Aragon Soundstage Build Quality

8008X5 Multi Channel Power Amp or Boat Anchor?

I remember when I was a child how big things impressed me. My older brother was a bodybuilder bulging in muscles from head to toe. He influenced me so much that I integrated the sport into my lifestyle, and now exceed his peak capabilities. As I grow older, I realize it takes more and more to impress me. Very few things can bestow upon me such a lasting impression of envy and admiration as the new 8000X5 multi-channel power amp so cleverly did from the Mondial design group at Aragon. When something impacts me in this manner, I deem that I must have it for my very own. This 107 lbs, 5 channel monster, measuring over 2 feet deep, contains a 2.5KVA transformer, over 150,000uF of power supply capacitance, and 12 power output BJT devices per channel. This is no ordinary amp. Than again, Aragon is no ordinary company. While it is heavy enough to be used as a boat anchor, I can guarantee once you have this baby wired into your home theater system, it will remain static. In a sense, I consider the 8008X5 an audio anchor for 2 reasons:

• Its so damn heavy, nobody would want to move it once it is positioned.
  
• It is such a good amp, why would you want to?

Photo: 8008X5 with top panel removed.Notice the oversized, independent heat sinks for each channel and the massive space allocated on the bottom-right of the chassis for the power supply.

A Balance of Power

The 8008X5 is truly an impressive power amp. It is one of the first few amps I have come across whose power supply is not the limiting factor, but the incoming power line is. It is because of this fact that I had the builder of my new home add a 20 amp dedicated line in my living room to ensure that I would have enough wall current to realize the full potential of this powerhouse. One thing that really amazed me about this amp is how effortlessly it can produce low frequency tones while at the same time remaining open, airy and clean in the mid and high frequencies. Every subtle nuance and heart throbbing dynamic passage was reproduced flawlessly by this amp, regardless of what speaker loads it was presented. While many multi-channel amps can deliver enough oomph for surround applications, they usually fall short audibly for critical two-channel music. The Special Edition RBH 1266-SE Towers in our reference system are not by any means an easy load for most typical amps to drive. The 8008X5 delivered more than enough power to make the RBH's rock the house while still sounding extremely musical. In fact, the louder I cranked this amp, the better the system sounded. Usually when you drive a lesser amp real hard it begins to sound bright (causing listening fatigue), or soundstage compression. The 8008X5 handles both music and home theater tasks with equal favor demonstrating that it truly is a well balanced design.

8008X5 Specifications Matrix