rogue too. That is, if anything, it is overbuilt!

Set Up & Listening:

Setting up the Hydra was a breeze. I used a Transparent AC Cord and drove it with my Audio Research SP16 tubed preamp, connected my Transparent speaker cable, and then let the soft circuit startup do its thing. When stabilized, which takes about thirty seconds, the LED on the front panel goes from amber to blue.  Speakers were my reference Thiel CS2.4’s. I let the Hydra burn in for about five days before doing any critical listening.

To cut to the chase, this is a superb amplifier. The key words that came to mind were transparent, dynamic, controlled, and effortless. All the virtues of a really good solid-state amp, and none of the drawbacks. The Hydra was extremely transparent to sources, but served the music first. Forget all your preconceived notions, if you have any, about Class D amplifiers. Rogue has found a way to make it work. Having tubes in the signal path is just a brilliant idea, and obviously contributes much of the pristine qualities I heard.

I called upon a wide variety of music that I have been recently using to evaluate gear to put the Hydra through its paces. First up was Home Again, the debut from British neo folk/soul singer songwriter Michael Kiwanuka.  He reminds me greatly of a modern Richie Havens, Van Morrison, or Tim Hardin. His album even has a vintage feel, with tape saturation and classic reverb splashes. The album features Kiwanuka’s acoustic guitar, flute, some orchestration, and his soulful voice. The lead-off track, “Tell Me A Tale”, has a great live ensemble feel, very much like Morrison’s Astral Weeks album. Through the Hydra I was able to “see” deep into the room and hear the space, fabricated or not, around all the instruments.  There was a great sense of rhythm and drive.

My pick for one of the very best albums of last year is Ray Lamontagne's sublime God Willin & The Creek Don’t Rise. Not only is the music of the highest artistic order, but it is superbly recorded as well. It is rare to hear a batch of such incredible songs on one record these days, but Lamontagne pulls it off. The title track, “Beg, Steal, or Borrow", “This Love Is Over”, and “New York City Is Killing Me” are ones for the ages. The Hydra was able to connect to the music, provide superb texture and imaging to the sublime arrangements, and beautifully frame Lamontagne's otherworldly voice.

Little Broken Hearts, the devastating new album by Norah Jones, is also well recorded and, interestingly, produced by Danger Mouse. The opening track, “Good Morning”, is a densely layered lullaby that builds and swirls around Jones’s voice. The Hydra untangled all the complex layering easily. The second track, “Say Goodbye”, features a persistent, catchy bass line, multi-tracked vocals and, again, the Hydra provided all the drive and nuance needed to embed this song in my head for weeks on end.

About three quarters of the way into the review period, I installed the Hydra in my second system, driving Harbeth Compact 7ES3 speakers. I used the Belles Soloist 3 preamp, connected via Transparent interconnects, with a Squeezebox Touch, Marantz CD player, and a Lindemann DAC as my sources. The Hydra fit right in and gelled beautifully in this system. It brought a pristine clarity and transparency as it had in my main system.  As a matter of fact, it made my Harbeth’s come alive, producing a soundstage width and bass quality I have not yet heard in this room.

One of my favorite recent jazz albums is Quartet by legendary guitarist Pat Metheny and piano genius Brad Mehldhou.  The Hydra delivered the full richness of this excellent recording, with the opening track, “A Night Away” simply dazzling with its texture, rhythm, and drive.  A bit more understated, but no less captivating, is the 96/24 download of Diana Krall’s When I Look In Your Eyes. The opening track, "Let’s Face The Music And Dance”, was simply stunning in its elegance, and flow.  Her all acoustic band had a gorgeous, woody texture, and her voice was beautifully rendered.

In operation, the Hydra was utterly noiseless, ran cool (except for some heat directly over the area where the tubes are installed), and proved to be 100% reliable. All Rogue products come with a solid warranty, which should give any potential buyer peace of mind. Not that I would worry. My experience with Rogue products is that they keep on trucking.

Conclusion:

There is rarely anything new and, for that matter, exciting these days in high-end audio outside of computer audio, which is spreading like wildfire.  However, every once in a while a new product raises an eyebrow and commands some investigation. The Rogue Hydra and its larger sister, the Medusa, are such products. There have been reported cases of Class D amplification and tubes being used in the same circuit before, but I don’t believe any have come to market from a legitimate company like Rogue.

