Since I have shared it in other forum, so I am just extending this little story of mine here too. Honestly, I don’t really like to give review on products especially on ICE stuffs since things are just too vague and subjected to many interpretations. Not withstanding criticism from those who have strong opinions on brands which they have invested substantially. However, to this amplifier, I just want to share a few pieces of my mind hoping to correct some serious misconception about the brand i.e. Agako. This is a Korean man! As far as I know, Korean amps have never been really associated with SQ besides Abyss.

I am sure most ICErs would have heard of Agako and it is often associated with SPL which was made popular by Mega Sound previously. But I just want to say, this amplifier is special. Special in the sense that at that level of price it is retailing, it is definitely a run for your money. At a price half of the most branded SQ amps outside, the Agako Reference 4100 delivers the sterling performance what its counterpart can do and even better in some areas.

Ok, I shall cut those bullshit and straight to the point. Thanks to the courtesy of my friend who is also one of the ICE maniac around, has generously lend me his Agako Reference 4100 amplifier. Actually, he has been bugging me to test that out and to prove how wrong the market perception is (including myself too. He He He ). Some of the statistics of this amp and picture:

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As it was a direct swap from the Arc Audio XXK4150 (2x320w RMS-bridged at 4ohm), hence comparison is made against it. The Arc Audio XXK series amps were highly regarded by the American SQ group (diyma) and I’m sure most of you could collect lots of positive comments about it (if one would like to know what benchmark I am making).

Paired with Focal K2P UV in passive, the first impression was that this Agako has clearer high extension and strings strumming from the guitar can be heard more clearly than with the Arc Audio. Vocals sounds more chesty and breathe from the singer is also more pronounced (Test from the album Bevelyn and Oasis Collection of Smooth Jazz). No noise is detected in the system and indeed the signal is very clean which is on par with the Arc Audio.

The Agako is sonically accurate but less attack. Nevertheless, decay of the highs is good. Some slight colouration is detected especially beyond 12kHz. The Arc Audio sounds warmer and more natural to the extent of almost being muffled in certain instruments play. I will say the Agako sounds very good with my favourite genre (smooth jazz & instruments). Stage height, width and depth are really commendable. Though, the Arc Audio still has the advantage in overall dynamics and being more controlled in the region of 70hz and below.

One department that the Agako clearly lost to the Arc Audio is on the bass impact. This is evident in every drum beat whereby my rear view mirror will shake especially with Madonna’s Dress You Up & La Isla Bonita. Perhaps, this has to do with the very typical characteristics of American amps. But that doesn’t mean the Agako is a slow couch (just that the bass is less impactful and certainly not a problem unless your favourite genre are the technos and hip hop which lots of hard bass is required. This could be solved easily with a subwoofer.

Another thing I will like to comment is that the Arc Audio definitely triumphs when come to speaker control. As I have don’t intend to put a subwoofer, the ability of the amp to control the speakers at the sub bass range is essential. High passing the K2P UV speakers at 63Hz -6db slope poses no problem with the Arc Audio at all. However, the Agako couldn’t live up to the reputation of the Arc Audio. Mid bass sounded more boomy but nothing can’t be addressed with a little bit of equalizing at the sub bass frequencies and the slope (from -6db to -12db). Anyway, the Arc Audio amp has been nasty with its reputation of having crazy damping factor (2000@1khz). For information, the damping factor for Agako is rated at 250@100hz. So, you just can’t compare it like an apple to an apple. Anyway, those are just statistics and hearing them is always better than relying on some data which is practically unverifiable by the laymen. Hearing is practically more convincing.

I apologize as I couldn’t delve further into the technical aspects of the Agako amp due to lack of information at the moment (maybe later). All I know is that this Agako features a push-pull technology which is Class A biased (But I will say it is more a Class AB hybrid). It is also classified as a high-current amp. One more thing is that the Agako is churning 2x400w RMS which was basically 160w RMS more than the Arc Audio. Hence, more ambience was detected there although the tweeters didn’t sound as transparent as with the Arc Audio.

As for the newbies or even veteran ICErs, I will advise them not to make their purchase decision merely based on forum dynamics or marketing hype of brands. Personally, I think the marketing team from Agako just sucks and they have left a very big vacuum for their products particularly with their Reference series amps. Best is to hop into your favourite accessories shop and hear the amp out yourselves. If they hesitate, then it’s time you leave them as business especially for ICE is definitely difficult to come by.

One more thing, please don’t compare the Reference series to its brothers (Extreme and Blue) as it just doesn’t give justice to it in terms of SQ. In short, it has very low distortion, excellent signal to noise ratio and lots of power. No popping noise too when switched on.

To conclude, the Agako Reference 4100 is definitely a SQ amp and most will not be disappointed as it has plenty of potential and clean power to satiate your power hungry speakers. This amp definitely has my thumbs up and I will definitely recommend it to those who are seeking some SQ in their ride. It should perform well with genres such as instrumental, R&B and vocals. Sonic characteristics are very similar to the Helix A4 but this Agako wins hands down in terms of clean power.

Lastly I want to make it clear that I am not in any way related to Agako or to any parties that has a direct interest with the company. I am just a regular ICEr and I am no sifu indeed. Just sharing my few cents and I stand to be subjected for correction.

Nice review ! Do you know roughly how much is it ?

Always like to see the internals. Will your friend allow to open up and snap a picture or 2 for us ?

If I am not mistaken, agako is locally assembled in Serdang, selangor.
Korea brand but CKD in Malaysia. They are good for SPL and drive easily 2 12 inch dual coil woofers without any sighs....

Robinhood, good review

It's what inside that matters, and how it matches to the rest of your system to reproduce the kinda music that you like.

Reminds me of those old days when there was a Sony Professional Walkman (forgotten the model no.) that my wife bought from NZ. Ugly, bulky thing. Most did not take it seriously (only a Sony mahh, and a Walkman too!!...what a laugh!), but the sound quality was virtually identical to the old Naka TD700 in my car at that time!!! And then....it started appearing in UK magazines, and was highly praised.