B&K vs. Aragon

It's been some time since I listened to either a B&K or Aragon preamp/amp combo, but I'm comfortable saying that the B&K is more euphonic than the Aragon. What makes the comparison more difficult is that the differences will also be somewhat dependent on the speakers you use. Given your listening choices -- particularly the jazz and folk -- you will find some audible differences between the sound quality offered by these two amp/preamp combos.

As a generalization, I'd say the Aragon will be somewhat clearer and more transparent, have better soundstaging, and better transients and dynamic contrasts. The Aragon combo will also be more revealing (also, a bit less forgiving) of the other components in your system, which may or may not be a "good thing". The Aragon is not austere, and if anything leans VERY slightly toward the warmer side of neutral, so changing from the B&K to the Aragon won't involve a dramtic shift from darker and warmer to lighter and brighter -- it will, however, involve some detectable differences.

The other area where you will probably notice differences is in the apparent power output. The Aragon should provide more headroom than the ST140 (which is a rather old design, though a proven one).

The one question I'd ask you is: do you also plan to change your speakers in the near future? If so, you should try to listen to those speakers with both preamp/amp combos, since the speakers may be a much greater factor in the reproduced sound than either of the preamp/amp combos.

I can describe well the B&K amp and preamp. I've used a number of B&K amps and I love their warm tube like sound. I'm currently using a B&K Sonata 200, enormous power and headroom, and also a 202+ amps and I like them both. The B&K preamps are nothing really special just neutral I would say. Any special sound emanates from the amps. I like to use tube preamps with the B&K amps, it just accentuates that warm lush sound. Looking for what is a real bargain today I prefer the Audible Illusions Modulus 3, unstepped volume control. I have never heard the Aragon, I don't know why you've focused on it. I do like the B&K and AI combination, they sound great and the price is just a plain bargain.

One word ARAGON....I have had many b and k products over the years and my first "decent" preamp was the pro 10 mc balanced... I used this with an ex 4420.. nice setup. Recently, I by recommendation bought an Aragon 8002 dual mono amp. This thing blew me away as well as every other amp I have had in my house.. adcom 555 , 5500, 545, musical fidelity a3cr, mcintosh small solid state mc121.. etc.. I auditioned a reference 7250 against the Aragon and the aragon is a "real" amp. Much cleaner, more detailed.. makes you see the music much more than the b and k. Dont get me wrong.. b and k for the price is a great product, excellent customer service and decent build quality.. but for about the same money.. The Aragon cant be touched.. If you can stretch buy the 8008bb or an 8002 dual mono... I just bought a pair of matched Aragon Palladiums I am sold!!!

For the record, Sdcampbell hit the nail precicely on the head if you ask me! I've experience with both lines, and owned the Aragon gear, and sold the Lexicon/Bryston stuff!
What this gentleman said is about as accurate of an assessment as you're going to get...including asking whether you were going to switch speakers or not!
The Pardigm Studio's are also, like the Bryston stuff, a bit on the warmer and more full bodied side of neutral, even more so than the Aragons stuff, which is closer to a more neutral palate, although still slightly warm.
Realy, I think the Aragon would be a better chioce to contrast the wamish colored tonal balaance that the Paradigms offer. In summing, I think the Aragon would be a worth while improvemnt if you were keeping those speakers, yes.
good luck...

I'm not familiar with your speakers. Amps and speakers require more attention when being matched than most other combinations. I mention this because my experience with B@K components lead me believe that while the ST-140 has some nice qualities the larger ones with more current out put are amongst the best deals in audio. The M200's offer tremendous value. No, they are not as good as the very best but they come fairly close and at a steep discount. They do sound different than the ST140 in that they are not as warm (in fact perhaps a bit cool) but are so much better balanced as a whole, without the sloppy bass that plagues the St-140. I can't help but think that improving your amp rather than your pre-amp would give you more satisfaction. By the way I like Sonic Frontiers pre-amps with the B&K amps.

I have owned both B&K and Acurus (Mondial's cheap line) amps. I currently own a B&K ST-140 and a B&K Reference 4420. I owned the Acurus A250 and 100x3. I extensively A/B'ed them, and found the B&Ks to be more laid-back and display much more accurate stereo imaging. They were more detailed and sweeter sounding than the Acurus amps. The Acurus amps were very congested, forward, and unforgiving. Sterile and harsh. The only thing they did right was bass - lots of it, and smooth. I can't say how the Aragon gear compares to Mondial's cheaper Acurus line, but the Acurus stuff was so hard to listen to that it scared me away from anything else from Mondial. Ironic, in that I am a huge Klipsch fan!

Another good value, which IMHO sounds much better than either the B&K or Acurus, is the Conrad Johnson Sonograph and MF lines (both solid state). They just cancelled the Sonograph line after they purchased McCormack, so there are good deals to be had in that series.

I will take acurus. B&K has a stale boring sound compaired to acurus. Though is is still much better than any receiver.

Finsfan, the B&K models I was referring to are not receivers.
Cheers,
Mike

I have a Modded ST-202(original) that I love,but am trying to upgrade to Monarchy's SM-100Deluxe's.

B&K's are great amps.SOlid and will last forever.I auditioned a Rotel Reciever with B&W CDM speaker's and the B&K's my system edged it out in some places.

B&K--Highly recommended and Aragon's are noted for great sound also.It comes down to synergy between speaker's I think.

Even though I love the B&K my speaker's gesigner recommends the Aragon's for his amps also.