Aragon 4004 mk2 vs Adcom 555 mk2

Well Arthur I have owned the Mcintosh 7106 and compared to the 585 adcom. I think it would sound thin.Why ..well the Mac has a thickness to it.It sounds like Mcintosh tried to make this amp sound like tubes.Which was not a very good idea. The 585 Adcom is more transparent,better bass and voices are more distinguishable.This amplifier sounds like whatever you stick in the front of it.Nothing more.. nothing less.My 7106 was slow in comparison..maybe because of the current limitng circuits not really sure. The Mac retailed for 3500.00 the Adcom $1200.00 but you can't tell this when doing a fair comparison.The 7106 couldn't dream of handling the loads this amplifier can.A person has to decide if he wants a neutral amplifier or buy something to cover another flaw in his system.I'll take the neutral amplifier and work on the flaws.The highs are rolled off on some of the SS Macs.. this would give someone the impressions that another amplifier is bright.But before I point a finger at the amp I would look at my speakers and cables.Not bashing the the Mac but it is definitely not a neutral amplifier.

Kool39 it's cool everybodys got a favorite.I have no problem with that.
I have nothing against Aragon...so to each his own.I like some mosfets amplifiers , some bipolars and some tubes.But the bipolars are supposed to have 1/3 the distortion of mosfets.And to my ears this holds true.It's definetly a cleaner sound but I still love the Monarchys,and think their a great buy!Especially when paired with some fairly efficient speakers.

Happy Listening!

Eldartford, the Aragon 4004 mkII does indeed use seperate transformers. IT is a true mono design.

Let me rephrase "dual mono" design.

Talk about driving difficult loads take a look at this link and the first amp on their recommended list. http://www.apogeespeakers.totalserve.co.uk/scintilla.htm

Aball and Kool139....I think that this FAQ writeup from Adcom, who uses both mosfets and bipolar output devices is a fair description.
QUOTE
My amplifier seems to run hot. Is this a problem?

Probably not. Most Adcom amplifiers use output devices called "MOSFETs" (which stands for metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor, if you're curious). We've chosen these devices for their superb 'musicality'. They do, however, run hotter than more conventional bipolar transistors. We have designed our amplifiers with large 'heat sinks' made up of aluminum fins that dissipate excess transistor heat into the air. Just make sure you provide adequate room for ventilation as opposed to stacking other equipment directly on top of your amplifier.

What's the difference between your old amps and your new ones?
Well, the biggest difference goes back to MOSFETs again. Most of our newer "4 number" amplifiers (i.e. the GFA-5802) use MOSFETs while all our older "3 number" amplifiers (i.e. the GFA-555), used bipolars.

So, are bipolar amplifiers bad?
Actually bipolars have some advantages. As noted above, they produce less heat for a given power output. This makes them suitable for more compact components or for multi-channel, home theater amplifiers. As such, we have chosen to use them in our custom oriented amplifiers, the GFA-5002 and the GFA-5006, where size can be at a premium, and in our multi-channel, home theater amplifiers, the GFA-7500, GFA-7400 and GFA-7300.

Bipolars can have a very detailed, up front sound quality, and with our 2 decades of experience in getting the most out of these devices, we think you'll find that the bipolar's inherent immediacy is nicely tempered with circuit touches that let you hear a rare level of musical integrity.

END QUOTE

Of course there is a lot more to amp design that the type of transistor used. The mosfet requires less complex drive circuitry, and because of their thermal characteristics multiple devices can be more successfully paralleled, as is usually necessary for power amps. Perhaps I should have said that the distortion produced by mosfet circuit is typically low and the spectrum of harmonics somewhat resembles tubes (more "musical"). This last point is my recollection of Hafler literature when they introduced the use of mosfets to the audio world. Hafler still uses and touts mosfets. I haven't made a survey of the entire industry.

I only looked at a photo of a 4004, and it only had one transformer. If a power supply is properly designed it doesn't need to be separate for each amp. Use of two transformers is probably a practical choice, because one would be heavy to handle, and hard to mount on a chassis.
Actually, IMHO, and based on my own experience with monoblocks and multichannel amps, the greatest advantage of the mono approach is to avoid having an amp that requires a forklift to move around. Electronic advantages are insignificant.