Aragon soundstage in, Lex out..thoughts

[JohnT]

Ive lived with logic 7 on lexicons mc-1,dc-2,dc-1 and latest h/k avr8000 for the last couple of years and it is indeed addictive. Great processing with a full sound that is comforting, it puts you in the movie and not on the outside so to speak. I have always had in the back of my head that while it was great that I may be mssing some resolution,dynamics and impact. I just moved to a smaller ht room and this gave me the accuse to try something different so I bought a used aragon soundstage (note, I didnt a/b the units as I had to sell my processor to get another) so all my findings are conjecture). I am using the aragon in a 5.1 setup at this time. I thought I would get an improvement in two channel but didnt expect much in HT. I must say that Im thrilled with the aragon, the first thing I noticed in movies was dialog was so strong and clear(something that I thought lacked a bit in the lex without vocal enhance enabled)..The resolution is crisper (glass shattering,cigeratte lighters etc sound more pronounced) and impact seems a bit tighter. On non-action movies Im even happier as I get very clear processing. It also seems that I can crank the aragon to reference and it doesnt seem like its loud(my wife hasnt told me to turn it down once :P )...I do miss logic 7 but at the same time it seems in my smallish ht room that 5.1 sound is more precise and direct which is kinda nice....

On two channel the aragons bypass mode is awesome, very transparent and my turntable sounds better then ever. The aragon is apropriatly named as the soundstage that this unit throws is huge. The dacs in the aragon are better then the ones in my h/k changer but not as good as the art dio.Overall the dacs in the aragon are good but probably nothing great(Im looking for a good dac to take advantage of the aragons bypass)...

[John Holmes]

Great story John!

I read an article somewhere (can't recall where) recently about, how much processing power has changed in the last year or so. So much that entry level gear of today, can surpass some of the mid to high end pieces introduced when DD was new to home theater.

I don't know how valid this maybe, but it interesting none the less. And reading your findings makes me think even more about how drastic this difference maybe. Even just from mfg to mfg.

It is IMO, what you have/hear now is what HT is suppose to sound like. Extreme clarity, and only loud when the dynamics are active. Congrats and enjoy!

And welcome to the Guide!




"I came here, to chew bubble gum and kickass. And I'm all out of bubble gum!!!" My DVD's

[JohnT]

Thanks for the welcome John!..

I always usually like to do a true a/b between units but this wasnt possible.Wonder if theres anybody else that has made the switch from lexicon to ? or visa versa and what their thoughts are. I have tried many processors and recievers over the last couple of years but most were mid-fi, and the aragon (aside from the lexs) is the first somewhat hi-fi piece..The aragon will have a shelf space in my rack for a long while hopefully (long for me is 1-2 years)...

Over the years my needs/wants have changed in what I want out of my system as far as pure sonics go. I started out wanting a "bright" sounding system and that quickly changed to wanting totally a"warm" system. Now I want neither or should I say both.. I want my processor and amps to be totally neutral as I like HT this way, but on music I like smoothness (tubes,turntables etc)...I feel the aragon is totally neutral and transparent which is exactly what I was shooting for.

[Ricky]

John "Gear Goes Through Me like WATER" Tompkins,

That is just about the strongest review I've ever head you give a product?! Nice to be in a smaller room sometimes huh? Less complicated with an ideal 5.1 speaker arrangement. The clarity and impact you describe is impressive.

How is the DPL1 for your DSS, after having DPL2 and Logic7? Is its easier to use than a Lexicon?

I wonder if there are Aragon Soundstage, or Stage One, owners out there?

[dsmith]

John, I can't help but wonder if you are comparing a two channel source (what Logic 7 is for) to a discrete 5.1 channel source through Dolby Digital. Of course the DD will sound cleaner in all channels because of its discrete nature. A better comparison would be between Logic 7 and Dolby Pro Logic I or II in the Aragon. Also, the Lexicon you had does not have direct analog bypass as does the Aragon, and if you have a good CD player music should sound better through that input.

dsmith

[JohnT]

Sorry for the confusion. First let me say that logic 7 for dss viewing and other two channel sources is far better processsing then the pro-logic on the soundstage , heck I never really liked pro-logic 2 becuase I always used logic7 but pro-logic 2 is better then pro-logic. Dss viewing sound isnt that critical too me but if it was then logic 7 is better, lex wins here....

I am aware that the lex redigitizies an analog source and in this area never much cared for the musical abilities of using the lexs dac processing etc for two channel( aragon wins here even using its internal dacs with a digital source)..I must say that the logic music modes were impressive in how they decoded two channel sources into 7 and again lex wins here (aragon doesnt have hardly any music dsp, none that I care to use anyway)....Let me clarify that when I had the lexs I also had various analog preamps to suppliment the lex (I had the sony tap, anthem pre2l, rotel 995?, bottlehead tube kit)...using various cd players etc(cambridge 500se, ahtjoeb, art dac,h/k)....this is where the aragon shines as its analog bypass is very transparent.

I always used logic 7 on movies viewing no matter the source dd or two channel..I wouldnt get a lexicon if I wasnt going to use it with digital sources be it 5.1 or 7.1. So thats why I would compare digital sources on the aragon to the lex decoding digital sources with logic 7 applied...So I would argue that logic 7 is for more then two channel sources.This begs the question, Does dd/dts sources sound cleaner in thier natural state then the same sources with logic 7 applied ?..


Ricky, the aragon has no osd but is very easy to setup..It doesnt have nowhere near the tweaks of the lexicon. It does have crossovers at 30,35,40,45,50,55,60,70,80,90,100 but they are global too all speakers set to small..The dbs can be set in .5 increments which is nice. I havent messed with the remote as of yet or the video switching so cant be of any help on that. It should have all the optical/digital inputs that anybody may need(not sure of exact number)

[dsmith]

John, just curious - which H/K CD player do you have? I have the FL8550 and love it. I preferred its analog output to the digital input through the Bryston SP-1.

dsmith

[JohnT]

I believe it was the fl8380 and it was a 5 disc player

[Ricky]

The guy who sold me the Soundstage (which hasn't arrived yet!) also has the highly regarded Music Fidelity A324 192/24 upsampling dac. Some people add this dac to their Sony 777ES SACD players. Yet, the seller only heard a very subtle difference between the A324 and the Soundstage dacs.

[JohnT]

Yea, I had compared the art di/o dac directly against the cambridge d-500 cds dacs and also the lexicon dc-2s dacs and much prefered the art dac. Now I have compared the art di/o dac with the soundstages dacs ( db-ed out at same volume ) and they were very close, The aragon had a bit better bass and a smoother presentation while the art had a little more vibrant treble.