Thread: Parasound Products - Thoughts?

Another show and another great performance by the Parasound JC1 monos and the associated Parasound preamp. At RMAF, the JC1's rocked out the amazing Joseph Audio Perl 3's, producing one of the best sounding rooms. Ditto at CES on the KEF Blade 2's. The same Blade 2's didn't sound half as good with another amp. I've asked around and a lot of folks in the industry, own Parasound products themselves.

Why no love for this brand? Too inexpensive? Been around too long? Would love to hear from current or previous Parasound owners.


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I thought it sounded really great too Mike. Same with last year. Both times they were using a sub 600 dollar DAC and a MacBook as a source.


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The amp lineup is getting age on it so I wonder if it's holding people back thinking that it may be replaced soon


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Parasound amps sound great.

Originally Posted by bthomas9

The amp lineup is getting age on it so I wonder if it's holding people back thinking that it may be replaced soon


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I talked to the owner of Parasound about this and he said him and Jonathan Curl daily, but they refuse to bring something out just to bring it out, unless it's truly better - and they're not there yet.

I've owned a couple of their amps including the JC1s and they sounded better than many many amps I had in my room at the same time. I was using the JC1s as my sub amps as I used the Dag Momentum amps for the speakers. I compared them to many top amps that dealers gave me to try to replace my Dags and they are scarily close to many very expensive amps.

They do run HOT!

Resale was ok - not bad but not good. Most everybody said that the original price was sooooo much lower that even tho these were new it didn't make any difference. They weren't worth the money because they could wait for a 5 year old version for a lot less.

I think that in general, every product that has had price increases but not a model change has this issue.

Parasound JC1's at RMAF were maybe the best sounding amps I heard there. I know they're not the newest and hottest thing, bit they always sound amazing in any combination that I've heard!

John Curl is underrated, VERY!

Would you guys buy Parasound products yourselves?


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I own a Parasound A21 amp that I gave to my son. It served me well over the years. It is built like a tank with a lot of features. It has brute force power and and very tight, controlled deep bass.

My only issue with it is that it had a hint of grain and that it could use a bit more air and transparency. It however does not belong in the same league as my Pass X250 except for the fact that the A21 has better attack. Guitar strings have a better leading edge and are crisp and more realistic. The A21 does pair well with other Parasound gear.

The A21 could use an overhaul as it has not been updated since its inception I believe. However, at its price point it is hard to find better.

Originally Posted by Zero

I wouldn't say no to a set of JC-1's.

That said, I readily admit that I'm not their target audience. I'm the kind of audio geek who mingles with the more esoteric side of hi-fi. For example, if I had to choose between an Odyssey Audio 'Khartago' amp and the Parasound Halo A23, I'd pick the Odyssey Audio piece without batting an eye.

The A23 amp is not a baby brother of the A21. It uses different circuitry and it is not as refined. The A23 is more of an entry level amp even it is in the Halo Line.

For anyone into spec's check out the specs on the A21. http://www.parasound.com/a21.php#
Too bad it does not sound as good as the spec's.

Originally Posted by Mechnutt

Too bad it does not sound as good as the spec's.

I'm curious...what do you mean about that? You own the A21, are you not a fan?

I own a JC1 amp main duty is center channel, I have thought about buying another one to use with the 2 channel gear

Originally Posted by Mike

I'm curious...what do you mean about that? You own the A21, are you not a fan?

Sorry, all I meant was that spec's are not everything. I like the A21 and have no reservations recommending it. It specs out better than a lot of more expensive amps ( including my Pass amp) but does not sound as good as them. I like the sound of the A21 at its price point and feel it is a bargain with a lot of features and good sound. I did get to compare the A21 directly to the Van Alstine newer R series hybrid tube-ss amps and the all solid state Synergy amps. The R series amps blew the A21 out of the water but they are $600 to $1K more. The Synergy amps sounded slightly better in some respects and are priced near the A21.

My A21 has been retired to my son's system paired with the Pass B1 preamp/buffer that we built together. Lucky 23 year old, he has all my hand me down gear and is a budding audiophile

Originally Posted by Mechnutt

Sorry, all I meant was that spec's are not everything. I like the A21 and have no reservations recommending it. It specs out better than a lot of more expensive amps ( including my Pass amp) but does not sound as good as them. I like the sound of the A21 at its price point and feel it is a bargain with a lot of features and good sound. I did get to compare the A21 directly to the Van Alstine newer R series amps and the all solid state Synergy amps. The R series amps blew the A21 out of the water but they are $600 to $1K more. The Synergy amps sounded slightly better in some respects and are priced near the A21.

