Parasound Products - Thoughts?
- Thread starter Mike
- Start date
chops
Active member
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. :thumbsup:
I'm going to be keeping this preamp for quite some time. :thumbsup:
BobNY
New member
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.
La Dolce Vita
New member
+1 right on... Agreed
- Thread Author
- #25
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 ..............
- Thread Author
- #27
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".
- Thread Author
- #29
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!
- Thread Author
- #31
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.
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!
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 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, my opinion doesn't mean squat. There are clearly tons of people who love their stuff, and that's what really counts.
So stop effing around and do the thing already.
mep
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2013
- Messages
- 5,086
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.
- Thread Author
- #34
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.
I have wondered though, how it sounds in comparison to a Vincent hybrid amp in the same price range.
- Thread Author
- #37
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.
- Thread Author
- #38
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/Issue8/parasoundjc1.htm
"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/Issue8/parasoundjc1.htm
asindc
Member
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2013
- Messages
- 784
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.
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?).
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.
- Thread Author
- #40
Great post Anthony. Thank you.