September 2010
World Premiere!
Aaron No. 3 Millennium Power Amplifier
A sensational surprise!
Review By Anthony Nicosia
Click here to e-mail reviewer
Marita and Thomas Hoehne founded the
High End Consumer Electronic Sales Company GmbH, producing audio products
labeled under the name SOVEREIGN. The first amplifier back in 1986 though was
actually named after its developer, Mark Neumann, who was at that time working
for the Hoehne family. The company is based out of the corporate headquarter in
Elze, Germany, the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hoehne, yet all the Aaron products
starting in 1989 are produced at the "High End Halls" at Hertogenbosch in the
Netherlands.
Through
my e-mails with Thomas Hoehne he conveyed to me that he considers his products
not only German but actually European. Looking at the pictures of the village of
Wuelfingen below the Castle Marienburg where the Hoehnes live one can see how
inspiring a place this could be for the development of such quality components.
SOVEREIGN still produces audio products of very high caliber while the Aaron
lineup was introduced with the goal of striving to satisfy the consumers need
for great sound quality at "an unbeatable price-sound ratio." Where SOVEREIGN
amplifiers start at 6900 Euros (about $8482 in US dollars) leading up to a mono
block pair for 98,900 Euros (about $121,577), the Aaron No. 3 Millennium lists
for only $3950 US dollars. By now you might be wondering why it was decided to
name this lineup Aaron, being the curious type it certainly sparked my interest.
The main website says people have wondered if it could be named after Elvis
Presley's middle name or maybe was even taken from the old Testament. But no,
for you see Thomas Hoehne felt that it should appear listed alphabetically in
the same order as if being classified by sound quality, that is to say in first
place. That seems like quite a tall order and given its relatively low price I
did not at first take it literally. It seemed to me more appropriate to judge
Aaron products comparing them to others within a similar pricing structure, but
as you will see that opinion was to change rather quickly. I liked the fact that
the manufacturer had the courage to name it as such. It was like a baseball
player being nicknamed Homer, he had better live up it or else face heckling
from the fans wherever he would play.
"Handcrafted
For The Friends Of Fine Music"
Judging
by its outward appearance the Millennium is quite a simple design. On the top
cover centered near the middle from left to right and front to back, is a very
thick aluminum plate measuring about six inches by six inches. The name Aaron is
printed on it along with the phrase "Handcrafted for the friends of fine music".
This plate was setup to improve damping and control vibration, all in all a good
idea that hopefully more manufacturers will adopt. Two ventilation strips can be
found on the left and two more on the right side on the top cover. On the front
panel you will find a relatively small cone shaped power on/off button with a
blue light above it indicating its operating status. Above that there is the
company and model name printed on the face plate. No gain controls, no large
exposed heat sink fins or meters of any kind to adorn this simple structure just
a nice elegant design concept.
Looking
at the rear of the unit things are also quite basic with an IEC power outlet,
two RCA inputs and a set of gold plated speaker terminals. Taking off the cover
and peering inside we find a very neat package with lots of room to expand and
to maneuver about in. There were two transistors per channel as well as a large
500VA toroidal transformer (covered in a plastic casing) and the total
capacitance was 80,000 microfarads (8 capacitors times 10,000 microfarads each).
While not readily noticeable from the outside once inside you could see some
silver colored cooling fins tucked neatly away and located on the right hand
side below the ventilation strips found on the top cover of the unit. As is
becoming quite customary in recent times the amplifier came with a nice set of
white gloves for use when handling it to prevent oil from ones fingers getting
on the nice finish of the amplifier. Feet were nothing out of the ordinary and
you may of course decide to use after market isolation platforms or other
devices of your own choosing if you like. I would listen to it first in stock
form before going that route as it was impressive indeed the way it came
straight from the factory (perhaps that engraved heavy plate did the job it was
intended to do). It was recommended to me by Brian Ackerman of Aaudio Imports
(Aarons North American Distributor and the person who provided my review sample)
that the amplifier be left on all the time so that was how the Millennium was
used during its stay with me. Never once though did it overheat or even get hot
to the touch but rather stayed very well mannered within my main listening
system.
