Sure, a P 6 (current Parasound pre closest to but <$2000) would be excellent ... but wondering if even it has more than you want. Freya+ seems appealing as an alternate to consider. Or 'even' a lesser Schitt but Freya+ is their 'best' pre and seems universally praised.
@Richard Austen - thank you for sharing your experience and insight. I am curious as to your audition going from A23+ to the JC1, while skipping the A21+. I was wondering why you selected to bypass the A21+. Thanks!
My first audition was A23+ vs JC5+ and it was pretty close. Close enough. So the A21+ would likely not moved the needle. Because the A23+ has a simple voltage switch on the back that was the one I was there to audition...and the 2250V2. The dealer put me off that model because if high failure rates and customer complaints. Not a JC design??? The only reason I considered the JC1 was because the dealer is asking $4,500 less money than the JC-5 and it's more of a statement product and it comes with a 1 year warranty. All of them only come with 1 year warranties in HK. So the JC1 is more of an interest due to opportunity. For any apartment in Hong Kong or even village houses here I can't see the point of the added power. Plus I need to give each amp a dedicated line. Plus the models without the rear voltage switch will be a pain to change when I move back to Canada. Lastly, i have better sounding monoblocks IMO and so the SS anplifier is largely serving back up duty for the odd times I will run a LE speaker like the ATCs or maybe a Harbeth. So maybe it would be used 2 months out of the year. Or to replace a surround receiver front channels.
@Richard Austen you are full of great first hand knowledge which a lot has to due to your involvement in audio reviewing. I was wondering if through this involvement have you had an opportunity to listen to Pass Labs amplifiers and if so in your opinion how to they compare to the new line of upgraded Parasound amplifiers? Seems like a nice way to save some money but wonder what the differences in sound quality and sound staging are.
The problem with almost all reviews and all evaluations is they are almost never done completely "fairly." So sure I have auditioned plenty of Pass Labs but I have never auditioned a Pass Labs directly against the Parasound with the same speakers, source, cables and in the same room at the same volume level. I often point out to people that I ranked YG Acoustics and MBL speakers as two of the absolute worst sounding rooms I had heard at CES. Then at a show a couple of years later - I ranked them both 1-2 best rooms. Consider that MBL uses their own amps and sources in both rooms so it's largely the exact same gear in both rooms. YG Acoustics both times was using Ypsilon. One guy on a forum was telling me how much he hated my Audio Note gear - then heard them at a show and said it was the best sound he ever heard at a show. I hated the KEF LS-50 the first three times I auditioned them - but I heard a set of them connected to a Marantz receiver at a large shopping mall in Bangkok and I heard enough potential to buy a pair. I generally like the marantz receivers that use EI transformers and I suspected the speaker may need a different sort of front end that what is typically mated to them. Indeed, I have heard Parasound for years and never liked the sound. I met a fellow here while doing my auditions and he was asking me about which SS amp he should try and he sold his Parasound amps because he didn't care for the sound. He was looking to get into a Krell. I am the opposite - based on my prior experiences with Krell I would take a Parasound in a hearbeat. But if you asked me in 2019 - I would have said meh SS skip it and buy a tube amp. I will probably get a SS amp of one sort or another soon. A lot of this depends on the rest of the system. IMO my source and preamp tend to better a lot more expensive systems especially when those systems are SS preamps. I suspect that the parasound will sound a lot better in my system than it did during my auditions. But time will tell.
You've said a lot and I understand and agree that in the wrong environment or with wrong peripheral equipment a piece of gear can give a horrible impression but in another situation where it comes together it could be in a top tier compared to similar costing or even against more expensive competition. I guess I'm asking is Parasound Halo the JC designed pieces do they come close to Pass Labs. Assuming good rooms and paired with equipment that all works well together. If they are close, which I believe they might be, then whatare the difference in their sound signatures and why would one choose one over the other. Could be a tube pre works better with Pass while a solid state works better with a Parasound amp so if one owns a tube pre the Pass has a better chance of integrating more pleasingly. It could be Parasound favours a certain speaker design/sound signature. I guess that is what I'm looking to hear. If however most of your experience with Pass is shows then it would be hard to make that kind of comparison. One reason I've slowed down on going to shows. It's impossible for me to really understand the sound of equipment when played in a hotel room. Maybe a speaker but certainly not an amplifier. I've been toying with trying a solid state amp to replace my tube amps and both of these manufacturer's appeal to me but I can't find a dealer near me who has both.
Before I purchased my JC-1, I read every professional review on them as well as several reviews on different Pass amps. I know this is a very old comparison but it was probably the deciding factor for me when I decided to buy the JC-1. If I recall M. Fremer reviewed the Pass X160 in around 2003 & I believe it is still available online via Stereophile. Although he gave a slight edge to the X160, he still raves about the JC-1 which he previously reviewed as well. I can’t say enough about them, especially if you can find a pair of used ones at a decent price. Plus 10 years Stereophile Class A component!
pass amps tend to be more transparent and slightly more dynamic. they are more revealing of any issues with recording and system upstream and downstream. lots of pass on the used market. the latest parasound halo are more transparent than previous versions yet are more refined and forgiving. the biggest influence on sound within the amplification chain is the preamp from my experiences.
