Aragon Soundstage Processor Review

Company History

Aragon began in the late 1980's, headed by Tony Federici, who studied Analytic Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University. Their goal was to create a high end, no compromise audio company that would revolutionize the industry.

Aragon has since then evolved to a world class highly respected high-end audio company for both domestic and international marketplaces. Their approach has always been sound quality first with no added gimmicks. Rather than following industry trends, they set them. They don't believe in simply concocting a device that has more buttons and lights than the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. Instead, they produce hardware that is as sophisticated as the Enterprise, yet easy enough for a Klingon warrior to operate.

Becoming familiar with Aragon over the past few months has been an enlightening experience for me. I have rarely come across an audio company with such a passionate commitment in producing quality products that perform superior to their competitors regardless of price. Two of these products that really opened my eyes, and also closed them with tears of joy, are:

• Aragon Soundstage digital preamp/processor
• Aragon 8008X5 multichannel power amp

These two products serve as excellent examples of the companies commitment to:

• Quality of craftsmanship: ( i.e. 3ù4" aluminum paneling black anodized and finished by hand, solid aluminum knobs, wave soldering of components, etc)
• Utilization of the best electronics: (i.e. epoxy sealed 1% resistors, Teflon jacketed wiring in signal paths, low ESR power supply Capacitors, etc)
• No gimmicky technology: (i.e. Excessive DSP processing yielding echoed and unnatural sound while destroying the imaging and realism of the soundstage)
• Realistic claims on specifications of performance: (i.e. All Aragon amps are conservatively rated for continuous power, not dynamic power, with all amps driven at full bandwidth simultaneously for 8/4/2 ohm loads)

Aragon Soundstage History and Overview

The Soundstage

The Soundstage represents the pinnacle of Aragon's success at producing a sophisticated digital preamp processor capable of decoding Dolby Prologic, Dolby Digital and DTS, while at the same time serving as a top quality audiophile preamp. The Soundstage's open architecture allows for future hardware and firmware upgrades. The preamp is driven with Class A circuitry for maximum linearity, and furnished with 24 bit premium Crystal DAC's on all channels for the best possible digital sound resolution.

The initial Soundstage sent to us by Aragon was a pre production unit with outdated firmware plagued with a few operational bugs (IE. Sub out gain level set too low, unit locks up when certain sequences of buttons pressed on the remote). However, Aragon sent us a brand new unit within a few weeks with all the bugs fixed.

One Smooth Operator

The Soundstage is the first preamp/processor that I have come across that is as intuitive to operate as an ordinary 2-channel preamp. I didn't get much use out of the operators manual as I found little trouble navigating my way through the remote and front panel display. I was a bit disappointed at first to discover that the Soundstage did not support an On Screen Display (OSD). However, it soon became a moot point once I realized how easy it was to set the unit up. Aragon is committed to preserving signal quality for audio and video, and they feel offering an OSD has the potential to degrade video quality. I am not sure if I share this viewpoint with them, but the Soundstage functions fine without an OSD nonetheless.

The Soundstage allows the user to independently customize speaker levels and bass management settings for Stereo and Multi-Channel modes. This is particularly useful as in many cases I prefer to crossover my sub lower when listening to two-channel music. One intelligent feature Aragon added to the Soundstage is the master volume level last memory settings are retained for each input mode. Speaking of intelligent features, one I really enjoy about this unit is the ergonomics of the remote control with respect to volume level settings for each channel. On the center of the remote lies a circular button configuration with a layout much like a typical 5.1 channel speaker set-up.

All you have to do is simply press the button on the remote corresponding to the positioned loudspeaker you wish to change to volume of and then press up or down.

The Soundstage can fully "Auto" detect signals like no other processor I have found capable of doing. When the unit is configured for "Auto", it will automatically select the proper source being transmitted (IE. PCM, Dolby Digital, DTS). Many other processors can do this, but remain in DTS mode after a DTS CD played is finished and the CD/DVD changer selects a normal CD for playback, forcing the user to reselect the input to unlock the unit.

Aragon Soundstage Features & DSP Modes

The Soundstage may not have all the bells and whistles typically found on other processors, but it has it where it counts. Tabulated below is a feature matrix listing the most important attributes of the Soundstage.

