The older Aragon amplifiers are very nice -- they have a lot of current but they are a little on the warm/slow side. Still have a lot of energy to the music. I have heard the first gen Bryston amps (like 4B). They are okay, but are a little flat sounding. The newer generations (SST / SST2) are much better and more exciting. I would probably pick the Aragon over the Bryston because the Aragon will just pull you into the music more. That being said, I would probably choose the Paraouns A21 from your short list because it's the newest platform and the Parasound has some excellent feedback. You won't have to worry about aging capacitors and components that need to be refreshed (the Aragon/Bryston are quite old).
Aragon, Parasound or Bryston
Trying to decide between a Aragon 8008ST, Parasound Halo A21 and a Bryston 4B.
My system consists of a VTL 2.5 preamp, Nad C542 Cd player, Paradigm Studio Ref 100 V3 speakers, Paradigm Servo 15 sub.
The three contenders come in at roughly the same price with the Aragon being just a tad cheaper.
Looking for opinions as I can't audition. I believe it would be easy if this were a 4B SST but that would be out of the price range so its the earlier 4B.
My system consists of a VTL 2.5 preamp, Nad C542 Cd player, Paradigm Studio Ref 100 V3 speakers, Paradigm Servo 15 sub.
The three contenders come in at roughly the same price with the Aragon being just a tad cheaper.
Looking for opinions as I can't audition. I believe it would be easy if this were a 4B SST but that would be out of the price range so its the earlier 4B.