[a.wayne]

Interesting.  I remember Aragon from the late '80s.  It was designed by Dan D'agostino of Krell.  I forget which marketing group handled it, but we sold it.  It was rather unusual looking with a V cut down near the middle for cooling and an ugly black finish.  Yea, the thing could drive nails and it was much less expensive than the big names.  The sound was rather dark/dead.  Much darker than Krell or Rowland, but paired with the right preamp (ARC) it could sound pretty good. 

I thought the company was defunct. Now I see that it was bought by Klipsch and more recently sold to Indy Audio.
OP budget is around    Do these show up used?  If so, careful preamp selection required.

Aragon's were far from dark sounding  and they were  sold by Mondial design , IMO Rowland's tend to be  dark sounding ....

Regards ,

[doug s.]

i like wintage sansui gear.  like the au-717, a fine amp:

http://app.audiogon.com/listings/sansui-au-717-classic-integrated-amplifier-85w-x-2-wit




the au11000 is a true beast of an amp.  the au9900 isn't far behind.  the sansui's don't have remote, tho.

also, i like the revox b251 - another killer integrated.  remote is awailable, but they're scarce.  (the b251's are pretty scarce, too, unless you are willing to shop ebay.de.)

and, keep your eyes peeled for creek; they made some wery nice integrated amps...

and, here is a killer mitsubishi system - amp, meters, preamp and tuna - the tuna is one of the all-time greats; the amp and preamp are also great:
http://app.audiogon.com/listings/mitsubishi-da-a10dc-da-m10-da-p10-da-f20

decent adcom system, w/cdp & power conditioner:
http://app.audiogon.com/listings/adcom-gfa-545ii-ace-515-gtp-450-gcd-575

nice rega mira, but only 60wpc:
http://app.audiogon.com/listings/rega-mira-3-black-exc-cond

demo jolida (a bit above your budget, but tube preamp):
http://app.audiogon.com/listings/jolida-jd1501brc-new-demo-jolida-100-watt-hybrid-amp

doug s.

[neobop]

Aragon's were far from dark sounding  and they were  sold by Mondial design , IMO Rowland's tend to be  dark sounding ....

Regards ,

Sorry if I offended, you must have one of these?  I'm talking about the original Aragon. I don't know about any subsequent offerings.  Yes, it was dark, everyone thought so. Like all of this stuff, paired with the right equipment/system it was fine and super reliable. Maybe we can agree to disagree.

On the other hand, a surprising number of Adcom 555 got fried driving difficult loads.  A high power rating doesn't guarantee high current, low impedance stability. This is usually characterized by big transformers, storage caps and dual mono or monoblocks. But that's no guarantee either.  I have an old Mitsubishi  DA-A-20DC  - 150 wpc with two transformers.  It's DC coupled and isn't rated for less than 4 ohms, in fact you're warned against it.  It too would probably blow up driving Kappas.  An Aragon and maybe that Sunfire (?) would be a good choice. Some research is required in considering these.

[Ericus Rex]

Right here on AC:


http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=106729.msg1102137;topicseen#new


I know you're leery of older equipment but given the number of repair centers Onkyo has in the US parts should still be readily available.  In other words, I'd be more leery of a boutique solid state from this same period than a mass-produced amp.  Looks like a good deal too!

[Bigfishhk]

So I won bid for anthem 225 on eBay yesterday. No remote for some reason but a good price I think, for $665 inc shipping.
Plus it's only a couple of years old,  has great reviews, lots of clean power, and an integrated setup better than separates in my space.
For remote, do you think best is to buy from manufacturer if I can,t find a used one? Or get one of those programmable things?

Thanks for all these suggestions. They have helped guide my purchase and probably future purchase since I am always on a tight budget.
Tom

[Bigfishhk]

i like wintage sansui gear.  like the au-717, a fine amp:

http://app.audiogon.com/listings/sansui-au-717-classic-integrated-amplifier-85w-x-2-wit




the au11000 is a true beast of an amp.  the au9900 isn't far behind.  the sansui's don't have remote, tho.
.

Bloody nice looking piece I may add. I had looked at similar ones on eBay and was intrigued. Ultimately swayed to find newer piece and got an Anthem.

[doug s.]

Bloody nice looking piece I may add. I had looked at similar ones on eBay and was intrigued. Ultimately swayed to find newer piece and got an Anthem.

i owned an au-717; it was wery nice, for a solid state piece.  i'd put it up against anything new for $2k.

i still own one of these - au-11000; it's on loan to the ex; it is truly a beast of an amp:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221049701531


good luck w/the anthem.

doug s.