Feature Matrix for Soundstage

DSP Modes That Don't Sound Like Music In A Toilet:

Rather than equipping the Soundstage with 40 or so useless DSP modes, with claims of transforming your living room into a Stadium, Church or even a Wine Cellar, Aragon has taken a much simpler, yet practical approach for adding ambience while preserving the naturalness and imaging characteristics of the two front channels. For example, the Soundstage is equipped with following ambience modes for non-discrete applications:

LF = Left Front; RF = Right Front; LR = Left Rear; RR = Right Rear; C = Center

Party Mode: Signal from left front channel goes to left surround channel. Signal from right front channel goes to right surround channel. A mix is sent to the center channel. No delay.

Or:

LF = LR ; RF = RR

C = LF + RF

Hall: L+R signal sent to center channel and each surround channel. The surround channel signal runs thru a reverb algorithm to simulate a large hall.

Or:

C= LF+RF

LR = RR = C + delay

Although the Soundstage is only equipped with two surround modes for music enhancement, these modes are extremely musical. In almost every instance I engaged these modes, I noted an enhanced soundfield that was unobtrusive or artificial sounding.

I particularly enjoyed listening to some of my classic Steely Dan CD's from the 70's in Hall mode. Donald Fagen once said "Don't ever do it without the Fez on." My follow-up quote to that is "Never listen to the Dan without the DSP on." My point is, the Soundstage engaged in this DSP mode took an otherwise dull recording and brought it new life and dimension. The Party mode was great at transforming my living room into a disco tech when listening to lively, bass intense dance music from artists such as George Michael, Madonna, and Prince.

Aragon Soundstage Bass Management

Bass Management Done Right

The Soundstage is one of a few Preamp/Processor's that I have come across which does bass management correctly. Aragon's approach is to respect the fundamental principals of two-channel audio and expand them for 5.1 channel applications. What I mean by this is the following:

• Variable crossover settings for the subwoofer and speakers set small. So many Receivers and processors have one fixed setting at 80-90Hz.
  
  Question: Why do others do this!?!
  Answer: Memory constraints and fear of not conforming to a recognized and well marketed standard developed by George Lucas known as THX. (See our Bass Management/LFE article for further elaboration)
  
  
• Independent channel level calibration.
  
• High and Low pass filtering and bass summing done in digital domain for greater precision.
  
• LFE signal combined with mains in the analog domain for system applications where no sub is present. This eliminates the need for digital domain attenuation when signals are combined.
  
• Analog domain dialog normalization to preserve dynamic range.
  
• Independent bass management control for 2 channel and 5 channel applications. This is important for the user who wishes to crossover the sub lower for critical 2 channel music listening.

Rear View of the Soundstage

Ready for the Future?

These days, the audio industry seems to be moving as quickly as the computer one. Only, instead of worrying about processor speed, hard drive space, and datacom performance, the audiophile is concerned with if their Preamp/Processor will play all existing surround sound schemes and be ready for future potential ones. I emphasize "potential" when I talk about future schemes such as MLP, DVD Audio, DTS 6.1, etc, because although the hardware may be readily available at affordable prices in the near future, the software will always lag way behind. What's the point of having the latest lossless surround sound scheme capable of 192KHz / 24 bit resolution for 7.1 channels if only a few titles such as "Burt Bacharach Greatest Hits " or "Liberachi's Plays Piano " are available. Conversely, in the unlikely event that software for these new formats does become abundantly available, the Soundstage will be ready with its open architecture design. The Soundstage was engineered very cleverly in that it is not only firmware upgradable, but hardware as well. The entire data pump (DSP, DAC's, etc), and digital interface connectors (IE. DB25 or Firewire), can be changed out in favor of a newer design supporting higher bit/sampling rate surround schemes such as MLP for DVD Audio applications. In addition, the analog preamp section of the Soundstage is more than capable of accommodating the full 100KHz bandwidth of DVD audio, not that it really matters since most people can't hear above 15KHz, although you can really impress your dog or neighbors cat.

