Parasound Halo HINT 6, new integrated, replacing HINT

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by TerpStation, Jun 20, 2018.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. TerpStation

    TerpStation "Music's not for everyone." Thread Starter

    Location:
    Maryland
  2. TerpStation

    TerpStation "Music's not for everyone." Thread Starter

    Location:
    Maryland
    Was recently considering purchasing the original HINT, perhaps the prices on the original will fall to liquidate the inventory as we are seeing with the Focal speakers now.
     
    Kristofa likes this.
  3. Kristofa

    Kristofa Enthusiast of small convenient sound carrier units

    Location:
    usa
    Looks like some nice improvements. I am not a fan of the digital display, but it looks like you can dim that into oblivion, so it becomes a non-issue. The motorized volume is noisy on my unit and occasionally crackles, so that fix is cool. It also doesn't maintain balanced sound volume at VERY low levels (as I have discovered for 5am World Cup matches), but HT bypass takes care of this for me. It looks like they added a second TOSlink input as well. It would have been cool if they moved up the ESS line to match the Oppo UHP-205.

    They also added $500 to the price tag.
     
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2018
    Bubbamike likes this.
  4. punkmusick

    punkmusick Amateur drummer

    Location:
    Brazil
    I bought a (now) "old" HINT a couple of weeks ago. It's great.

    I don't use the internal phono stage so the gain differences doesn't matter to me, I don't care for the new volume button and other volume features, I don't use Windows and for now I don't need another optical connection.

    But I'd like to have the improved Left/Right channel separation. This would be the main new feature for my needs I suppose.
     
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2018
  5. Manimal

    Manimal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern US
    I’m the perfect example of “ if you want for a piece long enough, there will be a better version of it to make you glad you waited” ahhh.
    Looking forward to it:)
     
    Kristofa, punkmusick and beowulf like this.
  6. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    I’m loving my HINT. I’ve had it since about Oct. of last year. Some nice updates. I would have liked to seen them redo the remote control to a higher quality. And possibly add a tape loop.
     
  7. Manimal

    Manimal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern US
    I like the digital display. It needed something and BAM! Perfect, of course I would have rather had a spectrum analyzer (can’t have everything).
     
  8. Catcher10

    Catcher10 I like records, and Prog...duh

    I love my OHINT (OriginalHINT), the main features of why I purchased it are still the same. Seems it has been updated for a more digital presence than anything else. I actually prefer the blue indicator on the volume knob rather than digital readout. From across the room not sure I would be able to make out the digits, I only need to see the blue dot.

    Easily one of the best sounding integrated amps around, plays well above its price point with more than enough junk in the trunk to make any speakers sing......I also do not use the internal phono stage.
    Not sure that this was an issue "Improved Left/Right channel separation and balance tracking".

    And nobody needs a higher price......Audio gear is already too expensive.
     
    Strat-Mangler and jon9091 like this.
  9. Manimal

    Manimal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern US
    I would get it over the original just for the digital display:)
     
  10. avanti1960

    avanti1960 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago metro, USA
    I wish Parasound would introduce an upgrade to the A23 amp- something a little more robust and capable of quality bridging. The A21 is just too big.
     
    ls35a likes this.
  11. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    What was wrong with the previous balance control?
     
  12. MattG

    MattG Unreliable Narrator

    Location:
    Maryland
    I’ve been wanting a HINT for a while now, will watch for the OG to go on sale with the new model coming in.
     
    Manimal likes this.
  13. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    BTW, if anyone is curious, I wrote to Parasound about their volume control implementation.


    Hello,

    Can you please explain how the volume control is set to function on this unit? It seems I have to turn it up far more to get the same level of volume as other units.

    Thanks much,
    Jonathan C




    Hi Jonathan
    You posed a good question. The Volume control on your Halo Integrated uses an " audio taper" potentiometer which ramps up in a nonlinear manner. This is to say that half way up on the rotation is not 50% of the volume. Other equipment might use a "linear taper" potentiometer where half way up is close to 50% of the overall volume. The overall gain or volume is identical for both of these types of potentiometers and they only differ in how quickly the volume increases when it is rotated. I hope this answers your question. Please see the attached graph to illustrate my point.


    Chris Thompson
    Parasound Products Inc.
    2250 McKinnon Ave.
    San Francisco, CA 94124


    [​IMG]
     
    vavan, 33na3rd, Catcher10 and 3 others like this.
  14. 56GoldTop

    56GoldTop Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nowhere, Ok
    If they would just add a mono/stereo button... There's one on their phono pre. They know it's a great feature. So, why not put one in the HINT 6, especially since it has an internal phono pre???? Don't get that.