Magnepan
MGIIIA Loudspeakers
And the No. 3 Millennium Rock My Listening Room
For the purposes of this review the Millennium
was mated with my own Placette passive preamplifier, a pair of Magnepan
Magneplanar MGIIIA loudspeakers, some assorted Cardas Audio cables (loudspeaker
and power cables as well as interconnects, along with Monarchy Audio and TEK
Line power cords, an Oracle Delphi MK1 turntable and a Vincent CD-S8 Hybrid HDCD
CD Player. To link the system together a PS Audio power conditioner and an
Audience aR-2p-T power conditioner were used. My choice of using the Magnepans
was done in an effort to truly test the capabilities of the Aaron No. 3
Millennium power amplifier as these 4ohm loudspeakers can be difficult to drive
properly. Having previously used my Monarchy SM-70 Pro mono blocks along with
their 120-Watt Class A power, driven into an 4ohm load, I was quite familiar
with how they sounded with the MGIIIA's. When more power was needed, which the
Magnepans seem to really thrive upon, the Threshold 800A and its 200-Watts of
Class A power was brought in. While the Monarchy amplifiers sounded good the
Magnepans sounded even better with the more powerful Threshold amplifier. What
shocked me most however was that the Millennium with its 180-Watts into 4ohms,
when paired with the Magnepans, really rocked my listening room! The music that
it produced in conjunction with the Magnepans was incredible.
Let
The Music Begin
The music of Buddy Guy always seems to touch my
very essence. When you throw in a little bit of Eric Clapton to play alongside
him well it really does not get much better than that. Yet when listening to
Buddy Guy's CD Skin Deep [Silvertone
88697-31629-2] something seemed to always be missing as it just never quite
grabbed me as I felt it should have. Something that was until the Aaron No. 3
Millennium stepped into the equation. With "Too Many Tears" the sound stage lit
up with clearly defined individual performances that while heard separately
would also blend together sounding coherent and forceful. Here we are treated to
Buddy Guy & Susan Tedeschi on vocals, Jerry Jones with sitar, Derek Trucks
on slide guitar, Tom Hambridge playing drums and percussion, Willie Weeks with
bass, Reese Wynans on keyboards and David Grissom playing guitar. That is a lot
of music and song for the Millennium/Magnepan combination yet they handled it
all with the aplomb of true professionals. The singing voices of Buddy Guy and
Susan Tedeschi came forth with great emotion giving one a connection to the song
on a very personnel level. Never was there a blend of musical efforts smearing
music together but always that distinctly separate space between each allowing
one to enjoy individual efforts within each song. This separation of musicians
made for a sound stage that was precise and vast. "Show Me The Money" with Buddy
Guy playing a '74 Fender Telecaster, alone was worth the price of admission and
when you get down to it this song is just plain fun on all sorts of levels. The
Millennium grabbed hold of the performance and took me along for this thoroughly
enjoyable wild ride. For me though "Every Time I Sing The Blues" is one of those
songs that finds a special place within my collection as it just seems to move
me no matter how many times I listen to it. The line:
"I'm just tryin' to tell the truth
Every time I sing the blues."
This s
On the CD from 2L entitled,
The Nordic Sound [2L-RRA-SABD], there is a large variety of various
great performances. On track number two is "Mozart Sonata for 2 Pianos in D
Major-Allegro" featuring the Dena Piano Duo. Here one is treated to pianists
HeideGörtz and Tina Margareta Nilssen. Nilseen is from Norway while Gortz was
her former professor at the "Universität der Künste" in Berlin.
Their style of play is designed to make two separate pianos sound as one while
keeping each individuals musical expression distinctly unique. Placement of the
two pianos is side by side and quite close together in physical proximity. The
ability of the Aaron No. 3 Millennium to create a large three-dimensional sound
stage extending well behind the loudspeakers stunned me. It allowed me to feel
the presence of these life size pianos in my listening environment unlike no
other amplifier had yet to accomplish. The sense of the pianists fingers
pressuring lightly on the keys filled my room with music of a large yet delicate
nature. The speed of music emanating from each piano with a sense of depth and
emotion was so powerful it reminded me of the time when I first heard this
performance. When an amplifier can make a familiar CD sound new and wonderful
once again then you know something great is occurring, but my joy did not stop
there. For also on this CD, found on track five, is the Consortium
Vocale performing "Crux Fidelis". Here we can hear the voices of the choir
revealing the large open spaced setting where it was recorded. A feeling of
height and size was captured nicely by the Millennium as it never seemed to run
out of power in my room when driving the Magnepan MGIIIA's.
