My New Amp!

[blackraven]

I just ordered the Parasound Halo A21 amp!

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PAHA21

I choose this over the Van Alstine because it has a 12v trigger out that I will need so that I can use this Niles Audio switcher to switch between my Adcom HT AVR and the Parasound. Unfortunately, Van Alstine Amps come with out aall the bells and whistles and they do not have the 12v trigger.

http://www.nilesaudio.com/product.php?prodID=SPK-1&recordID=Automated%20Switching%20Systems&categoryID=Automated%20Switching%20Systems&catcdID=10&prdcdID=FG00240

[emaidel]

Congrats! I own three pieces of Parasound gear: the PLD-1100 "Line Drive" preamp; the PPH-100 phono preamp (needed because the PLD-1100 has no phono input); and the T/DQ-1600 tuner. The PLD-1100 replaced an Adcom GFP-565, and made a very significant improvement overall. While Stereophile went all but ballistic over the phono section of the 565, I have to admit that the combination of the PLD-1100 and the PPH-100 vastly outperforms the Adcom, which I found quite satisfactory, though nothing close to what Stereophile claimed. The T/DQ-1600 is a fine tuner, but FM tuners, no matter how good, rarely impress me as FM itself simply is not a legitimate source of serious listening for me, due to the compression and other processing done by so many broadcast studios. I only discovered this year that it had received a Stereophile "Class C" recommendation. I guess that's good, but as it applies to an FM tuner, it's no big deal (to me).

Overall, I'm very satisfied with my Parasound gear, and suspect you'll feel much the same way with your HALO amp. I'm looking forward to your observations.

[Ajani]

Congrats! I'm sure we're all anxious to get your opinion on the Parasound (I know I am)...

[blackraven]

I got a discount by buying a return unit. $200 off regular price. I should have it by the end of the week and I'll post a review next week.

I posted a new picture on my original post.

[Rich-n-Texas]

Beautiful piece of gear blackraven. Another Parasound owner I'm envious of. :(

Many years of musical satisfaction for you I hope.

[E-Stat]

I just ordered the Parasound Halo A21 amp!
Congrats! John Curl has always designed good stuff. His first popular design was the Mark Levinson JC-2 preamp back in '74 or '75. I met Richard Schram of Parasound at a Chicago User's Group Meeting a couple of years ago. He brought a pair of JC-1 amps and a prototype of the now released JC-2 preamp (needs a different name to me) driving Sound Lab Majestics. Sounded pretty fine to me.

rw

[blackraven]

Thanks guys, I cant wait to hook it all up along with the Van Alstine DAC that I'm going to purchase thursday. Too bad its going to take 30days to build. I just hope it meshes well with the Adcom zone 2 preamp out till I can afford the Van Alstine hybrid preamp.

[cjpremierfour]

The Halo series of amps are almost impossible to beat. John Curl is one of the few guys in Hi End audio that has his stuff together every single year.
Hope everything works out for you.

[wintal005]

:14: Hi, My first post here, congrats blackraven on the new Parasound. I noticed you are using a Cambridge Audio Azur 840C, I purchased one earlier this year myself and am very pleased with its performance. I also have an Adcom GFP-565 pre-amp but am considering upgrading in the near future.

[blackraven]

Thanks Wintal, but I have grown tired of the 840c in my system. I find its sound fatiguing. It has tons of detail, resolution is well made but its slightly on the bright side in my system. I compared it to a Van Alstine DAC and the DAC had better detail, resolution, clarity, transparency and larger sound stage as well as deeper bass and more warmth.

In a different system, the 840c would be my choice, but I'm selling mine and am going to purchase the VA DAC to go along with my preamp.

I'm glad you enjoy it though, for the money its tough to beat. By the way, thats a nice system you have there. I see you have a B&K amp. I almost bought the B&K reference 200.2. B&K makes nice equipment.

[wintal005]

Thanks for your reply, based on your comments it seems system synergy will determine how a particular piece of gear will sound or its relative strengths and weaknesses. I've found the choice of interconnects and power cable make a significant difference in the way the 840c sounds in my set-up, burn-in took upwards of a month to really come into its own. Your observations lead me to ask how the Van Alstine pre-amp performs with the new Parasound amp? I'm looking at new candidates to replace my Adcom.

[blackraven]

I got to audition all the Van Alstine DAC's and Preamp's in my house as I live 3 minutes from Frank Van Alstine. All his equipment is top notch. I settled on his most expensive pre amp the Ultra Tube Hybrid. All his pre amps sound similar ( the T-8 all tube and the Insight which is Solid State which was designed to give a Tube sound and it actually succeeds). The preamps are no frills and come in simple anodized black aluminum cases.

They all present a huge sound stage with great transparency and detail. The SS has the most bass. The All tube is the warmest sounding and the hybrid has the best of both worlds (they all use basically the same electronics). The bass is fast and tight. I've heard preamps costing thousands more with out the stereo separation and transparency that the hybrid preamp has.
The preamp is a good match for the Parasound.

You should consider the VA preamps. Frank gives you a 30 day trial period and if you dont like it, ship it back and he will refund your money. They all have a 3 yr warranty and all are upgradeable if newer models come out. Plus if you have any problems Frank always answers his phone and Email. Check out his web site
www.avahifi.com and also check out his forum audiocircles.

[wintal005]

Great response, I'll definitely be checking out the Van Alstine web-site and I'll be looking at reviews here and other sources. The ability to audition in-home is a definite plus. Thanks again for you recommendation!