Finally got an Aragon 4004 MKII (Integrates with my home theater)

[Audiofreak71]

(Also posted in Solid State).

So for the past few months or so I've been debating on going back to Seperates and somehow integrate my home theater as close as possible with that. I considered getting a 5 channel amp an integrated amp and possibly a 2ch amp. Well through much back and forth trying to make a decision I came across an Aragon 4004 MKII that was local had been serviced with all new caps etc and given a clean bill of health and was aesthetically in great condition. My speakers are Vandersteen 2ce signature ii's so there a little on the laid back side and are 86db efficient and love as much power as you can give them, so I wanted an amp that wasnt warm sounding rather a little forward and was at least 150wpc. Well the Aragon is 200wpc at 8ohms and doubles that power to 400wpc at 4ohms and does 15wpc in class A and is built like a tank at 67lbs.

I've lived with the Aragon for a week now and it is a very powerful amplifier and it does it gracefully, it gives a nice balance to my Vandersteens with its slightly forward presence, throws a very wide and deep sound stage. I have noticed that it's shown me that some recordings I have listened to that I thought was good was actually very poor sounding while recordings I knew where good have escalated to sounding excellent to unreal. Im still working on deciding what pre amp I'm going to get, I first tried my Oppo udp 203 on the digital side and it did sound good but I had to turn it up fairly high to get sufficient sound. I then used my Graham slee Acession phono stage as the preamp on my analog side, this was truly an outstanding sound, very clean and everything I want my vinyl to sound like however there's no remote and I can only use it as a preamp for vinyl, that's another reason why I love the Graham slee Acession but that's another review. Back to the Aragon, so I then tried my Yamaha RXZ-1 (which sounds very good in its own right) and everything seemed to fall into place, it drives the amp properly with the right amount of volume to loudness ratio, I won't get into the numbers but I did confirm the preamp section on the yamaha was a good match for the Aragon. I could control the digital side with my oppo, the vinyl side with the Graham slee and when I want to watch movies I have that covered as well with the Aragon powering the Vandersteens and the yamaha powering the center and surrounds and I have my Harmony remote to control it all.

I'm not set in stone on this setup as I may get the Aragon 28k that the gentlemen I bought the 4004 from has or I may go with another pre, just so I can compare with the yamaha and come to a final conclusion. As for now, I'm happy as I got a really good deal on the Aragon and I am very happy with the sound that I am hearing from it and the absolute effortless power in driving my Vandersteens. I do think this is the last amp I will need for the 2ce signature's as I have gone through many to try and squeeze out that last bit of sound each time going up a bit more in Power (as per Richard Vandersteens advice give the Vandersteens as much clean power as you can give them and they will sound better as you move up the amp chain). Well he is right in saying that because this is the best I have heard my Vandersteens and I feel there is no need to go further with these speakers as far as amplification goes, until I decide to get some Quattros or maybe some 5a's. So to sum it up this amp suits my needs and is highly recommended if you need a very powerful amp that can drive inefficient speakers (it's 1ohm stable) sounds exceptional, clean top end solid and tight bottom end midrange slightly forward which works well for Vandersteens, does not get harsh when pushed ( will probably blow your speakers before it blows. Just wanted to share my experience with you guys hope you have a great weekend and happy listening.

Audiofreak71

 

[DeeCee]

I certainly like mine! I did an insanity test once with mine and blew the rail fuses (had to leave the room - it was that loud.) It's robust and very well built. I bought mine years ago used at a steal.

My only issue is that it lacks a bit of subtle finesse but that being said is well worth its MSRP; as a used amp it certainly is a bargain.

Happy Listening!
DeeCee

 

[superdog]

View attachment 1038323 View attachment 1038324 (Also posted in Solid State).