This was not such an easy task as lesser amplifiers have been
known to fail when called upon to do so with the Magnepans. The tone of
individual voices, rows upon rows of singers and width as well as depth were
layered correctly. Moving onto track seven with Kristians and Symfoniorkester/Solistkoret
performing "Islandsmoen: REQUIEM – Confutatis" the feeling produced by the
percussion section sounded like a large wave of music crashing down upon my
listening seat. This was especially moving when played at very high sound output
levels. Both the male and female parts of the choir sang with voices overlapping
yet still with each retaining their unique individuality.
My last stop on this CD was with StigNilson and Anders
Kjellberg Nilsson performing "Plagge: Duels for 2 violins-Vivo". The sound of
both violins was quite distinct as each occupied a nice three-dimensional space
within the sound stage. Hearing a violin hit those high notes yet doing so
without sounding shrill or etched is always a pleasure and the mark of a good
amplifier. With this duel of violins the Millennium did not disappoint me as the
bow rapidly moved across string and instrument as music poured forth that was
both true of timbre yet alive with an accurate feeling of presence.
In keeping with a stringed instrument it was now time to move
onto a much larger one, the cello. For this a visit with Yo-Yo-Ma & Friends Songs
of Joy & Peace [Sony Classical 88697-24414-2] seemed in order.
Being that this CD was very familiar territory for me changes in sound could be
swiftly recognized. Right from the opening song, "Dona NobisPacem (Give Us
Peace…with counterpoint) it was obvious a change had taken place from the
perspective of listening through my own amplifiers. Here large as life was this
Cello placed before me with an incredible correctness of timbre occupying a
space almost as real as if it was actually playing in front of me. Not only can
one feel each movement of the bow upon the strings but as Yo-Yo-Ma presses his
fingers on the fingerboard one can hear the pitch changing and feel the
vibrations from inside the belly of the instrument. This performance sent chills
down my spine and a warm glow to my heart. With "You Couldn't Be Cuter"
featuring Diana Krall (Vocals and Piano), John Clayton (Acoustic Bass) and of
course Yo-Yo-Ma (Cello) we find a very playful style of song. The Cello sounded
so lifelike and full of expression as if it were a human voice singing in a duet
with Diana Krall rather than an instrument accompanying her. Piano and acoustic
bass both are shown with good presence and vocals were alive and detailed.
Before leaving this CD behind a visit to "Invitacion al Danzon" featuring
Yo-Yo-Ma (cello) PaquitoD'Rivera (clarinet) and AlonYavnai (piano) was
essential. All three instruments came together on center stage in unison with
each complimenting the other clearly yet still heard individually. No confusion
here as three unique performances are showcased together on one large sound
stage with each instrument remaining quite separate. With the Millennium all the
small nuances that make up a great performance can be heard in detail, not a
small feat for any amplifier to pull off. PRAT (pace, rhythm & Timing) are
done right and I wished this song would never end. All in all a beautiful piece
upon which to leave this CD behind and to move ahead to some vinyl selections of
a different variety.
Spinning
Vinyl with "Millennium" Power
Whenever it is time to vicariously
experience a Broadway Show out comes my 42nd
Street [RCA RED SEAL CBL1-3891] record, an original 1980 Broadway
cast recording. Having lived near New York City for many years this record
reminds me of the many live performances both on and off Broadway it was my
privilege to attend in the years before moving to California. On the opening of "Overture
Audition" with horns playing the performance felt exciting and alive. The
Millennium offered a good compromise between the clarity and power of
solid-state with the texture that comes from a quality tube amplifier. The horns
had that fully bodied effect while the tapping of feet from the chorus line was
nicely captured as it interacted with the floor giving one an alive presence to
it. You could hear the sound of a hollow stage beneath the dancers’ feet
echoing with each step. Vocals were open and spacious as if performed in front
of a large audience within a grand theater. Of course what would such a
magnificent performance be without proper layering of individual rows within
this large cast of dancers. As they tap danced throughout the record the
Millennium produced a sound stage both wide and deep that lent a proper
portrayal to this original Broadway performance. As for vocals it was with
Bonnie Raitts Nick of Time [Capitol Records C1-91268] album where it was
showcased just how good the Millennium could sound. On "Nick of Time" not only
was the inner most intricacies of her powerful voice exhibited but we are also
given a very revealing insight into vocal texture as well, while the solid
presence of Paulinho Da Costa on Congas and Ricky Fataar on drums/percussion
helped to highlight this spectacular song. While not overpower in its presence
drums/percussion were natural sounding in content and realistic in tone. Finally
a short journey to Miles Davis on Kind Of
Blue [Columbia PC 8163] was in order. "So What" is the opening song
and my favorite piece from this vinyl record. Here the Millennium brought out
the speed and clarity of the trumpet while giving one a good sense of true
timbre from the accompanying piano and bass. A great album and an excellent
presentation of it were given with the aid of the Millennium amplifier.
