Review: Aragon 8008 BB Amplifier


Category: Amplifiers

I bought this used from a fellow audiogoner after he assured me I would be floored by the difference in quality I would soon experience. Let me just say that he was right, my movie watching (sadly) has gone way down. I just can't stop listening to music on my "new" system. I have never heard my speakers until now. The Aragons dual mono design and my Pre is dual mono as well, has given me outstanding imaging despite the limitations of my small listening area. Bass is now there! deep and powerful, no more listening fatigue or digititis! Blues, hard rock, classical, all sound great. I have been inspired to buy many remastered editions of my favorite albums because the better the recording, the more this baby shines. I thank the stars I bought this and now I'm looking at a BPT ac product to get my system the high quality current it now deserves.

Associated gear
Musical Fidelity Pre amp
Cal Audio Labs Alpha-Delta
Mirage M5si Bi Polar speakers

Similar products
None in this league, though I did upgrade from Adcom separates
zar
Zar, you paid $150.00 to have the fuse replaced? You could do it yourself for less than $3.00. The fuse is right under the lid. Make sure you are being EXTREMELY careful, but there really is little danger of hurting yourself. Remove the lid, replace the fuse, run like mad! If it doesn't explode you'll be fine till the next time you touch a couple of wires. : )

Nice catch, that's a good amp. You'll have to spend a lot more money to get something better, but it'll give you a taste of what is available, but at a reasonable price. I had one for several years, and I bought mine from a magazine reviewer several years after he wrote the review.

I'm not sure what you're asking with the power question, but ideally you should have a seperate circuit for the amp and another from the rest of the system.
Uppermid, a transistor blew out as well in addition to the fuse. I have no more room in the breaker box for another dedicated line, but I would think the cheap Monster power strip can be hugely improved upon with a good power component. that was my question, I guess. Mark
Zar,

You should get the benefits of common mode rejection with a balanced transformer that plugs into 115VAC power, like the BPT unit provides. I haven't used them myself, but the BPT power conditioners have received excellent reviews.

As far as your dedicated circuit is concerned, you should be fine with 12awg wire, especially if the wire length is relatively short. Personally, I like to use 10awg or larger wire, but I have fairly long wire runs.

Concerning the repair to your amp, I also shorted one of the speaker outputs when I first bought my amp. The result was blown fuses which I easily replaced, but when I called Aragon to see if I should send it in to be checked, they told me the internal component specs well exceeded the fuse rating and that nothing should be hurt, which it wasn't. I just wonder if your local repair shop was maybe a little less than honest with you - just wondering.

Again, I hope this helps. :o)
I was told the same thing by Aragon, but since Zar's unit was used, it may be that there was an improper fuse in the rail, for example, slo blow versus fast blow which failed to protect. Fuse replacement can be confusing as different designations are used by different manufactors.
I see what yer saying. I blew a fuse, but it wasn't nearly as complicated as what you did.