So for the past few months or so I've been debating on going back to Seperates and somehow integrate my home theater as close as possible with that. I considered getting a 5 channel amp an integrated amp and possibly a 2ch amp. Well through much back and forth trying to make a decision I came across an Aragon 4004 MKII that was local had been serviced with all new caps etc and given a clean bill of health and was aesthetically in great condition. My speakers are Vandersteen 2ce signature ii's so there a little on the laid back side and are 86db efficient and love as much power as you can give them, so I wanted an amp that wasnt warm sounding rather a little forward and was at least 150wpc. Well the Aragon is 200wpc at 8ohms and doubles that power to 400wpc at 4ohms and does 15wpc in class A and is built like a tank at 67lbs.

I've lived with the Aragon for a week now and it is a very powerful amplifier and it does it gracefully, it gives a nice balance to my Vandersteens with its slightly forward presence, throws a very wide and deep sound stage. I have noticed that it's shown me that some recordings I have listened to that I thought was good was actually very poor sounding while recordings I knew where good have escalated to sounding excellent to unreal. Im still working on deciding what pre amp I'm going to get, I first tried my Oppo udp 203 on the digital side and it did sound good but I had to turn it up fairly high to get sufficient sound. I then used my Graham slee Acession phono stage as the preamp on my analog side, this was truly an outstanding sound, very clean and everything I want my vinyl to sound like however there's no remote and I can only use it as a preamp for vinyl, that's another reason why I love the Graham slee Acession but that's another review. Back to the Aragon, so I then tried my Yamaha RXZ-1 (which sounds very good in its own right) and everything seemed to fall into place, it drives the amp properly with the right amount of volume to loudness ratio, I won't get into the numbers but I did confirm the preamp section on the yamaha was a good match for the Aragon. I could control the digital side with my oppo, the vinyl side with the Graham slee and when I want to watch movies I have that covered as well with the Aragon powering the Vandersteens and the yamaha powering the center and surrounds and I have my Harmony remote to control it all.

I'm not set in stone on this setup as I may get the Aragon 28k that the gentlemen I bought the 4004 from has or I may go with another pre, just so I can compare with the yamaha and come to a final conclusion. As for now, I'm happy as I got a really good deal on the Aragon and I am very happy with the sound that I am hearing from it and the absolute effortless power in driving my Vandersteens. I do think this is the last amp I will need for the 2ce signature's as I have gone through many to try and squeeze out that last bit of sound each time going up a bit more in Power (as per Richard Vandersteens advice give the Vandersteens as much clean power as you can give them and they will sound better as you move up the amp chain). Well he is right in saying that because this is the best I have heard my Vandersteens and I feel there is no need to go further with these speakers as far as amplification goes, until I decide to get some Quattros or maybe some 5a's. So to sum it up this amp suits my needs and is highly recommended if you need a very powerful amp that can drive inefficient speakers (it's 1ohm stable) sounds exceptional, clean top end solid and tight bottom end midrange slightly forward which works well for Vandersteens, does not get harsh when pushed ( will probably blow your speakers before it blows. Just wanted to share my experience with you guys hope you have a great weekend and happy listening.

Audiofreak71

Curious as how the Aragon- Yamaha combo is going after a few weeks of listening.

 

[Audiofreak71]

Curious as how the Aragon- Yamaha combo is going after a few weeks of listening.

It's really good and I mean that in a modest way because if I were being frank it's freakin amazing!. I don't know how many times I've been startled by a sound playing because I wasn't sure I had the right setting on because it's so quiet. Talk about black background, this is the definition of it. Soundstage is wide and deep with a holographic image that makes you feel like you stuck your head in the recording studio as the artist is playing/ Singing. I could go on and on but yeah it's extremely good and I've owned my fair share of amps in the past and this one has something special to the sound signature that really has great synergy with my speakers and we both know these speakers love clean power and this amp is giving them just that. I'm still on the fence as to whether I'm going to snatch up the Aragon preamp, only reason I am is because the Yamaha is doing such a great job but im wondering if I'm able to squeeze out just a bit more good sound from the Aragon preamp, guess there's only one way to find out.