In my opinion, this hybrid experiment, if you can call it that, is a smashing success. But to be clear, it probably took all of Rogue’s engineering knowhow to pull it off. And pull it off they did. They obviously designed the circuit well, but all the other classic amplifier parts were chosen carefully and engineered into the equation. Couple that with superb build quality and a product that is made in the U.S.A. and you have a recipe for success.

I can unconditionally recommend the Rogue Hydra amplifier. Tried as I did, I could not hear any sonic flaws normally associated with older Class D designs. There was no trace of flatness, treble edge, solid-state haze, or any such related issues. On the contrary, there was richness, openness, and an overall refined air to the sound. The only caveat I can offer is that, while the Hydra will have no trouble driving any speaker, matching is important (as with any amplifier type). Other than that, I would suggest opening your mind and ears and give the Hydra a go. At just under $3000, the Rogue Hydra represents a tremendous value like most, if not all, Rogue products.

Specifications

Review System 1

Review System 2

Comments

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Mike  - President     |2012-06-03 21:26:44 Gentlemen, you are incorrect in stating the following: "There have been reported cases of Class D amplification and tubes being used in the same circuit before, but I don 12   0

Andre Marc  - Hi MIke   |2012-06-04 07:17:07 Hi Mike: Sorry for overlooking your company. In doing research for this review I contacted a number of designers and they were not aware of any other company other than Rogue producing this type of hybrid. I personally had not seen your products at shoes, and I have not read any published reviews, or any forum posts concerning your products, so again apologies. Feel free to link any reviews or information here. 0   0

Abe Collins  - Just a Hobbyist   |2012-08-04 19:03:52 Hello Andre - I too own the Thiel CS2.4 speakers and my main reservation in trying the Hydra is its power output. Did you feel that it was sufficient at higher volume levels driving your Thiels? I am very tempted to try the Hydra but I wonder if I should spend the extra $1000 on the more powerful Medusa. On another note, I have owned a couple Class D amps in the past. My biggest reservation in trying the Rogue Class D amp is based on my experience with some ICEpower designs. While they do sound pretty good, I have found that the bass definition was not quite what I wanted. Yes, they went deep and were impactful but were a little 'muddy' and not very distinct on the very low notes. I realize that Rogue chose to use and modify the Hypex modules. Did you find the bass to be as well defined as the other amps you mentioned in your review? Thank you, Abe Collins - Colorado USA 8   0

Abe Collins  - Tried a Rogue Hybrid Class D amp for myself   |2013-03-03 10:09:54 I bought the larger Rogue Medusa Hybrid Class D amp which is essentially the same as the Hydra but with 200wpc instead of 100wpc. Like you, I also own the Thiel CS2.4 speakers. I found the Rogue Medusa to be veiled, slightly compressed, a bit rolled off, and overall very disappointing compared to some of their tube amps. I also own the Rogue Stereo 90 Super Magnum and the Rogue Cronus Magnum integrated. Both sound wonderful and are incredible bargains in high-end audio. I wanted to give "Class D" another try thinking that Rogue may have something special in the Medusa. I was wrong. I sold the Medus after just a couple months as I am much more impressed with their Cronus Magnum integrated which is presently my main amp. As for "Class D" I thought the Rogue Medusa was actually a step down compared to many other Class D amps I have owned including the Wyred 4 Sound SX500 mono blocks and the Nuforce Ref 9v2. I remain "Class D" gun shy after my most recent experience with the Rogue Medusa. It was step backwards for Rogue and Class D in general. I am a real fan of Rogue tube gear but their much hyped Hybrid Class D products are not ready for prime time. 0   0

Bill Bailey  - Worst of both worlds?   |2013-03-04 08:29:07 That's my question for Abe Collins. I've owned a couple of class D amps and neither were "veiled, slightly compressed, a bit rolled off" as Abe reports. I note that from technical reviews that the Rogue hybrid amps have very "tubish" distortion profile which the reviews attribute to the tube front-end. I think class D amps tend to share the characteristics of some A/B solid states, such as Bryston: you might like that or not. 0   0

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