Aragon versus Krell

I have an Aragon 8008BB driving a pair of modified Magnepan 1.6QR's (4 ohm load) and it sounds great. Absolutly no harshness whatsoever. It is clean out to the limits of my hearing - note that its power bandwidth extends to 550kHz which limits phase distortion to approximately 50kHz (well beyond human hearing). I have listened to Krell amps with Martin Logan speakers and they also sound excellent, though somewhat dry. The difference to me was in the speakers and I much prefer my Magnepans (just my opinion). I don't think you can go wrong with either amp, considering the speakers you are driving.

I am driving B&W matrix 801's (series 3) with an Aragon 8008BB. The amp sounds great, never the least bit harsh or strained. It handles the big woofers extremely well. They always speak very quickly. The BB always seems to have plenty of power left over too. Best of all you can get one on Audiogon for around $1200.

I owned the Aragon 8008 for several years and traded it for a Krell FPB 200. On paper the two amps are the same, but the Krell is lots better sounding.

Don't misunderstand, I was happy with the Aragon. It is a good little amp. It never sounded grainy for harsh in the highs.

The Krell is just better. Everything the Aragon does well the Krell does better.

The Aragon will drive virtually any load regardless how difficult. They are rated at least down to 2 ohms, but might even go down to one.

Either will work, the question is how much (or little) do you want to spend on an amp? Aragon is much cheaper. You could probably buy a pair of Palladium's for the cost of a FPB amp.

Hope that helps.

I agree with Kennyt. The Aragons have a peculiar grain (sounds wiry) in the upper-mid that detracts from tonal colours throughout the mid-range compared with better amps. But the larger B&Ws tend to need the high damping factor of speakers like the Aragon to be fast enough in the bass. The Krells are less easy to categorise as different Krells sound different. But generally you can get better tonal colours and less grain from Krells than the Aragon, and still have that high damping factor.

I used an Aragon 4004 MkII with B&W 802's and sold them both as they both seemed to harsh in the upper mids and highs to me...

I'm using an Aragon 8008MkII with B&W N803's (both in theater mode and as 2 channel, pre/processor is a Stage One), and the combination is great. I have not compared the Aragon with any Krell amps.

I used an Aragon 8008BB with both B&W N805's and N805Sigs and was very happy. This amp has power to spare and loads of detail. I've never owned a Krell.

Good Luck,

There is really not much comparison. The Krells are much better. But, the larger Aragons are still good amps and should be able to drive the B&Ws.

So Slappy, who wins and is it still Japanese dubbed in English?

This post probably doesent help, but doesent the title of this thread make you think of some old-school godzilla-esque monster movie?