Upgrading my Crown Xti2002 to a Parasound A23+ worth it?

Back to sound quality, I’d agree the A 23+ should sound great and have no problems driving the Evo to high levels. Another member went to the A 21 (+?) but went back to the 23+, said it sounded better.

 

Exactly. The Crown is turned up only for about 20%
I used to have stage monitors that were rated at 350w continuously and 700w peak.
The Crown is the only thing that remains of my former DJ setup that dates way back when I started into records when I was 13.
It slowly developed into a HiFi system over the last few years.
I’m not power hungry anymore, now that I’ve got the Wharfedales.

 

It took awhile but I findley got the answer I was seeking good to know cause pro audio is not concerned with distortion as much consumer based is...so I would definitely go with with Parasound as a replacement but with a little more wattage than what you currently have

 

The A23(+) will drive anything. Sorry but imho you are wrong about amps sounding more or less the same. I bought a more powerfull A21 and sold it back again as I much preferred the sound of my A23. Just as an example that amps DO sound different, even between the same models/brand (halo/Parasound)!
I also tried out a Parasound 2125, again different sound....
Oh and the A23 drives my MA pl100II's easily to 100db avg without making a fuss.

 

Yeah I’ve finally done some quick estimation and I think my EVO 4.4 at 89dB sensitivity can do up to ~112dB with the A23+

 

My MA's are only 86dB sensitive and A23 is lower wattage than A23+. Trust me, your ears will be blown before your speakers !

 

Here are some more Watts from Parasound at around the same price (or a tad bit more) as the A23...Give that Evo the spanking it deserves...
Parasound NewClassic 2250 v.2

 

The New Classic sounds different from the Halo series. OP might wanna try both to see which he prefers.

 

Holy moly that shop is CHEAP!
1800 dollars for an A23+ while those are about 2100 ~ 2200 euros over here in Europe (about 2400 ~ 2600 dollars).
Might as well buy two of them and run them as monoblocks in bridged mode lol

 

I have read some reviews that running 2 A23's in monoblock mode don't sound as good as just one in stereo.

 

It was more of a joke, but that’s actually interesting… I always assumed that two in bridged mode was always equal or better than just one stereo amp.

 

I know (about the joke) and yes I have assumed the same. Which is why I started googling specific for the A23 to use as monoblocks and came across said reviews.

 

I just took a look at the internals, it looks a lot more basic.
Idk about the sound, but the A23+ looks like it's of higher quality.

 

No.

I'm constantly amazed at the huge number of people here who share that audio components sound a certain way without ever having heard them.

 

Well, that's exactly why I started this thread!

 

I was hoping you’d see this and chime in.

the Halo series is their best quality lineup.

 

BTW, I only see a phono preamp in your profile? Would recommend a proper preamp … Schitt Freya+ …?

 

The SPL Phonitor 2 is a proper preamp.
And headphone amp.
Better than a Freya+ IMO.

 

Ah, I only saw the Phonos 2 … Yes I hope it’s better at the higher price.

 

Yeah it sounds very, very neutral. It really allows the speakers and cartridge to do their coloring without interfering.
Same for the phono preamp.
It also drives a wide variety of headphones; it’s particularly good at creating a wide soundstage at 150ohms and higher impedance headphones.
That wide soundstage can be adjusted using the headphone matrix.
However, the headphone matrix is a tool that’s very hard to master, so I still have to study in depth on how to properly set it and what it actually does to the signal.

 

To me high quality high current reserve AB would be a good match based on the speaker specs. It’s finding something with that description could be rather expensive though. Nice looking speakers and I’ve always been an admirer of the “Wharfedale sound”.

 

Gee...difficult crowd around here

if you like your wharfevo and plan to keep it for a good while, you should call the guys at wharfee and ask them what gear was used when they wharfee'd/voiced it (might have been P. Comeau)...aka atleast the stuff in this price bracket to get an overall idea of what he went for.

 

Might be hard to find out what he used when designing the speaker but I think the A 23+ is “neutral”, the OP seems to value that.

Hard to say of course, but thinking the A 23+ should be a significant step up in overall sound quality.

Room treatment can’t be ignored either …

 

i asked parasound about this before i bought the a21+ and was informed that in bridged mono the a23+ would not tolerate speaker impedance plunges to 4 ohms or below at higher volumes.

 

the a23+ sounds much better. if you have it in your sights it is difficult if not impossible to beat the sound quality anywhere near its price.
it will be a big step up from the crown which are basically PA commercial application amps designed for high power at low cost.