Aragon 4004 mk2 vs Adcom 555 mk2

I own the Aragon and used to have an Adcom although I can't remember if it was that model or not. In any case, the Aragon was way more musical. The Adcom sounded "cheap" to me. However, the other components were upgraded at the same time (my house was burglarized) so it is not an apples to apples comparison.

"Way more musical" is a nice way of saying it has more harmonic distortion. Ok if that's what you like.

Aragon. Owner of a pair of modified Palladium 1K's. Ive been happy since day one. Adcom's best amplifer though the GFA5802 which I feel isnt too shabby of an amp for the price would be a good comparison again a 4004 I think. Both have a similiar used value too dont they?

You know some of us have to make ourselves feel better when we spend more on some of this stuff.Adcom 500 series cheap sound ..I doubt it! You will find the same transistors in some Rowlands,Pass,and Mark Levinsons. I guess they sound cheap too! Or you like paying for a face plate ..which I can't seem to hear to save my life.

Didnt realize i picked such a touchy subject. LOL

Gmood1, I really think Johngalt47 was just stating his real life comparison between the two. And he stated he wasnt sure if the amp or if other components are what made the the biggest difference. Also he was just giving his opinion on the adcom 555mk II which he had in his home so thats a pretty good test. Aragon 4004 mkII also uses a bipolar design.

Eldartford, I understand that you like adcom and own them but have you actually compared it to an aragon 4004 mkII in your home? I see that you drive maggies with 5503's. Really the 555mk II and 5503 are totally different animals. The older model uses bipolar design and the newer uses mosfets. So i am not really sure how you are comparing the 2 amps i requested information about. I do notice you talk alot about the 5503 handling a tough load which you state at being 350wpc/4 ohm load. Well one thing about the aragons they are quite noted for handling tough loads. The aragon 4004 mk II is a true mono design amplifier which doubles down from 8 to 4 and again to 2 ohms. Also with the true mono design i would imagine the stereo seperation between the 2 channels would also highly have to favor the aragon.

But i am not here to slam adcom i think they make good products at good prices. My initial thread was just to find out some comparisons that people have done in their own homes with both products. Aragon just happened to be the favored here from folks that owned both.

Happy Listening!