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Aragon 8008 Power Amplifier

Aragon 8008 Power Amplifier

Everybody likes a good comeback story. Well, they don’t write them any better than the Aragon 8008 amplifier. The company that immortalized the offbeat, V-notch heat sink has returned. Dating back to the distant 1990s, Aragon and its more budget-oriented sister-company Acurus were originally brands of Mondial Designs and, more recently, Klipsch. They have since been absorbed by Indy Audio Labs and given a thorough updating prior to a relaunch in 2013. In addition to the 8008, IAL also offers the Aragon Iridium monoblocks—direct descendants of the Mondial Palladium monos ($9000 per pair).

In resuscitating the brand, Indy Audio Labs has stayed mostly true to the originals but used the opportunity to apply modern materials and technologies where they would benefit most. The 8008 remains the familiar 200Wpc, dual-mono design with fully decoupled power supplies and independent amplifier circuitry. No ICs are used in the signal path. Instead, some of the latest low-noise, high-voltage discrete semiconductors are implemented throughout. Components are hand-selected for quality and reliability.

Like its predecessor, the 8008 uses two large 0.5kVA toroidal transformers to feed pairs of 35A bridge diode rectifiers. These supply signals are then filtered by more than 140,000uF of capacitance to deliver +/-70 volt power rails to each channel. The 8008 output section is built around 12 transistors per channel. The 8008 is DC-coupled input-to-output and also features several advancements in thermal management and fault protection over previous designs.

The hefty front panel is machined from solid 0.75-inch extruded aluminum billet. The Aragon name is CNC-milled directly into the aluminum, which is then bead-blasted. One of the more distinctive design elements ever applied to a high-end amp, that V-notch aluminum-alloy heatsink is still there in improved form, enhancing vertical convective airflow due to its broad fin-spacing, and allowing for front-to-back airflow on an equipment shelf (albeit a very sturdy shelf since the amp weighs in at 63 pounds). All the machining and finishing is performed at the same Indianapolis plant that provides critical chassis parts for a number of motor racing teams based nearby. The back panel houses 60-amp gold-plated binding posts, insulated gold-plated RCA inputs, and pro-grade XLR connectors.

Aragon 8008 Power Amplifier

Who says you can’t teach an “old” amp new tricks? The 8008 has added integrated Ethernet, RS232, and 12V trigger control—capabilities that afford the owner or installer the option to monitor diagnostics either at home or remotely over a home network via a computer or a smart device. IAL states that since all functions occur over Ethernet, signal-path integrity is uncompromised.

Modern solid-state amplifiers have largely purged the sonic colorations and artifacts that once prompted descriptors like gritty or grainy, ice-cold or analytical. That doesn’t mean that today’s breed all sound alike, but distinctions are no longer glaringly obvious either. Such is the case with the 8008. While it does project a subtle character, its performance is unerringly musical top-to-bottom. And by doubling its 200Wpc (8 ohms) specification into 4 ohms and opting for a dual-mono configuration, the Aragon has the reserves and dynamic headroom to meet the demands of speaker systems that present a difficult load.

Sonically, the 8008 possesses an almost supernatural degree of tonal and harmonic smoothness, a feature easily observable in orchestral string sections. Each bowed or plucked note seems to glide effortlessly from one to the next. Even during the most dramatic moments of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, violinist Anne Sophie Mutter’s dynamic and aggressive performance possessed a startling smoothness in the way notes seem to pour off the strings.

 

Tonally the 8008 hews to a neutral line, but does cast music in a warmer, mellower light—one with slightly softer corners and edges. I noted the same rounded, somewhat laid-back temperament listening to a variety of vocalists like Jennifer Warnes, soprano Anna Netrebko, and jazz artist Holly Cole. With classical music, such as Vaughan Williams’ The Wasps and Elgar’s Enigma Variations from Reference Recordings, it was as if I were sitting a row or two further back from the stage than I’m used to with my reference system.

The 8008 possesses a far better than average dimensional component, particularly the front-to-back perspective, and cleanly reveals the layering of an orchestra on stage. Compared with the upper echelon of amplifiers like MBL and Vitus Audio there is some lateral constriction of images and a slightly lowered ceiling over the performance. For instance, as I listened to Stravinsky’s Pulcinella, as open a recording as any I know, the 8008 just missed reproducing the full measure of treble air—a minor demerit overall.

A tight, bouncy bass vamp introduces Holly Cole’s cover of “I Can See Clearly,” and through the Aragon I could hear (clearly) a sure-fisted grip brimming with bass-range pace, pitch, and timbre specifics. On full view were the wing-like flutter of the strings, the instrument’s deep, dark woody resonance, plus details that included the unique transient signatures of the player’s fingers moving up and down the neck of the fretless bass (compared to the more precisely pitched, fretted neck of most electric basses). Overall the Aragon’s reproduction of bass is not as locked down as well-executed Class D or its hybrid Class D variants—a sound that at least some of my colleagues feel is unnaturally controlled. The Aragon has a more classic Class AB bloom, just a little looser with a bit more give. For some this might mean a hint of reduced definition, but to my ears it represents a very natural and realistic portrayal of low bass character.