Thanks. Appreciate the honest feedback.

The John Curl designs are what counts!

All other Parasound amps are good, but the JC designs are special!!!

The new phono pre from JC is also very highly reviewed!

Originally Posted by MDP

The John Curl designs are what counts!

All other Parasound amps are good, but the JC designs are special!!!

I thought so too Mark.

After having an Accuphase C-200, Musical Fidelity A3.2cr, and McIntosh C15, I can honestly say none of them come close to sounding as good as my Halo P5. Plus the fact that it has a built-in adjustable 2-way analog crossover, one pair of balanced inputs and outputs, a built-in DAC that sounds amazingly good, MM/MC phono stage, and defeatable tone controls for those who wish to use them. Oh, and a well balanced and smooth operating Alps volume pot.

I'm going to be keeping this preamp for quite some time.

Originally Posted by MDP

The new phono pre from JC is also very highly reviewed!

I love the JC3+ phono pre. I have spent a good deal of time listening to it with a number of different tables and cartridges. It has yet to disappoint. Definitely worth a listen if in the market. The JC1's are equally as impressive. A few weeks ago I was playing around with different equipment combos and had a pair of JC1's driving some Magnepan 3.7i's. They sounded excellent. The rest of the system was a Audio Research SP20, Parasound JC3+ and a Dr. Feickert Woodpecker with a Kiseki Purple Heart cartridge.

Great feedback guys! Thanks.

Mike, while I do not currently own Parasound I have listened through it on a friends system and have heard it @ RMAF. I concur it is VERY good, perhaps even a 'bargain' and there in lies the potential issue .......... for it probably doesn't have enough 'snob appeal' for some folks ..............

Originally Posted by Mikado463

Mike, while I do not currently own Parasound I have listened through it on a friends system and have heard it @ RMAF. I concur it is VERY good, perhaps even a 'bargain' and there in lies the potential issue .......... for it probably doesn't have enough 'snob appeal' for some folks ..............

I tend to agree with you. People who have never heard it, tell me "it's mid-fi Mike". But I don't agree. It was a revelation for me when I heard the KEF Blade 2's with the $50K Bel Canto stack and the very next room (same size) with the JC1's and matching JC preamp. The Parasound sounded like music and I kept thinking, "boy, it just sounds right".

Originally Posted by Zero

Theres a part of me that wants to say. "Well...thats because you compared it to Bel Canto..". Wait.... I guess I ended up saying that after all..

I also heard it compared to Wyred4Sound. Not a fair fight!

I would love to compare it to some of the big boys costing 10x as much.

I just need to get a pair in and hear them for myself. They have zero snob appeal, but I've talked to enough industry folks who all own Parasound gear. Either they are too poor to buy anything else or they know something we don't know. Just saying...

Look, I've been on the hunt for MODESTLY priced SS Class A/B gear that doesn't sound like SS. I don't want to "hear" the resistors and capacitors and all the components like you can with loads of solid state amps. You can HEAR the amp and it's artifacts - some more than others. Other SS amps take a musical piece and turn it into a showcase for hi-fi sounds (and I don't mean that in a good way). I heard a pair of amps 3 times on Friday and 3 times on Saturday that screamed "HIFI". The tone was so far off on the guitar it wasn't funny. They were a big step back for this manufacturer who shall remain nameless.

I also heard the Mola Mola amps and hate myself for liking them so much, but damn it, they had NO coloration whatsoever. If you want to hear what your sources and speakers REALLY sound like, those are the amps to do it....but they are relentless, they won't cover up any imperfections.

I might be totally off base because I've never had the JC1's in my system, but I've heard them enough times to say "these don't sound like solid state, they sound like music and they sound just right." Only a home test will verify these thoughts.

