Parasound Products - Thoughts?

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.
 
How would you compare the 28Bs (and which version?) to the JC 1s?

asindc said:
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'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.
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Do Parasound sell in Canada? There does not seem to be many references north of the border.
 
I think Angie at American Sound in the GTA may carry Parasound.


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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...
 
tunes said:
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.
 
Just a bit of background on the JC1 and JC2. They were designed by the team at CTC Builders. CTC stands for Curl, Thompson and Crump. John Curl designed the circuits. Carl Thompson did the circuit board layout. He came out of the high end commercial video production field where layout at those frequencies is critical. And the voicing was done by the late Bob Crump. Bob was a amazing man who evaluated a array of components for sonic merits. He had the ears and temperament to make something sound special IMO.
 
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