Conclusion
After
reading this review it should be obvious what my feelings are towards the Aaron
No. 3 Millennium Power Amplifier. It did some very special things within my
review system and when placed alongside my other components only made them sound
the better for it. My Magnepan loudspeakers seemed to love this pairing and gave
an even better three-dimensional presentation than was normal, with music
sounding fuller and more true to life. Being 4ohm loudspeakers they place a much
heavier demand on power amplifiers then 8ohm loudspeakers would yet as difficult
to power as they were the Millennium never so much as whimpered. While it is not
easy to dig out lower bass notes with the Magnepans I felt the Millennium did an
excellent job of giving me almost all of what they were capable of. This was one
amplifier that never got hot to the touch (not even warm), gave me no problems
and always sounded at its best regardless of the musical experience it was
called upon to replicate. This is not a product for audiophiles only but rather
for anyone who loves good music. It transformed my CD/Vinyl collection into one
where I wanted to stay up all night listening to them all over again as if again
for the very first time. This was one of those difficult pieces for me to review
as sending it back will surely leave me wanting for that special enjoyment it
brought to my audio system and into my home. It will be hard to listen to
certain songs again knowing how good they should sound given the right
associated equipment, namely the Aaron No. 3 Millennium Power Amplifier. If you
notice that no where in this review is there a mention of "at this price point".
That is because it was that good regardless of its modest cost of $3950 and
could easily be compared with others costing considerably more. If called upon
to use only one word to describe my feeling for the Aaron it would have to be "Bravo".
This is one of those amplifiers that you buy and hold onto for a very long time
while you just sit back and "Enjoy the Music".
The
Listening Environment
The review room is eighteen feet eight inches
long by thirteen feet wide with loudspeakers and equipment kept on the short
wall. The cathedral ceiling starts at eight feet and sloops up-wards to thirteen
feet at its peak in the middle spanning across the short length of the room for
the full thirteen feet width. The hardwood floor has a nine by six foot oriental
rug lying down the long ways facing toward the system placed dead center in
between, yet not under, the listener and the review equipment The room has no
doors but there are two openings. One opening is in front of the right
loudspeaker giving access to the hallway while the other is behind the listening
position which opens into a formal dining area. The room is treated with three
floor standing acoustical panels whose placement varies depending on which
loudspeakers are used and their position within the room. All the audio
equipment is located in a Cherry Synergy Twin S30 Salamander audio rack placed
about a foot away from and in the middle of the short wall opposite the
listening position.
Review
Equipment
Placette Passive Preamplifier
Monarchy Audio SM70-PRO Solid-State Class A Amplifiers
Threshold 800A power amplifier
Vincent CD-S8 Hybrid HDCD CD Player
Oracle Delphi MK 1 Turntable, Grace 707 Tonearm with custom made interconnects
Audio-Technica Prestige AT33PTG Moving Coil Cartridge
Magnepan Magneplanar MG IIIA's
Audience aR2p-T power conditioner
PS Audio UPC 200 Power Conditioner
PS Audio Power Port Receptacle
Two Blue Circle Audio Mk III Power Line Conditioners
Loudspeaker Cables: Cardas Golden Presence (2 pairs running bi-wired)
Interconnects: Cardas Musician's Reference (2 pairs)
Power Cords: Cardas Cross (1)
Cardas Golden (2)
Tek Line PC-8 Signature (1)
Monarchy Audio AC-1 (1)
Cherry Synergy Twin S30 Salamander audio rack
My Ratings
Please take into consideration that the
equipment under review is being measured in my room, with my equipment and heard
through my ears. As always you should be the final judge as to what works for
you in your environment and measured against what traits you value most. The
following was how I rated the equipment based on a rating system that does not
take in to consideration the cost of the product, until the very last question,
“Value For The Money”. Before that all products are rated against others in
its category, regardless of financial considerations with a highest rating of 5.