To deem Aragon 8008ST amp as substandard does indeed defy my experience. Markyou I have lived with this amp for eight months and have not noticed any
dryness, or graininess worth quibbling over. Perhaps my overall system
and room complement each other quite well. This amp is a winner if one
compares the performance one gets for the price.

I must say that I am mystified by anyone who would rate this amp 2 or 3 stars. I thought long and hard before investing in a 2-channel amp, especially agonizing over whether it was worth an extra $500 for the 8008BB. I don't need balanced inputs and I am skeptical of the real value of the other "additions" provided by the BB. The price of the ST was right, so I ordered it completely sound unheard via mail-order (One Call, by the way, is the BEST mail-order audio company I've come across. The people are friendly and not pushy. I got what I ordered on the day they told me it would arrive).Before I give my evaluation, here is my history of amplifiers. I started with the NAD 925THX, a solid low-budget 5-channel amp. Great for home theater, totally flat and lifeless for 2-channel stereo. I "test-drove" the ATI 1505 and it absolutely blew the NAD away. I immediately disconnected the NAD and replaced with the ATI. But I am ever so picky about the sound of 2-channel audio. Yes, the ATI was a VAST improvement over the NAD, but I still just wasn't quite satisfied. So, I began looking for a 2-channel amp.
My usual rule of thumb when upgrading is to look for components twice the price of the one I owned previously. This will almost always guarantee noticeably superior performance. The Aragon 8008ST was approx 2.5x the price per channel of the ATI, so it was on my "short list". No other amp I am aware of supplies this much power in this price range.
So, what is my experience with this amp? At first, I would have agreed with those that noticed the hissy treble straight away. Sibilants were not particularly smooth. The midrange was a bit too laid back for my taste-- I like to have the singers "in my lap". However, the bass was noticeably superior right away, deeper and more controlled. Nevertheless, I started to worry--had I reached the point of diminishing returns with the ATI? I decided to give the amp time to "burn in".
Now, I never believed in "burning in" components. I always believed that this was a sly ploy perpetrated by high-end audio dealers to get you to be patient with a high-priced component so you couldn't bring it back within their 24-hour or 7-day "satisfaction guaranteed" period.
However, I must say that the key to the Aragon 8008 is PATIENCE. I strongly suspect that reviewers who panned this product on this site never gave it a chance to properly burn in.
This amp mellows at the top end and expands in the middle over time--weird, but true. The thing that amazes me most when I listen to this amp is eerie way it places instruments and voices precisely in space from left to right. The sound no longer seems to emminate from the speakers, but fills the room in 3-D! Singers voices are square in the middle where they belong, as if my center channel were on.
Overall, I am very satisfied with this amp. The only thing I can criticize is the depth of the music it portrays. I can imagine a deeper soundstage (though I've never heard one in my living room)and possibly a bit more "presence" in the music. I wonder if I would have to buy a $5,000 amp to get this, or if my vision of the perfect amp simply is technologically impossible. So, until I win the lottery, I'll never know.
The Aragon is really a strong 4 on this scale, but I'm giving it 5 for value.

Following up on my disappointed review of the Audio Research D130 last month,I decided to follow up that review with the Aragon 8008ST, another s.s. amp that is in the same price range. Aragon has had major success with their 4004 amp as reviewed by Corey Greenberg (he still has the best ears in the business, next to Vincent Gallo that is!),and their 8008 amps are their next big endeavor. When I had listened to the 4004 about three years ago, I was very impressed with not just its power and dynamics but also its musicality that most other s.s. amps are missing. I had hoped that the 8008 carried on these attributes. On listening to the 8008 (hooked up to Martin Logan SL3's), immediately there is a sense dynamics and power present. These attributes are able to put forth a very big sound stage with superb imaging. I was immediately impressed. One of the other reviewers on this page said that it took him 3 hours to get this amp warmed up, I find this hard to believe when I got incredible sound from just turning the amp on for 30 seconds and then playing a CD. The high frequencies were clear and clean without the brightness that I had expected from most s.s. amps. The midrange was also very clear and detailed. Listen to the Holly Cole CD (any one, there all good) and this amp will convey just how much control she has of her vocal chords to express so many different emotions in her songs. The midrange is not as sweet as tube amps and will not win over any tube fans,but the clarity and detail is so good that it that it can please just about any s.s. fan (besides that one reviewer on this page). The lower frequencies of this amp is one of the best that s.s. has to offer. The bass is tight and controlled without any flabbiness; this leads to a bass that does not try to over express itself but instead is very musical.
I enjoyed listening to this amp very much. I have heard many s.s. amps, and I rate this as one of the best ( if not one of the best bargains). Does it compare to other big powerful s.s. amps such as Krells that cost five times as much? Is it knocking on the door of the mighty Krell you might ask? No, it is not knocking on Krells door. Instead, it kicked Krells door down, walked in, and took no prisoners. I have heard Krells many many many many times before, some sounding truly awe inspiring (when hooked up to Apogees), and some sounding incredibly bad and slow (when hooked up to Avalons). Besides, I am sick of everyone in Houston thinking that Krells are the Holy Grail of amplifiers. They are good but not that great, I'll tell you of some truly great amps in upcoming reviews (including my own reference, the Cary 805B). So should you believe my praises for the 8008 or the other reviewer's bashing of it? Neither, you should go out and audition these incredible amps yourselves, I have never heard of any dealers having trouble giving a demo of this reliable amp (except from that other reviewer). If you're serious about good sound then take these amps home on loan and test it out in your listening room. I am sure you won't be disappointed.

