Aaron Amplifiers?

KLH007 said:
Thanks Tomy2, Aaron sure is customer friendly with their policies. I'm looking forward to your No. 3 audition and comparison. BTW, I heard the SS8s at RMAF 2014 compared to the Exoticas with their powered bass drivers, my buddy and I preferred the SS8s driven by Frank's Fet Valve 600R, stunningly good!
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Somehow missed your post earlier. There seems to be a dividing line between people who prefer the Exotica 3's vs SS8's as apparently they each give a different presentation. I've not heard the E3's from Jim yet but I'm really happy with my SS8's thus far. Just trying to find a great match with an amp/preamp.

I really liked what the Job 225 had to offer but it ran really hot when cranked up. The Aaron so far runs slightly warm to the touch. I actually have a pair of Odyssey Kismet Monoblocks in the works from Klaus but it might be a little while before their ready so I thought I'd take a chance on the Aaron while I wait.
 
KLH007 said:
tomy2, Any further thoughts on the Aaron amp?
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I was hoping to have a few more hours on the Aaron by now but I was really sick for most of this past week so as of now I got probably around 12 hours on it being driven. I have left it on the entire time since I've had it which is what Aaron recommends.

I can tell you so far it's a great amp for acoustical music, particularly acoustic guitar. Seems every note of the guitar is well defined and has a great tone to it. Listening to Buddy Guy and Junior Wells on Alone & Acoustic sounds absolutely fantastic with all the emotion I like coming through.

It has a bit of a lit up soundstage if you will. I've noticed on certain tracks that I thought were not the best recording or transfer the Aaron makes it sound much more alive. The Eagles " Tequila Sunrise" I always thought Glen Frye was a little bit recessed but through the Aaron he is front and center with much more clarity to his voice.

The Aaron seems to throw a really nice soundstage where instruments are appropriately placed and there's a dimensionality to it that I've not heard an amplifier do before. However, so far I got to say it doesn't quite have the warm musicality that I loved about the Job 225 and nor does it have the deep impactful bass that the Job displayed. The bass is good and very detailed but I keep waiting for it hit hard and deep but it just hasn't happened yet.

I'm going to let it be driven a little harder this week and report back if any changes take place.
 
Thank you for the update Tomy. I hope you feel better. The Job has a wonderful sound and I feel the monos might be the answer for more power. I still think the Job monos, for me, might make a perfect alternative to some of my hot running gear. I always loved the sound of the Job stereo and will eventually order the monos.
 
Tomy, Do you have any idea of the timing of your Kismets, will it much longer?
 
KLH007 said:
Tomy, Do you have any idea of the timing of your Kismets, will it much longer?
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I chated with Klaus the other day through email and he said he's slammed with orders so I didn't make it an issue to see where he was at with mine. I actually bought a pair of Stratos off Agon and had the seller ship them directly to Klaus for the full Kismet upgrade of which Klaus said it would only take about 5 hrs of labor to do but fitting time in between orders is the challenge. A few guys I know through forums with similar speakers had high praise for Odyssey Monoblocks which is why I took the chance.

If the Aaron doesn't "warm up" to my liking by the the 15th I'll just ship it back to Germany and wait on the Kismets. The way the Aaron sounds now it would be perfect for a more laid back speaker. It does a lot of things I like that the Job didn't quite do but if it had the warm side of neutral sound with the hard hitting bass of the Job it would be a homerun.

The guy who replaced his Innamorata with an Aaron bought his used off Agon so it already had plenty of hours on it so maybe it's just a matter of time, who knows. I'll report back later in the week....
 
Tomy, In addition to run in time, maybe someone has some experience with power cords that have a warm flavor?
 
KLH007 said:
Tomy, In addition to run in time, maybe someone has some experience with power cords that have a warm flavor?
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I have a red copper cable I could try but not sure if it will improve it much. The power cables I use now I really like because they are very neutral...from ZenWave Audio.

I'll do a switch-a-roo later today and see if that does anything.
 
Well I thought I should chime in one more time in regards to the Aaron No.3 Millenium amp and what I've experienced. When I initially got the Aaron I noticed how highly detailed it was but seemed to get a little fatigued after a while because of the etched highs and was a little disappointed in the bass not being as punchy and authoritative as the Job 225 I used to have. I struggled with wanting to return the amp...I loved the soundstage it produced but was growing weary of the glare and etch I was hearing.

When I messaged the customer service at Aaron the rep asked me if I was using silver cables...a while back I had demoed and really liked ZenWave speaker/interconnect cables which uses a combination of upocc silver with a little bit of gold in a litz configuration. The power cables are upocc copper in litz but are much more detailed than traditional copper. The sales rep had me thinking. I tried replacing the power cable first to another brand cable made of copper and noticed it smoothed out a little of the highs and made it more tolerable.

I then tried another set of cables that were known to be a little warmer and as soon as I put them heard another layer of etch go away. Everything was better but still I wasn't completely happy. I decided to keep the amp with the thought I'll get another set of speakers someday for a second system that will be a little more warm and laid back than my Salk SS8's. I thought something like that would be the better match.

I continued to let the Aaron play about 15hrs during the day and left it on at night with low volume. One day I came home and immediately noticed the bass had improved tremendously. I thought well that's cool, it's getting closer to what the Job amp was doing. After a few more days I felt the presentation and detail was not as great as I had remembered in the beginning with the ZenWave cables. On a whim I put the ZenWave power cable back on the amp and thought the detailed improved but still wasn't happy with it. I forgot to mention earlier I also had changed my preamps power cable from ZenWave to another brand copper cable.

Thats when I thought what the hell, I'll change everything back to ZenWave and see what happens. Bam! Everything seemed to just snap back into its proper place with a nice sweet detailed soundstage I was hoping this Aaron was going to produce. The tone was spot on, the detailed and resolution was out of this world but with no glare or etch in the highs. It was beautiful. Everything I had heard about the Aaron came to life.

I'm going to guess and say by the time the Aaron kicked in the bass it was around 1000 to 1200 hours. I was told the amp only needed about 6 hours of play to sound it's best. Well I think what I was hearing early on was the ZenWave cables just passing on what was fed which I believe was an amp that just needed a considerable amount of time to settle or "burn in" as some would say. The ZenWave cables are absolutely fantastic and give you all the detail you want as long as the equipment is up to the task. And the Aaron No.3 is definitely up to the task..it's a hellava amp. I don't miss the Job anymore. The Aaron gives me such an incredible soundstage with all the instruments in their proper place and vivid detail that gives me goose bumps.

I'm really glad I decided to keep the Aaron and I'm just as happy I made the choice to use ZenWave cables. Together they're an awesome match!

-Tom
 
Tom,

Thank you for the update. I was thinking about you and the Aaron amp. So glad you are happy.
 
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