Solid build, quality workmanship. Amazing sound quality for the price.

None at this price point.

I've tried running 2 of these amps as monoblocks, connected straight from my Sony ES cd player, and I immediately noticed a huge difference as far as speed and clarity with my Energy C8 speakers compared to using my Onkyo Integra receiver. Then I hooked up the ht1000a amps to my receiver pre-amp out and the soundstaging really opened up, the mids and highs became alot smoother and I couldn't be happier with the music that are now coming out of my speakers. Definitely money well spent on these fine amps!

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo, Denon, Adcom

Look, construction, overall sound

Any, for now

First I have to say that I have the HCA-1000A, not the HCA-1000. There are no reviews about the 1000A in these pages and they have some differences that are important to quote. First, the HCA-1000A have a more robust power supply and these cause the 1000A have better bass perfomance and definition of voices and instruments than the 1000, and it have a pair of RCA jacks to looping two or more amps. There is a glowing review about the 1000 and the 1000A in Stereophile's august 1997 issue that includes an interview with its designer, John Curl, who was the prior designer for Mark Levinson. This moved to me to buy the HCA-1000A, after hearing it at the audio store, and connect it to the front channels pre-out jacks of my NAD T750...I was just amazed of the wonderfull sound from the Parasound, even I have not yet "breaked it" as the user guide and the Stereophile review recommends ("the 1000A has a long break-in period before it sounds its best", say the review). And about the hum of the 1000 that many reviewers quoted, it just does not exists in the 1000A! Maybe those who did not liked the 1000 need to break it, as the review also recommend it for the 1000, but the sonical superiority of the 1000A could worth to try changing the 1000 to the 1000A, but I don´t know if it is possible. The combination of the NAD and the Parasound worked well for me, and now I have a superb two channel system and a very good Dolby Pro-Logic system in the same place.

Similar Products Used:

NAD T750 audio/video receiver

Just picked up the 1000a after doing quite a bit of research. For the price and power, this was the one. I upgraded from an integrated and man what a difference! The Parasound has great depth and very wide channel separation. It is a very 'fast' amp and therefore needs to be paired with a smooth to warm pre and some good cables. It will make your existing stuff sound much better. Keep in mind that it has a fairly long break in time, so give it a couple of weeks to really come around.
The build quality is first rate and the aesthetics are quite nice (rack mounts too!). I believe Parasound has just upgraded their warranty to 10 years.

For the price, this amp is a steal and it holds its own with equipment twice the cost. Highly recommended.

Another excellent product from Parasound. (I have 3 HCA-1000's in my system). My listening experience has shown that spending A LOT more on an amp won't buy you all that much more performance (unless you need more power). I think your money is better spent elsewhere. Buy one of these (or 2 or 3), and sit back and enjoy. The new 10 year warranty sure is nice bonus. Power-wise, as long as you're not using it to power the bottom 1-2 octaves (ie. you have a powered sub), it's all you'll ever need (with reasonably sensitive speakers, of course). My only complaint: it seems to get a little thin in the top end when driven hard. (Who knows, it might just be my speakers...)
4-1/2 stars

I recently picked one of these up for about $475 including tax. For an amp in this price range, it is an exceptional buy. Parasound now offers a 10 years parts, and five years parts and labor warranty. I sure wish that some other manufacturers would offer such an outstanding warranty. I suppose that the main reason that such an exceptional warranty is offered is one of the same reasons that I decided to go with this amp-- the fact is, this piece is built like a friggin' tank. I believe that build quality is a very important aspect of product consideration, and if something is built well, it speaks very well about the manufacturer, and what they offer their customers for their dollar. Of course, incredible construction is meaningless if the amp cant sing, and sing it does. I'm not saying that this is the best amp that I've ever heard, but since I cant afford to spend several thousand bucks on a single piece of equipment, I was forced to consider more reasonably priced gear, and this amp has done nothing except exceed my expectations continually. The bass is incredibly tight, making my bass-reflex speakers (Polk RT 800) sound like two incredibly well damped and huge (as in flat freq. response) sealed boxes. The mid is silky smooth, and the highs are crisp, but not thin or tinny. For the money this represents an incredible amount of quality, both in sound and construction. If you are in the market, and you have the means to take one home, and listen to it in your existing system, I highly reccomend that you consider it. On an absolute scale, representing what is possible, without concern for price, this amp would be about 3.5 out of five. However, with regard to price, and what is available at this range, even up to about a grand or so (twice the price of the 1000A) this piece gets five out of five hands down. Thank you Parasound.