One thing to add though is about the gain, I have sufficient gain using the Yamaha even though I have read the Aragons are a tough let than usual amp to drive properly, but when I used my oppo as a preamp I had to turn it way up to get sufficient volume. I also used my Graham slee Acession as a preamp which it can be used as it has a volume control but no remote. It too had to be turned up pretty high to get sufficient sound but using both of those mentioned as preamps were dead quiet. I actually thought the Graham slee wasn't hooked up properly because there was no sound when I dropped the needle, but then bam! The song started playing, just wished there was enough gain. Anyway the Yamaha has to be turned up a bit but you can tell it's driving the amp properly and the synergy between the two is Above par to my ears.

Audiofreak71

 

[superdog]

Cool.A couple of questions if you don't mind.Are you using the phono section on the Z1?What do you think of it ?Also what are some of the examples of music you have been impressed by and those that proved to be less.

 

[Audiofreak71]

Cool.A couple of questions if you don't mind.Are you using the phono section on the Z1?What do you think of it ?Also what are some of the examples of music you have been impressed by and those that proved to be less.

I'm not using the phono section of the Z1 I'm using my Graham slee Acession phono stage, but I have tried the phono on the Z1 and it's no slouch at all not quite up to the Acession but I would say it's a bit better than the average good entry level. If your referring to how the Aragon resolves music, I will say that it makes all good recordings sound exceptional and if its an average recording it will show the flaws greatly of said recording. I've thrown all music at the Z1 Aragon combo and have been overwhelmingly impressed with there performance. Also to note, the bass the Aragon us able to bring out of my Vandersteens Is a visceral experience, I knew they did bass good, but I did not know they were this good, this is bass I'm used to hearing from much more costly systems. Im glad I'm able to experience all the praise people talk about from this amp, I feel that I took a step in the right direction and one more step closer to that end game.

Audiofreak71

 

[StimpyWan]

Member MagicMarksy (Dr. Michael Alan Marks), our resident Infinity Guru, is also a big fan of Aragon. It's one of the few amp brands he recommends, that will be capable of driving the refurbed Infinity's he sells. Plus, since they seem to get along with Yamaha so well, it definitely makes me want one! Or an Acurus A250. I'd be happy with either.

 

[Audiofreak71]

Member MagicMarksy (Dr. Michael Alan Marks), our resident Infinity Guru, is also a big fan of Aragon. It's one of the few amp brands he recommends, that will be capable of driving the refurbed Infinity's he sells. Plus, since they seem to get along with Yamaha so well, it definitely makes me want one! Or an Acurus A250. I'd be happy with either.

That's good to know, always good to talk to people with gear that you own so as to learn about or share info. I can second his recommendation, this amp is really a brute and I believe can drive most speakers easily and the sound signature is very nice. I was a little worried the Z1 wouldn't be able to drive the Aragon properly based on the Aragons difficult input load, however once put into use the Z1 does excellent.

Based on paper the Aragon Z1 pairing would work however I have learned in life that you truly can't judge a book by its cover, so I was a bit hesitant to get excited about the two working, but they do and the synergy is very good. Still going to get an Aragon or like preamp to compare but for now I'm very happy.

I would say go for it, either amp is very good, I was actually looking at Acurus and almost scooped up one and then my 4004 mkii jumped at me and I had to get it, but I honestly feel I would have been happy with the Acurus.

Audiofreak71

 

[Audiofreak71]

Cool.A couple of questions if you don't mind.Are you using the phono section on the Z1?What do you think of it ?Also what are some of the examples of music you have been impressed by and those that proved to be less.

Maybe I read your question wrong about what examples of music I have been impressed by and ones I haven't been impressed by.

I listen to a wide variety of music so when am streaming I usually use Tidal Masters when doing serious listening on the digital side and there are many artists to choose from with new ones added daily. On the analog side for serious listening I usually break out my MFSL 45rpm of Dire Straights (Brothers in Arms) MFSL, Muddy Waters (Folk Singer)Ahmad Jamal (Marseille) to name a few but there's many many more. Some albums I thought would sound great but I have been disappointed in are MFSL Billy Joel (The Stranger) Cyndi Lauper (True Colors) America (Greatest Hits) there's more but those stand out as I love all three albums but there recordings don't meet the standards especially disappointed with the two being from MFSL.

Audiofreak71