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Aragon 2004 MK II vs. Wired4Sound driving 1.7s

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Posted on February 29, 2016 at 18:48:29
johnch
Audiophile

Posts: 8
Location: Seattle
Joined: October 1, 2004
 Does anyone have direct experience comparing the Aragon 2004 MK II with the Wyred4Sound ST500 or ST1000 on Magnepans? If so, how do the sonic signatures compare? I'm getting back into audio and the Aragon, while nice, has been in my possession for almost 20 years and is arguably the weak link in the system. The sound gets a little hard when pushed, and although my room is part of the problem (oddly shaped and lots of glass), I'm wondering if it's time for a new amp with more power. My musical tastes lean towards rock, blues, jazz, and folk played at what I consider reasonable levels. The current system consists of the following:

Oppo BDP 105
VPI Classic 1 w/ Ortofon 2M Black (table is in transit and replacing a Merrill modified AR The Table with RB300 arm and the 2M Black)
VTL TL2.5
Aragon 2004 MKII
Magnepan 1.7
REL Strata III

Thanks
John

 

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RE: Aragon 2004 MK II vs. Wired4Sound driving 1.7s, posted on February 29, 2016 at 19:57:05
Satie
Audiophile

Posts: 5426
Joined: July 6, 2002
 You can try upping the bias on the Aragon amp or get an amp running further up into class A, that would cut the harshness at peaks. Unfortunately, that means the amp would run warm if not hot. You can apply fan cooling on the heat sinks on the amp. There are quiet fans that can be used for that purpose.

The w4s amps have a good reputation but for the top octave where reviewers have observed some grain. They should be able to play those loud passages without becoming hard and sharp, but you need to hear them to know whether you can live with the tradeoff.

 

RE: Aragon 2004 MK II vs. Wired4Sound driving 1.7s, posted on March 1, 2016 at 10:38:31
johnch
Audiophile

Posts: 8
Location: Seattle
Joined: October 1, 2004
 Thanks, but I'd rather not mess with the Aragon. I'd love to audition the W4S, but given their demo program has a significant cost when you don't buy (>$175 given the 5% restocking fee and shipping both ways) it's not worth it to me. I'd be better off buying a used unit and flipping it if I don't like the sound. In fact, I may end up doing just that...

 

RE: Aragon 2004 MK II vs. Wired4Sound driving 1.7s, posted on March 1, 2016 at 13:45:25
neolith
Audiophile

Posts: 4842
Location: Virginia
Joined: February 21, 2002
Contributor
  Since: December 2, 2004
 Can't speak to the Aragon but I currently use a W4S ST500 on my 3.7i along with a Rel Strata III sub so are setups are close and I am very happy. I was using two W4S amps actively biamped into a IIIa and was concerned that when I went to a single amp with the 3.7i, it would not live up to my expectations. Not the case! :). It has no problems driving the 3.7i so it would work fine with the 1.7.
Unfortunately the only way to know for sure is to either pray and bite the bullet or find a way to audition. My recommendation is to be patient and look around for a used W4S that you can turn around and sell for the same price if it doesn't work out.
Finally, before you jump on the "upgrade" bandwagon, look at what you can do to tame the room.



"Our head is round in order to allow our thoughts to change direction." Francis Picabia

 

RE: Aragon 2004 MK II vs. Wired4Sound driving 1.7s, posted on March 1, 2016 at 15:32:49
johnch
Audiophile

Posts: 8
Location: Seattle
Joined: October 1, 2004
 The more I think about this, the more I'm leaning towards buying used to test the W4S waters, but agree the room does require some attention in the near term. I'm new to the forum, so pardon my ignorance, but where is the best place to get that type of advice given the oddity of my room shape and the fact I'm using planar speakers? Do I start a new thread here, or is the General forum more appropriate?

 

RE: Aragon 2004 MK II vs. Wired4Sound driving 1.7s, posted on March 18, 2016 at 13:42:42
pictureguy
Audiophile

Posts: 22597
Location: SoCal
Joined: October 19, 2008
 Never had the Aragon amps, but did hear them with some Apogee Stage speakers a LONG time ago.

I DID own a PSAudio GCC250 which uses the same ASP ICE Modules as teh W4S stuff and while I owned the integrated for several years, was NOT long-term happy. There was something subtly OFF about the highs.
Plenty of power just somehow not right.
I eventually went back to a conventional A/B amp, in the form of a stereo amp PER PANEL.
Too much is never enough

 

RE: Aragon 2004 MK II vs. Wired4Sound driving 1.7s, posted on March 18, 2016 at 17:08:45
pictureguy
Audiophile

Posts: 22597
Location: SoCal
Joined: October 19, 2008
 Plan 'b' in the right power amount?
Either a Parasound A21 or a pair of the JC-1 monoblocks.

I have ONE @A23 per panel as biamp of my 1.6s
Too much is never enough

 

RE: Aragon 2004 MK II vs. Wired4Sound driving 1.7s, posted on March 21, 2016 at 18:57:02
johnvb
Audiophile

Posts: 495
Joined: October 26, 2011
 W4S is sold on Amazon by HiFiHeaven, which is an authorized dealer as per the Wyred4Sound site. You could buy through them and get the regular Amazon return guarantee (I would check with HiFiHeaven first).

I'm eyeing the mono mAMPs myself, for my KEFs.

 

RE: Aragon 2004 MK II vs. Wired4Sound driving 1.7s, posted on March 24, 2016 at 06:21:55
johnch
Audiophile

Posts: 8
Location: Seattle
Joined: October 1, 2004
 I bought 2 used amps to audition alongside my Aragon: Wyred 4 Sound ST500 MK II & Channel Islands E200S. The plan is to keep the one I like the most and sell the others. Based on reviews, my guess is I'll keep the Channel Islands amp (Stereophile Class B), but if the improvement between it and either of the others is subtle to my ears, then I'll probably sell the E200S and the worst sounding of the other two, and use the savings to buy more vinyl.

 

RE: Aragon 2004 MK II vs. Wired4Sound driving 1.7s, posted on April 14, 2016 at 19:11:21
johnch
Audiophile

Posts: 8
Location: Seattle
Joined: October 1, 2004
 Thought I'd provide an update and close out this thread. The W4S was new-in-box, so I let it break in for >150 hours before conducting the amp shootout. First up was the W4S vs. the CIA. The former had better bass, but lost out in treble, vocals, and imaging -- although that last quality was reasonably close. Both amps played much louder than the Aragon, and even though that was expected given the specs at 4 ohms (200W vs. 400W for the CIA vs. 430W for the W4S) I was surprised by the difference; the Maggies were definitely under driven by the Aragon.

Treble quality with the Aragon was between the other two, while bass was on par with the CIA, and the midrange was a close third to the W4S. It, however, was simply outclassed with respect to imaging. Diana Krall went from a very tight vocal image through the CIA, to a slightly larger image via the W4S, to a very diffuse image with the Aragon.

Bottom line, I'm keeping the CIA and putting the other two amps up for sale.

-John

 

RE: Aragon 2004 MK II vs. Wired4Sound driving 1.7s, posted on April 14, 2016 at 20:41:13
Satie
Audiophile

Posts: 5426
Joined: July 6, 2002
 Thanks for the update. Very useful.

 

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