[timind]

So I won bid for anthem 225 on eBay yesterday. No remote for some reason but a good price I think, for $665 inc shipping.
Plus it's only a couple of years old,  has great reviews, lots of clean power, and an integrated setup better than separates in my space.
For remote, do you think best is to buy from manufacturer if I can,t find a used one? Or get one of those programmable things?

Thanks for all these suggestions. They have helped guide my purchase and probably future purchase since I am always on a tight budget.
Tom

Sounds like a great deal.
As for remote, get a Logitech Harmony remote and download the commands specific to the Anthem. I bought an inexpensive Harmony a couple years ago. It has been a wonderful piece, has been able to command anything I've tried it with. It may not control every function but will most likely do the important ones. Check their web site.

[Bigfishhk]

Sounds like a great deal.
As for remote, get a Logitech Harmony remote and download the commands specific to the Anthem. I bought an inexpensive Harmony a couple years ago. It has been a wonderful piece, has been able to command anything I've tried it with. It may not control every function but will most likely do the important ones. Check their web site.

I am going to do just that.
Cheers
Tom

[a.wayne]

Sorry if I offended, you must have one of these?  I'm talking about the original Aragon. I don't know about any subsequent offerings.  Yes, it was dark, everyone thought so. Like all of this stuff, paired with the right equipment/system it was fine and super reliable. Maybe we can agree to disagree.

On the other hand, a surprising number of Adcom 555 got fried driving difficult loads.  A high power rating doesn't guarantee high current, low impedance stability. This is usually characterized by big transformers, storage caps and dual mono or monoblocks. But that's no guarantee either.  I have an old Mitsubishi  DA-A-20DC  - 150 wpc with two transformers.  It's DC coupled and isn't rated for less than 4 ohms, in fact you're warned against it.  It too would probably blow up driving Kappas.  An Aragon and maybe that Sunfire (?) would be a good choice. Some research is required in considering these.

Not offended at all , just relaying my experiences and no , I do not currently own Aragon components .

A little history :

At Stereophile 94 , we used 2 Aragon's 4004 with our reference speaker and  finished on their best sound of the show list , top 20 out of 220 ..
The Aragon's are far From dark sounding , think of them as less expensive Krells , I did find their replacement , the 8008 to be soft sounding and did prefer the sound of the 4004..

The mono version were excellent ...

As for Adcom 555, they will drive anything and are a very reliable work horse , I always keep one around for testing and backup . They will see off many of the esoteric softee's thrown around here , I currently  have one running on a 1 ohm ribbon prototype , not unusual to pop a 10 amp fuse with it , amp is approximately 25 yrs old and never been serviced ..

Fault the sound ...meh .. Reliable work horse , absolutely ..

[Doublej]

Walmart sells a Logitech Harmony 200 Remote for under $20. I don't know if that will do the trick for you.

[neobop]

Bigfishhk,
Congratulations. That amp looks perfect for your needs.
Hope everything works out.
neo

[Bigfishhk]

"Bigfishhk,
Congratulations. That amp looks perfect for your needs.
Hope everything works out.
neo"

Thanks folks. I will report back later on the Kappas's & Anthem pairing.
Tom

[Bigfishhk]

Walmart sells a Logitech Harmony 200 Remote for under $20. I don't know if that will do the trick for you.

Yes it's perfect, thanks
TB

[Bigfishhk]

update:
Received the ANthem 225 integrated amp I bought off Ebay. It's a beast of an amp, really impressive. It may kick my Krell KAV 400xi int amp out of it's place in main system, who knows.
Early days yet, but it seems like a great match for the Kappa's. And a very decent value used for $660 in this case.
I like the fact it has tone controls and tone defeat as well.
The Logitech Harmony Remote working well to control it.

thanks
Tom

[BrassEar]

Just buy an HK, Rotel, NAD, or ONK receiver or integrated and leave all that placebo audiophool in your past. I did.  As long as the unit can properly drive your speakers, the rest is imaginary reviewer hyperbole. If the top end sounds too bright, add a small power resistor (ala Bob Carver) to raise the output impedance of the amp. Works great.

[toslink]

Have you considered the Outlaw Audio RR-2150 Stereo Receiver? I just checked the feature list and it appears to have everything you're looking for.

Link

http://outlawaudio.com/products/rr2150.html

What do you think?

--david

[Bigfishhk]

Have you considered the Outlaw Audio RR-2150 Stereo Receiver? I just checked the feature list and it appears to have everything you're looking for. [/color]

What do you think?

--david

thanks. I already got the ANTHEm 225.
Tom