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Aragon Or Rotel amp??


caveboy

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Think i am getting the RF-5 setup as advised by the forummers..My listening area is about 3m x 3.5m.. Think i am going seperates. Which amp is better, aragon 2005 or rotel RMB-1095.. Pls advised.. And if the processor i am getting is a denon 3805, will there be any problem??

Thkz..

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The Rotel 1095 seems to be noisier than other Rotel amps, hence I would recommend the Aragon amp over the Rotel 1095. Other Rotel amps are recommended.

Other brands to look at include the ATI 2505 on sale at OneCall.com and Sunfire B stock on AudioGon. The ATI requires a 20 amp circuit.

Bill

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I've never done a head to head comparison of Rotel vs Aragon, but, I'm not real sure what all the fuss is about with Rotel in recent years. I've always considered it more in the "mid-fi" catagory, at least thats the way it used to be. Aragon makes some pretty nice units that even high-end audiophiles with non-Klipsch speakers use. I've heard them on the Heritage speakers and they sounded real good to me. I'd go with Aragon, no questions asked. 2.gif

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On 9/26/2004 1:49:31 PM artto wrote:

I've never done a head to head comparison of Rotel vs Aragon, but, I'm not real sure what all the fuss is about with Rotel in recent years. I've always considered it more in the "mid-fi" catagory, at least thats the way it used to be.

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Yes, that was the way it used to be, untill the 9 series came along and was followed by the incredible 10 series. Don't let snobbery over the value price of the Rotel's get in the way of trying the equipment, especially their amps, which will hold their own against some of the best out there and have won shootouts against equipment costing multiple times their price...including Aragon. Rotel amps have a relaxed sound that balances and compliments the aggressive forward sound of the Klipsch Reference series very well. IMHO better than Klisch's own Aragon, which to me is too agressive and bright. I have compared the Aragon 2005 in an A/B test against my Rotel RB 1075 which is a 120wpc amp. To my ears the 2005 compared very favorably to the "less powerful" RMB1075 perhaps with a slight, very slight, I might add, edge in dynamics to the 2005. Primarily I believe this is due to the difference in power supply design philosophy. The Aragon is designed with a power supply diversity that takes into account the fact that not all channels in a HT are called upon to deliver rated power simultaneously. Therefore, the Aragon only delivers rated power with three channels driven simutaneosly. The Rotel will deliver it's rated power with all five channels driven. Therefore the RMB 1098, Rotel's 200 watter, is, in reality a far more powerful amp than the 2005, which I consider more of a match to the 120 wpc RMB1075. I'm from the old school and look at things like an amps weight as one benchmark of it's capabilities. An amps weight is a clear indication of the size of the power supply transformer(s). The 2005 Aragon is 46lbs and the RMB1095 is 75lbs.

Yes, the 1095 is a noisier amp than the 2005, however both of them fall well below the threshold where it makes an audible difference, even with ultra efficient speakers.

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On 9/26/2004 2:56:24 PM JewishAMerPrince wrote:

...the Aragon is designed with a power supply diversity that takes into account the fact that not all channels in a HT are called upon to deliver rated power simultaneously. Therefore, the Aragon only delivers rated power with three channels driven simutaneosly. The Rotel will deliver it's rated power with all five channels driven. Therefore the RMB 1098, Rotel's 200 watter, is, in reality a far more powerful amp than the 2005...

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Is this true? That's a pretty serious contention...

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On 9/26/2004 5:09:42 PM nicholtl wrote:

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On 9/26/2004 2:56:24 PM JewishAMerPrince wrote:

...the Aragon is designed with a power supply diversity that takes into account the fact that not all channels in a HT are called upon to deliver rated power simultaneously. Therefore, the Aragon only delivers rated power with three channels driven simutaneosly. The Rotel will deliver it's rated power with all five channels driven. Therefore the RMB 1098, Rotel's 200 watter, is, in reality a far more powerful amp than the 2005...

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Is this true? That's a pretty serious contention...

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If you look closely The Aragon amps are rated at their max power with "3 channels driven". An aragon associate disclosed the continuous power rating for the 2005 into 5 channels: 190WPC. Combined with the superior sound and capability to deliver MORE than 200 Watts into a couple channels if called upon to do so, the Aragon is still the clear choice to me.

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caveboy,

I owned a Rotel 1095 for about a year. I actually downgraded the quality (used to have a McCormack DNA-1 Deluxe) to gain the five channel Rotel powerhouse.

Here's the positive: The thing is built like a tank. It's very well constructed, and the XLR connectors are a plus (less noise, more gain). It will not skip a beat with Klipsch speakers; their high efficiency will not require the 1095 to break a sweat. Mine ran very cool all the time.

... but the sound I was getting from mine, while being quite decent,
never,
ever,
fooled me into thinking that a live performance was taking place in my house. It is just not nuanced enough to deliver the audiophile ear candy like a better amplifier will.

I sold it this year, and put a couple of McCormacks back into the mix, and have been enjoying them ever since.

I have never had an Aragon in my set-up; the last time I heard one, it was feeding a pair of Klipschorns at the local shop; the sound was terrific, but just a little warm for my tastes. I prefer a somewhat brighter sound than I was hearing with the Aragon. As always, complete system synergy is crucial, and you will derive sonic differences from different sources, pre-amps, and speakers.

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On 9/26/2004 9:26:14 PM chuckears wrote:

... but the sound I was getting from mine, while being quite decent,
never,
ever,
fooled me into thinking that a live performance was taking place in my house. It is just not nuanced enough to deliver the audiophile ear candy like a better amplifier will...

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That just about says it all right there.

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I have a 3802,had an 03 for a year and an 05 for a month.First I respectfully suggest you forget the 3805 into a any great amps mentioned.Although its a very good unit with lots of stuff it does not even compare sound wise to Rotel or Aragon pre/pros.Next,I have 5's and 7's and there is BIG time difference in these two sets,get 7's.On the amps either of those mentioned are a good choice,nothing near the difference in pre/pros and speakers.You could have 7's,a good pre/pro and less powerful amp for similar $ and MUCH better sound,imo,good luck.

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On 9/27/2004 11:39:56 PM jephdood wrote:

Are you saying the 3805 won't make a decent pre/pro?

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There isn't a receiver out there that makes a decent pre/pro. It's ok for awhile if you can't afford to do otherwise, but plan to step up asap. A receiver, especially a highly featured one is a huge collection of compromises, something I call a Blivit*. If receivers were not so nobody would be buying separates.

JR

* Blivit (def)= 10 lbs of s--- in a 5 lb bag.

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RE: Using receivers as pre-pros...

I used a Harman Kardon HK520 as a processor for a while; given the quality of my amp, cables, and speakers, I was doing all of them a great disservice by passing any audio signals through the HK.

I bit the bullet, and snagged an Anthem AVM20... I was nearly in tears the first time I heard the difference. My jaw literally dropped when I listened to the DTS track of LOTR:FOTR.

The HK receiver did the job of decoding and passing on a signal; but there was never a live or realistic sound to it.

I usually have to learn the hard way that, if your ears are extremely picky, you should just resolve yourself to spending about three times more than you think you can possibly afford. Isn't credit a wonderful thing?

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aragon definatly!!, rotel has gone far downhill since thier glory days, type in key words rotel and reviews, you will find many reviews, telling all about rotels problems, there are many more dissatisfied customers, than satisfied. and why are you planning to get an amp as good as an aragon, and go to a mediocre processor?m your system will be as good as its weakest link.

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