Parasound A23 Hi Temp Light On After New Power Cable

I agree that the chassis mount IEC's on most pieces of equipment are not great. But the problem is that there is no standardization with respect to the actual size of either the male chassis mount or the female IEC on the power cord.

As F1 pointed out above, soldering may or may not be required. But changing the chassis mount on many pieces of equipment may not be a simple procedure. I've got two Furetech chassis mounts (one screw down and one which would require soldering-the screw down is the better version in my opinion) in storage here that I've had for at least 10 years because neither of them were an easy install into the 3 pieces of equipment I was looking to put them into.

Those pieces were/are an Inouye Line Conditioner, an older Audiolab 8000A integrated and more recently an Aqvox phono stage. In the case of the Inouye and Audiolab, the chassis on those pieces were going to have to be cut or dremeled to fit the Furetch IEC, which I ended up not doing, and with the Aqvox by the time I cut the wires which would have to enter the Furutech there would not be enough length to end up getting them to it.

So it might be an easy install, or it may not. I've had no luck at all in doing so.

 

Bill, I use the FI-06G, which usually requires enlarging the original cut out on the back panel. The screw holes line up the same though. I use small files and take my time. To me it's worth the effort, but I can understand why someone would think otherwise or perhaps not be confident in doing so.

Furutech has another one simply called the Inlet, which IIRC is a drop in. It's definitely better than the $3.00 versions, but it may still not grip a heavy cord with an iron fist like their higher end versions.

Edit: I now see blakep mentioned about having to enlarge the original cut out.

 

Would be interested if it made an improvement in sound.

 

Return it. It's not worth any risk of fire or electrocution.

 

Of course not. It's also made in China.

 

That's the $199.95 x 2 question! In the past 2 months, I upgraded my speakers cables first. I was surprised that it had a distinct positive impact. Bass is tighter, and soundstage more airy. So, then I upgraded my interconnects, and was also surprised in another slight improvement (especially when replacing a cheap IC between my network file player and the preamp). In the past week, since I've been worried about the power cables I just installed, I have been too nervous about the Hi Temp issue to relax and focus on the sound. I'll get back to you after I've had more time. But, all these incremental changes are subtle but were worth the investment to me.

Richard has always been very helpful. Although I now feel confident I solved the problem, I'll ask him anyway if he thinks there's a risk.

 

After several months, the light came on again last week. This, time I tested it more carefully over several days. I thought maybe it was a speaker wire short instead of the power cable. I tried unplugging all inputs and outputs to the amp, then swapped in and out the PS power cable and the original cable. At first, neither made a difference! The light was on for both. I even unplugged it from the power several times, thinking that, in standby, it doesn't have a chance to cool off. No difference.

Then I thought maybe the amp is permanently damaged, so I thought I'd carefully use it until it just dies. But, I don't leave it on between listening sessions for fear of starting a fire while I'm out of the room.

Last night while listening (using the original stock cable), I noticed the light had gone off at some point.

I'm still puzzled. I don't know if it's the PS cable that was not seated properly, or some other connection, or the amp just getting ready to die (it's very old - I bought it used years ago). Of course, ambient heat is not a problem in December in Maryland. The room heater was on, but is at least 10 feet away on the opposite side of the room.

Any ideas? Thanks.

 

Hmm that’s odd. Maybe something is fried in there because of the age of use. That’s the only thing I can think of. How old is it ? I’ve had my A52 silver since 2012.. it was a refurb demo from AA and still works perfect ......what did Rich say ?

 

I don't know the age, but I guess it's at least 10 years. It was used when I bought it, and I didn't keep a record of the purchase.

Richard didn't respond to my earlier question, which is unusual for him. I forgot about it, but will try again. Also, if I send the serial number, he can probably tell me how old it is.

I have a 9-year-old Marantz AVR in my HT that popped and died. I paid over $200 to have some transistors and output ICs replaced. It was worth it. But, I'm kind of itching to upgrade my amp and preamp, and if the A23 dies, I'll be "forced" to buy something new.

I'll post back with an update. Thanks.

 

Check out Parasound's new A-23+ amp. They've upp'ed the watts to 160 x 2. I just got one to use with my P7. I'll be hooking it up tomorrow.