Timbre, even during the softest orchestral pianissimos, is authentically reproduced by the Aragon. A great example is the Met/Levine Pictures at an Exhibition [DG] from 1993. It’s a wonderful and magisterial performance, not least for the sonic fireworks during “The Great Gate of Kiev” finale. (Perhaps too plodding for some but I’m a sucker for the pageantry.) In this instance I refer to the marvelous wood and nasality of the bassoon. It’s a difficult and complex voice to reproduce, but then so is the transient string detail and decaying resonances of the concert harp towards the end of Mussorgsky’s chestnut. Following the inner details of symphonic recordings of this quality was a distinct strength of the 8008.

In resolving power, the ability to disappear from the electronic chain and reveal a performance in all its transparency, the 8008 closes the gap but can’t quite match the aforementioned top-tier MBL and Vitus amps. There’s a very light veil over the stage that slightly pinches resolution and dulls the brighter sparks of transients. For solo piano it means lightning-quick arpeggio lines could be a touch cleaner, and during the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto the orchestra could have a bit more clarity and color.

The fullest realization of an amp’s performance largely depends on the company it keeps. Systems form complex relationships, and though the Aragon may not be outlandishly expensive by today’s standards a less than excellent chain of associated components will hamstring it. This was very evident during my observations of soundstage dimension and imaging. The Aragon raises its game driving well-tuned high-performance speakers, such as the Franco Serblin Accordo (Issue 239) and a reference favorite, the ATC SCM20SL. The former is a two-way bass-reflex design, the latter a larger, two-way acoustic-suspension design. Any competently engineered amplifier will drive them both satisfactorily, but achieving their full potential is another story. The Aragon truly woke up these speakers, allowing them to reproduce the finer points of micro-dynamic gradations and transient information and to further develop interior detail and dimension. For percussion this can be a revelation as the high-pitched rattle of a snare and the reverberant bounce of a family of tom-toms suddenly flower to life with greater tonal color and textural detail.

I cannot overstate the transformative nature that occurs in an audio system with a well-executed amp like the Aragon 8008. On the one hand, the 8008 will expose, even magnify once-buried system weaknesses. On the other, a good system can morph into a great one. So, raise a glass and give a hearty “welcome back” to an original. The 8008 has made lightning strike a second time.

SPECS & PRICING

Power output: 200Wpc into 8 ohms (400Wpc into 4 ohms)
Inputs: Unbalanced RCA, and balanced XLR
Dimensions: 16″ x 7″ x 19″
Weight: 63 lbs.
Price: $4399

Indy Audio Labs, LLC
5225 Exploration Drive
Indianapolis, IN 46241
(866) 559-5113
indyaudiolabs.com

Associated Equipment
Sota Cosmos Series IV turntable; SME V tonearm; Sumiko Palo Santos, Air Tight PC-3; Parasound JC 3 phono; mbl C31, Simaudio 260D CD players; mbl C51 and Vitus Audio RI-100 integrated amplifiers; Synergistic Element Tungsten, Wireworld Platinum Series 7 interconnect & speaker cables; AudioQuest Coffee USB & Firewire, & Audience au24se phono cable & power cords, Synergistic Tesla, Wireworld Platinum Series 7 power cords.

By Neil Gader

My love of music largely predates my enthusiasm for audio. I grew up Los Angeles in a house where music was constantly playing on the stereo (Altecs, if you’re interested). It ranged from my mom listening to hit Broadway musicals to my sister’s early Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Beatles, and Stones LPs, and dad’s constant companions, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. With the British Invasion, I immediately picked up a guitar and took piano lessons and have been playing ever since. Following graduation from UCLA I became a writing member of the Lehman Engel’s BMI Musical Theater Workshops in New York–working in advertising to pay the bills. I’ve co-written bunches of songs, some published, some recorded. In 1995 I co-produced an award-winning short fiction movie that did well on the international film-festival circuit. I was introduced to Harry Pearson in the early 70s by a mutual friend. At that time Harry was still working full-time for Long Island’s Newsday even as he was writing Issue 1 of TAS during his off hours. We struck up a decades-long friendship that ultimately turned into a writing gig that has proved both stimulating and rewarding. In terms of music reproduction, I find myself listening more than ever for the “little” things. Low-level resolving power, dynamic gradients, shadings, timbral color and contrasts. Listening to a lot of vocals and solo piano has always helped me recalibrate and nail down what I’m hearing. Tonal neutrality and presence are important to me but small deviations are not disqualifying. But I am quite sensitive to treble over-reach, and find dry, hyper-detailed systems intriguing but inauthentic compared with the concert-going experience. For me, true musicality conveys the cozy warmth of a room with a fireplace not the icy cold of an igloo. Currently I split my time between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Studio City, California with my wife Judi Dickerson, an acting, voice, and dialect coach, along with border collies Ivy and Alfie.

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