    Still a very nice int, though... ...old or new.

    EDIT: I hope they update the P 5, as well.
     
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2018
  15. Kristofa

    Kristofa Enthusiast of small convenient sound carrier units

    Location:
    usa
    Me too. I have gotten very adept at knowing which recordings and/or inputs require 9:00, 9:30... or even 10:30-11:00 for those dynamic ones!

    But it does seem nice the HINT6 will have the ability to set volume for different inputs.

    I would certainly pay $500 extra for the additional features. BUT I love my OHINT!
     
  16. punkmusick

    punkmusick Amateur drummer

    Location:
    Brazil
    I liked this name: OHINT. Cool.

    Now I have a vintage amplifier.

    :)
     
  17. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    Yep. Same thing as the Fender tweed reissues from the 90s where barely turning the Volume knob away from zero would result in being blasted with volume. The taper used for that pot was uneven and gave you about 30% of the available volume in the first tiniest movements of the knob away from zero.

    People would mod their amp to change the pot so it was even, something which probably could be done if it bothers you.
     
  18. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    The additions aren't compelling to me and still find the HINTO (I prefer that term, lol!) to be the best value when found at a reasonable price on the used market.

    A HINTO was posted last week for $1700 on USAM which is a whole lot less than 3K the HINT6 will be sold for. Some have gone as long as $1550!
     
    displayname and Manimal like this.
  19. CraigVC

    CraigVC Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Oooh. I'm now VERY interested in a HINTO. In addition to all of the well-thought-through features and connectivity and quality in the HINTO, I'm mainly seeking something that will produce more 'holographic' power, compared to my Denon AVR. I figure roughly 200 higher-quality watts for my 6 ohm speakers will be a worthy upgrade from my Denon AVR. And if closeout prices are well under $2,000 for new-in-box HINTO integrated amplifiers, I think I have a decent shot at advocating with my partner for us to make this purchase (less than 6 months after successfully advocating for a killer turntable upgrade to Marantz/Clearaudio!).
     
    Kristofa likes this.
  20. Catcher10

    Catcher10 I like records, and Prog...duh

    I've actually thought of getting an A21 and using my OHINT as a preamp.......It certainly is a beast but you just can't beat its price. Problem is it would make me want to get a new set of towers, like in the $4K range, which I don't want to do.
    The Rega RX5 can handle up to 500wpc of what Rega calls "quality amplification".
     
  21. cdgenarian

    cdgenarian Forum Resident

    Location:
    North Carolina
    I am a new owner of the A23 and the P5 and pleased to report that both are operating as expected -- exemplary. :)

    There is a discussion on AVS forum here talking about the new HINT. One poster made this observation:

    "In my opinion, these changes/new features of the 6 are added to justify the price increase, not that they are really needed and price adjust came as a result. You see the difference? At $2500, the HINT original is really a bargain for the level of sound quality it delivers. Perhaps the price was believed a bit too low in today's market and an increase was deemed necessary, so these features were added to justify the increase. Don't get me wrong, this is a compliment of the HINT Original and 6 for the price/performance ratio. The 6 is still a bargain for what it delivers. Just thought these changes are, though nice to have, not desperately needed."
     
  22. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    That’s not how it works at all, and I don’t really have a problem with it. I was just curious why, when putting the control at half way it wasn’t as loud as other amps. I wasn’t used to using an amp with the volume at the 1 or 2 o’clock position and wanted to make sure I wouldn’t damage anything.
     
  23. Kristofa

    Kristofa Enthusiast of small convenient sound carrier units

    Location:
    usa
    I can definitely see that poster’s point, but perhaps the improvements and price increase is more chicken/egg in nature. I can see Parasound considering both upgrades and price increase overdue.
     
  24. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    Yes, that's pretty much how it works. Pots have different taper types, some linear and some non-linear. A non-linear will act differently and give you too much or too little volume on certain sections than you may be accustomed to with a linear taper. In your case, that resulted in the 2nd half of your volume knob to give you more volume than the first. In the example I mentioned, it was the opposite.

    No matter, it's good you looked into it, in case your amp would have been acting in a unnatural way. Glad things are working as they should on your end. :)
     
  25. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    They need to pay whomever came up with and implemented those improvements so it makes sense to some degree. Those in this thread who consider them to be worthwhile upgrades will surely be willing to spend the difference.

    The updates wouldn't affect me so I'd be more inclined to get a HINTO at a greatly reduced (used) price. But that's just me.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine