Need some audiogon expertise

Newbee, I do notice quite an improvement with volume. I think you make a very good point. I use to own very efficent speakers which didnt take much volume at all to get them playing very dynamic. Then i moved to a more warm speaker that took lots of power to make them sing and they didnt last long here in my home. With Vmps i do like the dynamics at low levels just seems to be a little thin. But I have found by walking around the room to different areas the bass is increased in specific locations. So with the combination of such a dynamic speaker that does need a certain amount of power and the present placement of my speakers i have created this weakness. I will be working on my placement at this time. Thanks for all the advice.

Bowbow, obviously you have never been part of a phenomena know as "brainstorming". If i didnt want the experts to come forward with their opinions i would not have asked for help.I would have just sat in dissappointment for another 6 months wondering what might be my next alternative.

Thanks again all for your advice and recommendations.

Kool, from what you describe even though the specs say otherwise, it seems you might NOT be experiencing impedance mismatching with your preamp and amp.

I agree that experimenting with speaker placement would be the best place to start. Try pushing them closer to the back walls. Hopefully you can achieve a balance where bass fills out without becoming boomy or muddy, and soundstaging doesn't suffer.

Good luck.

Gunbei, thanks for the advice. I was looking at my audible illuions L-1 manual and it states that the output impedance is 1.2Kohm. The aragon 4004 mkII does have an input impedance of 22Kohm. This tells me i am on the low side of the of the guidline range but also i am well within it at 18 times. Not completely sure that some of the problem doesnt lie in this area but with the dynamics as such i highly doubt it.

Output impedance usually is correctly specified in the manuals but the freequency range sometimes isn't or if even specified the levels usually hidden.
Preamp might be at fault of not having "full-enough" range and needs either internal upgrade or replacement.
I'd increase negative feedback or introduced the global feedback if one is absent in the amp. Also I'd replace stock volume control on alps pots.
For a replacement I'd look for Audio Research older units that are far more superior than L1.

Marakanetz, The frequency response is specified in the manual and it is within 1dB from 2 to 100khz. So i do believe it has the audible range covered. The preamp seems to be working perfectly absolutely dead quiet. Music comes out of the blackness. There is no noise present when i turn the volume controls. Not sure what you are talking about with global or negative feedback. The aragon is an ss amp by the way. Thanks for the input.