 

Just a wild guess...May be one of the toggle switches is in wrong position? Try toggle the balanced/unbalanced, stereo/mono switches multiple times, then place them in correct position and check again?

 

Richard said he seriously doubted the power cord would cause the problem. He asked about venting. I replied that it's been in the same rack for many years, w/ 3.5" on 2 sides and top; 6" behind.

I speculated that maybe it was the new speaker wires I installed before the power cord. If they weren't connected properly, it could cause a short. That's what the repair shop said about my AVR. I must have fixed the connections the first time. Then, I did reposition the speakers a few days before the light came on again. Once I replugged everything (including checking all the switches, pdxway, but thanks for the idea), the light eventually went off after a day or so.

I'll let you know if Richard provides any more ideas. He said he'd check on the age based upon the serial number.

Rachael, thanks for the A23+ recommendation. I'm also thinking about it. I realized the A23 is by far the oldest component in my stereo rig, so it's next in line for a replacement. I was also thinking about an A21, but it would be too tall for my rack. There'd be less than an inch clearance on top.

 

If the light went off when using the stock cable, wouldn't that indicate the problem is with your new power cord? And I'll ask the question I asked upthread, is the Pangea AC 9SE MKII UL certified? I'm thinking it can't handle the amperage your amp draws.

 

I forgot to answer your earlier question, Shawn. I looked on the box and the product website, and there's no indication about UL certification. That doesn't necessarily mean it's unsafe or inadequate; it could mean the company didn't register w/ UL.

After I replaced the stock cord, the light didn't go off until the next day. Really weird.

I think I'll just stick with the stock cord for now. I couldn't convince myself there was any sound improvement w/ the Pangea cord anyway.

 

I realized I forgot to quote you two, so you weren't notified when I responded. Correcting that lapse now.

 

Parasound is changing the cosmetics of it's amps. Audio Advisor has had the old stock A23's for $799 and the A21's for $1999.

 

Rachael, has anyone told you that you're a bad influence? Although my A23 seems fine now, I've been dreaming about the A23+ for the past day or so. Is it worth twice as much as the A23 now? Maybe not, but if I'm going to buy a component to last for at least 10 years, why not move up to the newer model? I have time to think about it, but the main question I have now is: brushed aluminum (like my current A23 and P5) or black?

 

Yo soy malo maximosa en toda, si? Yeah, I am naughty! I wanted to upgrade my system. The A21 is just way bigger than my speakers need. The A23+ should be a subtle improvement, I hope. I can release my A-23 to migrate to my theater room. I didn't get to set up my A23+ today because other stuff came up. I hope to test drive the new amp tomorrow. I'll tell you how it goes.

 

I decided I needed to disassemble my whole stereo and clean everything. I should finish putting it back together today.

 

Interesting to see if you notice much difference between a23 and a23+!

 

The A23+ seems like a big step up from the A23 so far. I played my SACD player and CD changer quite a bit the past few hours. I need more experimenting but so far I'm very impressed.

 

Please post more feedback after you have more hours on it, Rachael. My A23 seems OK now after my nerve-wracking recent experience. But, I'm still admiring the A23+ online and in catalogues. It sure does look sweet. It has a few features beyond increased power that are attractive to me: better power supply, vacation power switch, etc. I might splurge early next year after I've paid off this new MacBook Air!

 

I'm still very impressed with the A23+. I've played all my sources, phono, SACD, CD changer, Blu-ray, Minidisc, and Laserdisc. I'm hearing more detail in well recorded music. I was very impressed by how my CCR SA-CD of Cosmos Factory came off. My LP of the Allman's Live At Fillmore East just shined. I wondered if my speakers really needed this additional power. They sound better. It's as if they got upgraded too. I was thinking that with a bigger amp, I wouldn't have to turn my P7 up as high for a given volume. The reverse is true. That surprised me. It doesn't seem logical. I doubt I'd fully comprehend what this might suggest...??? Everything just sounds better with more detail and a bigger stereo image. My speakers are Monitor Gold GS20's which I think I got in 2004, or there-abouts. They've never sounded this good. I fell sure this amp could push some bigger or less efficient speakers. I used to think that the original A23 was an ideal amp for my speakers. If the A23+ isn't the ideal amp for GS20's, it's close enough for me!

 

What's the sensitivity of your speakers?

 

I had to look that up. It's been so long since I bought them. 89 db