Help Please With A Replacement For Old Aragon Amp.

Thanks for your reply. My Aragon was serviced recently for a runaway bias issue.  I bought the pre amp from a friend I had bought a turntable from. He had it tuned up by First Sound. I spoke to Emmanuel Go of First Sound, and he suggested some further upgrades.  Wondering hard about that.  I have spoken to an ATC dealer and he suggested I change speaker cables. They're Cardas Clear Cygnus, well thought of and not cheap. He said any "average" 12 gauge speaker cable would suit the ATC speakers better as he stated Cardas cable "has a dark sound"  Any comments?  I tried to test his theory but my cables from my second system won't allow to me to try. The Z style banana plugs won't fit in the amps binding posts.

Your 8008 should have no problem gripping your speakers unless it’s being starved for juice then it can sound a little thin like any bigger amp can. Guessing you don’t have your system on a dedicated electrical circuit? If you don’t have a dedicated circuit, I would start there. Pull out the junk spec grade receptacles and at least go with a modest hospital grade outlet, and if you’re using the stock power cord get a 10 gauge cord. If you haven’t done any of these things with your 8008, it’s not its fault. Don’t change out your amp until you’ve tried this as the next amp will have the same issue likely.

Thanks adg, It's not on a dedicated circuit but I do have an Isotek Aquarius power component that is connected to the wall by an Audioquest Thunder cable with a 20 amp female receptacle. The Aragon is connected to one of the Isotek's  high current outlets with an Audioquest Tornado power cable.

Plug the Aragon directly into the wall. As much as the manufacturer of the conditioner say that it doesn't limit current, they usually do. It costs nothing to try out. I have owned multiple Aragon amps and tried this a couple of different times. Each time, it sounded better plugged directly into the wall.

You’re choking your amp as I suspected. As mentioned bypass the Isotex and pick up a Hubbell Hospital Grade outlet/receptacle. Use your AQ PC on your amp directly to the wall. If you hear a difference for the better then hire an electrician to run a dedicated circuit if possible. This will be the best money spent to improve your system and you’ll hear what your 8008 is really capable of.