Correct me if I'm wrong is not this a site for audio reviews? can we please keep this site clean and professional lets not cut down one anothers integrity on how we evaluate a product. In case the younger audiophiles come to this site for reviews. I've owned many good amps in the past but being a audiophile is a sickness we always explore to try to find something better do we? not always but thats the fun of it. Aragon is a very well built and well designed it has it's own distinct sound depending on the rest of your gear this amp maybe for you.to build a perfect sound system is like a recipe you have to have all the right ingredents to make it taste good in our case sound good.have fun good luck and let the music carry on.

Killer bass, extremely transparent, best amp for the money!

When driven hard become overly aggressive.

I have own this amp for 3 years and never looked back sence.
This amp can hold its own with the big boys. Rock solid bass, great detail and depth within the soundstage. Top end is detail but not overly etched. I am a college student and for the money this this is a frickin bargen. My only complaint is when driven hard the top end turns dry, starts to jump out at you.

Equip.
Aragon 8008st
Thiel 2 2
Mit 750
Audio Research LS-3
Micromega

Incredible mids and highs once broken in, very transparent, bass kicks ass!

Not a tube amp, but when teamed up with a tube pre-amp (using an Audible Illusions) it sounds awsome.

Out of the box this amp sounded ok, but given a week to burn in it sounded 1000 times better!! Sound stage is incredible, and even though I've noted a few of the reviews stating problems with the upper end, teamed up with the Audible Illusions this thing sounds transparent, detailed, and surprisingly warm for a solid-state.

The low end is very strong and it can handle any speaker you throw at it. For the price it is outstanding! I would think you'd have to spend about $6000 to get anything notably better.

I am considering upgrading to the BB when I get my new speakers.

Similar Products Used:

My components include: Audible Illusions L1, Parasound Ultra DAC 2000 and belt drive transport, currently using Definitive Tech speakers, looking to upgrade to possibly Alon V's or Audio Physics Virgo's

Power, dynamics, accurate, build quality, looks

NEEDS TIME TO BREAK IN

The most important thing about this amp is that it needs time to break in. Yes, it starts out with hard transient high freqs, but given a few months, it transforms into one of the most accurate high end transistor amps you can find at this price range. The soundstage is full, although a bit laid back, and it has the power to really sing, I mean really high power without distortion, if your speakers are up to the challenge. The accuracy of this amp demands of everything else in your audio chain. The 8008ST is built like a tank, and is a real looker with the unique "V" shaped heat sinks. If I ever make a change, it'll probably be to send the amp in for the 8008BB upgrade. Comparing to similar amplifiers it's a bit less expensive than the Bryston 4B, and aside from Bryston's outstanding warranty, I give the edge to the Aragon 8008ST.

Similar Products Used:

Threshold s450e, Macintosh 2200, Hafler DH-500

I've lived with my Aragon 8008BB now for the last 6 months and would rate it as one of the best solid state amps for the price and then some! Contenders auditioned and wiped-put:-
Krell FPB300 at 3X the price;
Krell KAV300i;
conrad-johnson MF2300A;
4 units Audiolab 8000M (in bi-amped mode at 50% higher price point);


Findings:-
Highs - pristine and sweet without loss of detail and a nice decay and air to cymbals;

Midrange - laidback, transparent, warm and sweet without the rose coloured tints of tubes;

(The Krells and Audiolabs lost it here being typically solid state cold and sterile whilst the conrads were too creamily thick at a loss of transparency and air.)


Bass - full and gutsy; with balls!

(The Audiolabs were non-starters but the Krells had the better control of the bass - but at this price point, I've tried bi-amping with huge gains in bass tightness and speed equalling the FPB300 with change leftover; a definite next upgrade!)

Soundstaging is excellent and in the right set-up, you are t h e r e !


What more can I say? Even if cost is no object, you might still be embarrased to find that this baby may be hard to beat!

The Sound I've been looking for after 4 years of buying and trying differentAmps and other audio components. I use the new Yamaha RX-V992 for Home Theater
Reasons and I'm also using the Top of the Line Yamaha CDC-845 multi-disc
cdplayer which I must say for a multi-disc I haven't heard anything I liked
better except for the 2000.00 CA Labs 5-disc. I use all MIT interconnects &
Speaker Cables. Also I have a pair of JBL L5 series speakers which I fell in
love with right when I first heard them. If your one who thinks you need
Martin Logans or Apogees for a good sound forget it I bought my JBL L5
over a pair of Martin Logans that were 4 times as much used. Anyway I
started with the Adcom 555mkII when I first started because it was very
cheap and better then the first yamaha Rx-V870 Receiver I had. Well after
a month I hated it so I tried the new Adcoms first just to give Adcom a chance
well forget it so I bought a A250 whic hwas alittle more laid mack as far as
the mid & highs go, also the bass was more controlled but still in my face
type of amp. This is when i spent the money on very good interconnects &
cables and realized they do something but not enough. Basicly I wanted
a all around sound that was lets say in between Solid State and Tube. Well
I found it when I bought the Aragon 8008ST. It took control of my speakers
and had that dark spacious laid back sound I wanted while still getting
outstanding bass. I loved it and what even made me love it more was a few
days later my brother was going to by a 5000.00 dollar krell but after I
brought my 8008 over to compare on his system he bought the Mighty 8008.

This Amp can not be beat and make it sensable to spend thousands more.