Lots of useable power

Chainsaw music

I auditioned this amp at the weekend and came away wondering what all the press reports are about. All the home cinema amps give it a top rating and to be fair I only listened to music, however as a stereo source it was really bad. The high end diplayed a grainy quality I would expect to hear from a £100.00 amp not one costing 20 times that much. It sounded like listening to music through a chainsaw. Bass control was sloppy and the whole time the amp sounded like it could not be bothered to do anything that required a bit of hard work. No recomended!

Similar Products Used:

Tag McLaren 100X5R, Sunfire Cinema Grand, Classe CAV150

Price and Power

THis is for the previous post. Why not compare the Sunfire Cinema grand to a 2205, that is more of a even comparison. the 1205 is a good budget amp, the 2205 may be more of what you are looking for.
JCR

This Amplifier is a big improvement over receiver amplification.The price,value,sound quality and overall build is superb at this price point.I have matched this product up with a Sony ES TAE-9000 Pre-amp and it is the most impressive
match-up I have ever owned.I give this amp a well deserved 5+ stars for all
categorys-price,performance,build.

Pass Laboratories Bride of Zen PreampI own and built this amp as well as its "improvement" the balanced version, using the highest and most expensive parts I could find. I had a lot of trouble with nervy highs. I tried matching the input impedence: to no avail. I have an old Krell KSL preamp that I used for comparison. Unexpectedly, the old Krell definitely sounded sweeter, more spacious, transparent, natural.
The Pass had somewhat more detail in the highs, but.... I can't listen to it for long. You can well imagine that I was extremely disappointed in my attempt to better my old Krell. The Krell is as ugly as sin but still sounds good.

I would not recommend anyone building the pass amp, even a cheap NAD, listened to in direct comparison, sounded better.

If it weren't for the highs, I would give it a 3.

I've had the HCA-1205A for only a couple of weeks, but MAN, does it rock! The amp replaced my Harman Kardon AVR-80 (now used as a pre-amp until I can replace it). Incredible dynamics and detail and pleanty of THX punch and slam for HT. Overall, a fine soundstage and unbelievable detail. I'm re-discovering favorite CDs and DVDs. Highly recommend this amp for anyone considering B&K, ATI, Outlaw, AMC. In my opinion, it's the best in the sub-$2000 category.
Related equipment:
Paradigm Reference Studio 60s
CC-450 center channel
Paradigm ADP-350 dipole surrounds
M&K MX-125 subwoofer
Parasound HCA-1205A 5x140w amplifier
Harman Kardon AVR-80 receiver (used as a preamp)
Harman Kardon ADP-303 DD decoder
Panasonic A-110 DVD player
Sony CD
XLO-Pro 150 interconnects
MIT Terminator 5 speaker cables
Panamax MAX1000+ surge suppressor/conditioner