Anyone else notice the new Parasound Zphono.xrm phono stage on Parasound's website? Looks like a pretty neat piece: Model > Parasound Z > Zphono XRM « Parasound -balanced outs -mono/stereo switch -rumble filter Priced at $595.
I like the USB level adjustment knob too. This may make it easier and quicker to adjust levels on the Parasound than on the computer.
Like the stereo/mono switch. Everyone needs to start including these. Don't like the generic 40db gain setting for MM. If they are going to do that, they need to say what the overload spec is and it had better be very generous. Also don't like that the rumble filter cuts off at 40hz. Why not make it cut at 20hz? MSRP also seems high.
It has more parts in it than some phone pres costing 2-3X more. Not that more parts = better sound but at least it looks to be a good value.
If I understand correctly the philosophy of Parasound, the less features the better the signal. This is why the original JC3 didn't have multiple gain/load settings and filter. Then they add features in the less expensive phonos keeping the more expensive ones cleaner. Am I making any sense?
Yeah, kinda high but maybe is a 6 dB per octave and not so intrusive on the hearable lower frequencies?
No idea. If the rumble filter is too heavy handed I could see it being a problem with folks that run subs. I don't run a sub, so it wouldn't be a problem for me necessarily, but I see other things I don't like about this unit.
This looks really nice but I'd agree an 18dB/oct high-pass at 40Hz is really unusual. It's filtering more than rumble at that point. Never having designed a phono stage myself, wondering what the rationale was.
I just saw it is 18 dB per octave. No reason to waste the useable bass down there in a rumble filter. When you engage that filter, you will definitely notice it!
I was referring most to its range of MC impedance. The Jr tops out at 500Ω, unless you count the 47kΩ setting. It's just odd that they don't offer 1kΩ with their upper tier models.
John Curl didn't want any range and that's why it is fixed at 100 or 47k in the original JC3, to avoid any possible noise. Here's the story: Parasound's New JC3+ MM/MC Phono Preamplifier Offers Feature and Sound Refinement
Anyone get a hold of one of these yet? It does have a lot of features but how does it sound compared to the other $600ish phono preamps out there? The combo of it and a Zpre3 preamp might fit my needs in my den setup.
Looks nice .. I wonder if it is a true step up from the old Zphono which has a much better MM 46 dB gain. 40 is quite low imo especially with those of us that have lower output carts like the DL-110...
I've been following this unit as well. I have two turntables with three tonearms, and I do not have a lot of money for good phono stages, and this one has my interest. The unit I'd really like to own is the Ray Samuels Audio Emmeline XR-10B phono preamp with three inputs, but it sells for $4500. I already own a Emmeline F-117 Nighthawk phono stage (which I bought used for $450US), so I'm sure the XR-10B is a great sounding component. I just can't swing that price. So yeah, I think the Zphono XRM has a very good feature set for its $600US price. Pet peeve: I sure wish they'd put the adjustment pot and gain switch in the front of the unit. It sure looks like they have plenty of space in the front of the chassis to do that. Oh well, can't win them all.
Looks nice. Hopefully someone that bought a unit can chime in how good it is... I did notice it has a 50db setting for MM as well. Wondering how well it would work with my High output MC Dl-110. The 40 db setting would be a non starter ...
Hello all, this is my first post here on the forum. I've been active in the past over at Audiogon and Head-Fi. I just received a new ZPhono XRM 2 days ago on Friday and have been breaking it in non stop since then. It's been plugged in and turned on for a solid 48 hours now, with maybe 10-15 hours of actual play time. Some of my associated gear so you get an idea of where I am coming from: Rogue Cronus Magnum II Integrated, Harbeth Compact 7es-3 speakers, JL Audio Dominion 108 subwoofer, VPI Prime Scout, Denon DL-301 MKii, Denon DL-110, PS Audio DirectStream DAC. My preferences in sound lean towards rich, lush, strong harmonic detail, smooth, musical, etc. My previous phono pre is a Vincent PHO-8 which I've had for several years now. The Vincent has a warmer sound signature and sounded great with my DL-110, but left me wanting more after I got my DL-301 MKii. The set loading of 100 ohms on the Vincent had me wondering if I could extract more out of the DL-301, so I decided to try out the ZPhono XRM. I was mainly drawn in by its variable load setting, thinking I could set loading to exactly 10x the internal impedance of the 301, whicch is 33 ohms. Take these comments with a grain of salt as the burn-in process isn't 100% complete, but I am sad to report that as of now I am not too fond of the XRM. As I stated previously, my preferences are for a lush, warm, rich sound. The XRM is on the complete opposite end of that spectrum (which many people may like). To me the sound is dynamic, clean, detailed, with a better noise floor than the Vincent. Bass is tight and deep. It portrays a great sense of rhythm. Different elements within the mix are delineated and able to be picked out. Imaging is decent. Soundstage could be a bit wider, but this could be a fault of the 301 (I noticed the 110 had a much wider soundstage). On the negative side, the sound to me is too analytical, cold, and sometimes mechanical sounding. It seems they have voiced this unit to emphasize transient attack and detail at the cost of richness. What I don't understand is that supposedly this unit has entirely separate circuitry for the MM and MC stages. I could see implementing this type of voicing for the MM stage, due to a lot of budget MM carts having a softer, rolled off sound, but to do that for the MC stage doesn't make sense to me. I have since backed down the loading to 100 so that it's equal to the Vincent so I am comparing apples to apples, but even loading the 301 at 100 ohms, the sound does not have that midrange magic that I was hearing before on both the 110 and 301 with the Vincent. Don't get me wrong, there are moments where I am listening and think "wow this sounds really good", but since the main thing I always listen for is harmonic richness and texture, when this is missing from the music, I simply can't connect with it. Let me know if you guys have any specific questions about it and I will try to answer.
I wonder how this unit sounds with a MM cart or a high output MC like my dl-110. It must be somewhat of an upgrade to the regular Zphono ?
Anyone else can chime in with the XRM? It seems the only true upgrade so far for my beloved Zphono is going to be the JC3 Jr as I have not seen too many favorable reviews for this unit. At least not yet,,,,,,,