The amps I most liked from Axpona were: Wells Audio (1st), Parasound (2nd) and Odyssey (3rd). None of these will win any aesthetic beauty contests and have zero snob appeal, but I don't care. I'm not concerned with what anything costs, I'm on the hunt for the best products - period. I find it more fun and more of a challenge to find the sleeping giants. What if you could buy an $8,000 pair of amps that rivaled $20,000 or $30,000 amps? Aren't we better off? That $22,000 difference buys a lot of vinyl!

I smell a Parasound addition coming to your dealer tag line.

Originally Posted by mep

I smell a Parasound addition coming to your dealer tag line.

I'm thinking. I'm thinking. Met with the owner of Parasound at Axpona. I discussed with him their future product plans, marketing plans, product upgrades (none), etc. He rambled off a very long list of manufacturers (or employees of manufacturers) who have purchased their gear.

Anyone who has been in this hobby for any length of time should understand the brilliance of John Curl. Parasound is bringing John's designs to life at a very reasonable price. What I don't know is how much expense is going towards high-quality parts that are carefully matched at the price points they have elected to sell the gear for. Regardless, John Curl designed Parasound gear represents serious bang for the buck.

Originally Posted by Zero

Mike,

The short of it is that I think this would be a smart line to carry. Their gear doesn't suck and the service is top notch. Snobbery is for the birds.

That said, the long of it is that every Parasound product that I've heard so far sounds incredibly solid-state-ish to my ears. I'm not saying that this is a good thing or a bad thing. When you get right down to it, what I think doesn't matter. There are clearly tons of people who love their stuff, and that's what really counts.

Interesting. Did you hear the JC1's?

I would not call Parasound Mid fi except for their lower priced Classic series and A23. The JC amps are a great buy and the Halo A21 another JC design is a great performer and a good amp for someone not wanting to spend $4k and up on an amp. For $2300 you get 400wpc at 4ohms, XLR and RCA inputs, dual gain controls a ground lift switch in a rugged but elegant but simple chassis. It runs in Class A for the first 8-10 watts per channel. Mine never really broke a sweat and never got remotely hot driving my Magnepans.

I have wondered though, how it sounds in comparison to a Vincent hybrid amp in the same price range.

Originally Posted by Zero

Mike,

Tons of times. Heck, you even cited one of the rooms that we both heard - albeit at different times (with the Josephs back at RMAF). I like the JC-1's. But that's just *one* product from an otherwise large catalog.

True. That Joseph Audio/Parasound room was superb and it was DSA (Dynamic Sound Associates) who were using the Parasound JC1's to demo with their phonostage. KEF (the company) owns a full suite of Parasound JC gear to demo their Blade and Blade 2's at shows.

For me, this review best sums it up:

"John Curl seems to have achieved his design goal of achieveing the best of both tubed and transistorized sound. Bob Crump’s contributions in voicing the amplifier seem to match my expectations of what great audio can do at its best. Carl Thompson has kept Crump’s chosen parts in optimum performance range by placing them judiciously on the printed circuit cards. Finally, Richard Schram’s judgment of the viability of this project has been upheld by the excitement Parasound’s Halo JC-1s have generated in the audio community. "Good job" to all concerned. "Good job."

If you’re in the market for a top-quality amp, now hear this. Go to a dealer that carries the Parasound line and audition these amps. Even if you’re not in the market, but you’d like tohear what all the fuss is about, go audition these amps. To know what the rest of the field ought to be aiming for, go audition these amps. Take your most familiar CDs and you’ll be surprised. In case you haven’t caught my meaning: go audition these amps. They may be the biggest bargain in high-end performance. If you’re a nut like me, you might threaten your domestic tranquility over these honies."

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Iss...rasoundjc1.htm

Originally Posted by Mike

I tend to agree with you. People who have never heard it, tell me "it's mid-fi Mike". But I don't agree. It was a revelation for me when I heard the KEF Blade 2's with the $50K Bel Canto stack and the very next room (same size) with the JC1's and matching JC preamp. The Parasound sounded like music and I kept thinking, "boy, it just sounds right".

I had a pair of JC1s before I bought my Bryston 28Bs. The JC1s are the best SS amps I've heard for under $10k and I recommend them without hesitation. When Parasound says that they haven't replaced them in their line because they haven't found a way to improve them, I have no reason to doubt them. I take it that they want to keep it at the same approximate price point, as they have no real competition in the under $10k category. The reason that Stereophile constantly compares more expensive amps to these is that you really have to take a big leap in expenditure to make the upgrade worthwhile. They are a benchmark for entry into high-end amp performance. To offer what they do for less than $10k, John Curl is a genius.

