The Aspen C3 has a single piece cast stovetop. There is an insulation blanket under it except for the front, where it has a cutout that matches the shape and size of the cooktop circle, so that area gets direct heat as it comes up around the baffle. Your 800 on your 2B lines up pretty nicely with the hottest stovetop temp I have measured over the insulated area.I think the steel top hit 900-950 easily at the hottest point, but the glass top hits above 1000f. My Morso gets up to 800 sometimes, but I've stopped measuring STT and just go by flue temps now, and I don't measure anything on my cooker. The Morso has an insulated blanket over the whole length of the firebox, so I'm not surprised I have a bit lower temps despite having such a similar design.
Sounds like maybe the temps aren't unreasonable when compared to what you have seen on your stoves. It would still be good for us Aspen C3 owners if we could get confirmation from VC/HHT on where to measure stovetop temps and what is acceptable.