I love my Parasound! The HCA-1000a has the best soundstage and imaging I've heard in this price range. The dynamics are great, details sharp and it is very transparent. I have it hooked up to some PSB 400's with a sub and haven't noticed a lack of midrange. I listen to mostly classical and rock. It is at it's best with a female voice (Ricki Lee Jones, Kathleen Battle).

I just bought a pair of Paradigm Minimonitors, and was intending on buying the NAD 314 integrated amp to drive them. But then I came across the Parasound HCA-1000A, and I have to agree with how Stereophile called this power amp "a serious contender in affordable high-end amplification." Its 125-watts/channel of John Curl power just completely blew me away, especially when compared to other (integrated) amplifiers in its price class... and it was only $200 more than the NAD 314!! These amps clearly deserve at least some respectable interconnects and speaker cables; considering how it has a 10 year warranty and is built like a tank, this amp will grow with you whether you're just driving bookshelves or floorstanders. A hearty round of applause to Parasound!!

I just recently purchased the Parasound 1000A amp. I have to say that is surprised me. First the amp was built like a rock. It felt and looks like it was built to last. Second a quick look inside revealed seperate circuitry for both L/R channels. Hook up was simple. With this amp I purchesed a pair of Triangle Antals. The combo worked great. The amp showed no strain with the 4 ohm speakers. Bass was just right clean and not boomy. Highs were crystal and mid was smooth and warm. Plus it didn't get shrill at loud volumes. For it's price this amp was a good contender. My only complaint was that the amp wasn't really tight. Some subtle cues were not defined. But most the amps in this price range don't do that eather.
Good job Parasound

I have owned an HCA-1000A for a year now and in my system it has proven to be an excellent performer. My speakers are sensitive, so the 110 watts into 8 ohms is plenty. With a clipping headroom of almost 200 watts per channel it provides excellent dynamics and deep, tight and fast bass. Mated with a Parasound PLD-2000 Class A preamp, the HCA-1000A doesn't seem to favor any part of the frequency spectrum, being neutral and accurate. The Parasound provides plenty of detail, when the recording has it, and has a wide, well defined soudstage. There is a definite advantage to the cascode JFET input stage and the high bias of the output stage, mostly Class A at low input voltages, which gives the music punch and warmth at low listening levels. This is a very satisfying sound(I can see why some folks would spend big bucks on a true Class A amp)and is much appreciated in my house by my wife, who doesn't care for loud listening very often. In any case this amp is a great bargain, well built, with high quality internal parts and dual-mono circut design. This amp offers a great big helping of what high end sound is all about. This is a four star amp, but Parasound and John Curl deserve five stars for giving us beginners a chance at high end sound at entry level prices.

At first I owned a Denon AVR3200 Dolby Digital reciever. My goal was always to own a seperates system. So I bought 1 hcca 1000. I went out of the pre outs
on the reciever for the front left and right channels. This made an unbelievable
improvement in sound quality. Switching back to reciever power was like going
from prime rib steak to salami. So my next step was to buy a 2nd hcca 1000. This
on I put one channel on the center and the other channel on a pasive subwoofer.
Oh what a difference. So I figured I might as well go ahead and finish it up.
I bought a seperate Denon Dolby Digital processor, and one more hcca1000 for the
rears. I will never go back to a reciever again. These amps are awesome. The price is not bad either. Only $500.00 a piece through mail order. Highly recommended to anyone wanting a seperates based system with out breaking the bank.