On The Downside - Recommendations

In spite of how excellent in performance, ergonomics and build quality the Soundstage is, it has a few not so preferable characteristics I must address:

• Remote faceplate front panel sensor is too recessed and thus limits receiving IF signals if the remote is more than 45 degrees vertically off axis from the sensor.
  
• No DSP enhancement modes for Prologic. I really miss some of the DSP modes other processors such as the Yamaha DSP A1 offer for enhancing older Prologic movies.
  
• Occasional mode lock when going from DTS CD to normal CD on the same input. User must reselect input to restore units normal operation.
  
• No Sleep timer. Is that such a hard feature to add?

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

Aragon Soundstage Conclusion

The Perfect Marriage

Choosing a preamp/processor and power amp combo for home theater applications can sometimes be a difficult task for a consumer in a market flooded with an almost infinite selection of competing products. There are many instances where a particular company may excel at producing an excellent digital preamp/processor, but offer only a mediocre 5 channel power amp to compliment it, or vice versa. Aragon blows that notion out of the water with the Soundstage and 8008X5 dynamic duo. Together this Batman and Robin team offer an impressive package, that is unstoppable in performance, fit and function.

Watching familiar DVD's again has been a rediscovering process for me. I was blown away by the limitless dynamics the 8008X5 was able to deliver while all channels were placing heavy demand on the power supply. In the 4th chapter of the DVD movie First Contact, there are several minutes of explosive combat scenes between the Federation fleet and the Borg cube panning throughout all of the channels. The Soundstage assimilated all of the information from the DVD and honorably reproduced it. Never before have I heard such realism filling my living room, making me feel as if I were in the battle scene myself. The Soundstage did a fantastic job maintaining channel separation in both Prologic and digital formats supported on this DVD.

The Soundstage also decoded DTS music CDs with a sense of clarity and depth that until now, I have been unfamiliar with. A prime example of such extraordinary performance was from the DTS CD "On Air" from the Alan Parsons Project. Normally, I listen to a few tracks on this CD and then move onto the next. However, I found myself listening to the whole CD with the Aragon equipment. Vocals were exact, imaging pinpointing, and dynamics from the 8000X5 limitless. In fact, it took me longer than expected to write this review because I had so much fun with my demo.

Conclusion - All Good Things Must Come To An End?

If you are looking for the best in home theater and audio, based on engineering design principals, build quality, ergonomics and fidelity, than I highly recommend the Soundstage digital preamp and 8008X5 multi-channel power amp. There are many excellent products in this price range and you owe it to yourself to at least demo this package, compare it to its competition, and determine if this gear is the right choice for your needs and budget . I put my name on the fact that you cannot better the overall performance of the Aragon combo for the mere price tag of 8008 clams.

It really burned me up inside that I would have to let these beauties go after my 3 month evaluation, and return to my humbled integrated DSP amp. Instead, I pleaded with my wife, after I filled her belly with Italian food from our favorite local restaurant, to persuade her into keeping these remarkable machines. My wife, being the understanding woman she is, accepted my plead bargaining, under the terms that I would not do any more upgrading for a very long time. I went to bed that night with a smile on my face, while the rumbling of the Starship Enterprise soothed me to sleep, knowing that I would be waking up every morning to my dream home theater system. Life is good!

The Score Card

The scoring below is based on each piece of equipment doing the duty it is designed for. The numbers are weighed heavily with respect to the individual cost of each unit, thus giving a rating roughly equal to:

Performance × Price Factor/Value = Rating

Audioholics.com note: The ratings indicated below are based on subjective listening and objective testing of the product in question. The rating scale is based on performance/value ratio. If you notice better performing products in future reviews that have lower numbers in certain areas, be aware that the value factor is most likely the culprit. Other Audioholics reviewers may rate products solely based on performance, and each reviewer has his/her own system for ratings.

Audioholics Rating Scale

• — Excellent
• — Very Good
• — Good
• — Fair
• — Poor

Metric	Rating
Multi-channel Audio Performance
Two-channel Audio Performance
Video Processing
Bass Management
Build Quality
Fit and Finish
Ergonomics & Usability
Ease of Setup
Features
Remote Control
Performance
Value