I currently have the JC3 phonostage. Every time I research upgrading, I conclude that I would have to spend more (used) than double its MSRP price to make the upgrade worthwhile. If I'm lacking anything, it is probably more bass slam and overall sonic authority. In other words, if it ain't there, I'm not missing it terribly.

Originally Posted by Mike

I also heard it compared to Wyred4Sound. Not a fair fight!

I would love to compare it to some of the big boys costing 10x as much.

I just need to get a pair in and hear them for myself. They have zero snob appeal, but I've talked to enough industry folks who all own Parasound gear. Either they are too poor to buy anything else or they know something we don't know. Just saying...

Look, I've been on the hunt for MODESTLY priced SS Class A/B gear that doesn't sound like SS. I don't want to "hear" the resistors and capacitors and all the components like you can with loads of solid state amps. You can HEAR the amp and it's artifacts - some more than others. Other SS amps take a musical piece and turn it into a showcase for hi-fi sounds (and I don't mean that in a good way). I heard a pair of amps 3 times on Friday and 3 times on Saturday that screamed "HIFI". The tone was so far off on the guitar it wasn't funny. They were a big step back for this manufacturer who shall remain nameless.

I also heard the Mola Mola amps and hate myself for liking them so much, but damn it, they had NO coloration whatsoever. If you want to hear what your sources and speakers REALLY sound like, those are the amps to do it....but they are relentless, they won't cover up any imperfections.

I might be totally off base because I've never had the JC1's in my system, but I've heard them enough times to say "these don't sound like solid state, they sound like music and they sound just right." Only a home test will verify these thoughts.

The amps I most liked from Axpona were: Wells Audio (1st), Parasound (2nd) and Odyssey (3rd). None of these will win any aesthetic beauty contests and have zero snob appeal, but I don't care. I'm not concerned with what anything costs, I'm on the hunt for the best products - period. I find it more fun and more of a challenge to find the sleeping giants. What if you could buy an $8,000 pair of amps that rivaled $20,000 or $30,000 amps? Aren't we better off? That $22,000 difference buys a lot of vinyl!

I've always said that the JC1s have a touch of warmth that I haven't heard from any other SS amp, regardless of price. And it's not the kind of warmth that obscures anything else in the sonic picture, rather it seems to smooth out whatever SS irritants there might be otherwise. I'd say that what the better sounding SS amps offer is that last bit of refinement that the elite components all seem to have and for which you will have to pay dearly (seeing a trend here?).

Originally Posted by Mike

True. That Joseph Audio/Parasound room was superb and it was DSA (Dynamic Sound Associates) who were using the Parasound JC1's to demo with their phonostage. KEF (the company) owns a full suite of Parasound JC gear to demo their Blade and Blade 2's at shows.

Martin Logan also used to demo their speakers with JC1s. I haven't heard JC1s with Joseph speakers, but that must have been awesome sounding. I'm a big fan of Joseph speakers.

Great post Anthony. Thank you.

The JC-1's are excellent amps. I used to own these amps when I first started back into the hobby 2.5 yrs ago. I used them to drive B&W 802's and they sounded wonderful.

There is a reason that the JC-1's have been on Stereophile's "Most Recommended Components" list for what 9 or 10 years? Has there been another manufacturer's component that has been on the list near that long?

From what I remember they are biased to run the first 10 watts in Class A mode. But there is a toggle switch on the back that will flip it to 20-25 watts of Class A operation.

Welcome to the forum Oilman! Thank you for joining.

Do Parasound sell in Canada? There does not seem to be many references north of the border.

Just got my first Parasound product, a Zphono-USB preamp. It's now a discontinued item, but Audio Advisor still has some. Compact size, but surprisingly heavy.

Wanted it mostly for its ability to digitize an analogue source through the USB out but it's also replacing my iFi iPhono for my TT pre. So far am very happy with it...

Originally Posted by tunes

I think Angie at American Sound in the GTA may carry Parasound.


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Thanks. Nothing on the website or on any other Canadian sites from what I can tell. Maybe they just stick to US distribution other than the odd piece here and there.