Parasound stuff is neutral with a touch of warmth and still plenty of detail but not so ruthlessly revealing like PASS or even KRELL ( I haven’t heard the newer KRELL but assume it’s similar ). That’s why I have never switched. Maybe the Bryston stuff which is still maybe a little cleaner than Para but still fairly similar. Haven’t had a desire to switch to anything else so far
I am LOVING this thread (just joined to reply) Proud Parasound owner for the past 4 years or so. A21, (2) A23, zAmp for Atmos surround. I had a P5 that I loved until I was bitten by the McIntosh bug and picked up an open box C-47 preamp for less than half of retail that makes the A21 sing beautifully. Older B&W CDM9NTs are my mains with a Velodyne DD10. Sadly, my dedicated listening room of 18 years is going to be dismantled over the next 6 weeks due to a move. The new room will be fun and exciting to layout, but its hard to move on. I originally started reading this thread because I want to run my A23s as monoblocks in the temporary apartment just for fun, even though these replies tend to favor the A21 in this scenario. Keep ya posted,
Fun to see LS50s mentioned here in the Parasound thread. I got my LS50s first, with two different Rotel integrateds before adding first a REL T9 and then a Parasound HINT. At the time I was trying a lot of gear with various speakers and amps coming in and out of the system. In different combinations the individual components were anywhere from "meh" to "pretty good" but something about the LS50 + REL + Parasound combo brings the whole thing to a better level of sound quality I've been happy with for over a year now. No new speakers or amps since, and I think it'll stay that way awhile longer. I know a lot of posters here are talking about the separates and higher end speakers but even my lowly HINT and LS50s deliver absolutely great sound to my ears!
Does anyone know the maximum input voltage for the unbalanced (and/or balanced) line level inputs for Parasound P6? I'll guess it's in the range of 2-4V for unbalanced, I think I've seen 3.6V for some other Parasound products. Background: I'm going to connect a RME ADI-2 DAC - while I know how I can set it close to 2.0V, it would be nice to know the margin.
Hi all first time poster long time lurker, this seems to be a very active Parasound thread and seemed like a good place to start. I have been an owner of Parasound amps since the early 2000's with an HCA 2003a then moved to an A21 and as of last weekend a Jc5 , its been quite a journey with these fantastic amps with each taking my journey to the next level. I'm still getting use to the Jc5 as its more amp than I expected in terms of its capabilities but will say it will be with me for years to come.
Finally....I found my last amp : a 2nd hand halo A21. The quest to find one in my budget and in the right colour (black) has not been easy here in Belgium, they hardly come up for sale on 2nd hand sites. And this one is only a 20 minute drive away ! The amp is 5 years old, comes with a P5 preamp (and wireworld Oasis xlr cables). I allready went to check the set out last weekend and I got both for a very reasonable bid (considering the higher prices over here of Parasound gear). I will be picking it up on sunday and I am very eager to hear how it sounds compared to the A23/Schiit Saga+ that I use now. I will also use/compare both preamps with the A21 to see which one I prefer. Because I'm not so sure that a P5 will beat the Saga....so stay tuned .
Congratulations, I’ll be interested to know how the Saga compares to the p5. I too think the little Saga is going to be a strong contender.
Thanks! Very happy. Listening now and in the next few weeks with my Saga+ to get a feel for the sound before I swap in the P5 that was included in the deal.
check your operating temps after running for extended periods. the manual suggests more free space for ventilation than your shelves have. my install is similar to yours but open back and higher ceiling and the amp gets warmer than usual but not hot.
update on the sound of my a21+ , after 4 months of use, many weeks running all day long the amp is sounding warmer, more refined and smother than ever and has the detail when the recording calls. definite system synergy as the rogue tube preamp as well as my speakers long term break in have all come on together for a most enjoyable sound. the a21+ is all that and more and is a screaming deal. the only downside is the size and weight, which is really only a concern if you need to move it- and this one is staying put for quite a while
Thanks for the warning but I know. Mine are open back too, as a matter of fact his big fat ass is slightly hanging out the back . He's been powered on now for 5hrs, and only feels warm to the touch, much like my A23 before. The shelves are also removable so I will move the shelve above an inch upward. That shelve also has 6 big holes in it, where the heat can escape as the chopping board on that shelve also has some space under it. The advantages of a diy custom cabinet .
YEEEESSSSSSSS !!! Fixed my Silver 8 tweeter. Broken wire, actually broken push-on female spade lug. Finally have my new A 21 up and running, maybe 4 hours on it now if that. Rocking out to Dave Matthews Band “Crash” ... it’s been >5 years since I had a high end system set up. OMG it’s nice to be BACK !!! The detail and staging is amazing, It does seem a bit more detailed than (my alternate system) 300 B/Titus monitors as expected. Bass detail is amazing, I have the mighty AP Oval 9 cables lashing the A 21 to the Silver 8s. Ordered some Oval 12 for the Tituses, plus Oval 12 jumpers for the biwire terminals. I have another pair of the jumpers for the 8s, haven’t installed those yet. Oh yeah, some AP power cords for the tube amps too. Can’t disadvantage the 300B SET/Titus system after all! Have Shunyata Viper cords on the Parasound P 7 and A 21. Blissful at the moment ...
