Packs a punch.

Heats up in my cabinet. I know I havent leeft the air space Parasound recomments, but there is 10 inched of space on each side and I installed two cooling fans which blow directly on the heatsinks. This solved the heat problem. I must point out that the amp never shut down, the red temp light just starts to light up.

Although I am very satisfied with this amp, I am very curious as how it would compare to the Cinepro 3K6. Is 350 wpc worth the additional price. Who doesn't like the Parasound HCA 2205A.............MY NEIGHBORS. I run the M&K MX 150 THX system with two M&K subwoofers, and it drives them very well. A B&K Reference 20 Processor and a Sony DVP S7700 completes the package, other than some other lower end pieces. I think this is a great home theater amp at a reasonable price. I believe that you would have to spend several time the amount the get an amp that produces any significant difference.

Similar Products Used:

None

Lot's of clean power

Get's HOT!!!!

This amp is used along with the Parasound AVC 2500 pre/pro. This amp is so powerfull and has such great sound. I'm using some old speakers that I was going to replace, but not anymore, they sound great. The sound is very "uncolored". I cannot recommend this amp enough. My dealer; Steve, who also posted on this site, told me to listen to all of them then try the Parasound. He was right. Save youself some time, for the price you can't beat it. I have it in a small enclosed cabnit, and it does get HOT, however the High Temp light has never lit up nor has the Amp ever quit producing great sound. Thanks for the recommendation Steve.

More than enough power, 5 channel, great build, never have come close to clipping, has never come close to overheating

picky --> would have liked more room around speaker binding posts to place spades, took some considerable effort

Overall excellent. Drives all my speakers very well. Very good music reproduction, and excellent at movies. I will own this amp for many years to come. I have found the highs, and mids to be very accurate, and the bass tight and strong. I could not be happier at this point. You could spend a lot more, and not get as much. Keep up the good work Parasound. You have produced a winning combination for both home theater & music with the HCA-2205A & the AVC2500. Have given this amp plenty of room to breath, and have never had any problem with excessive heat.

EQUIPMENT: Parasound HCA-2205A amplifier
Parasound AVC2500 preamp/processor
Nordost speaker cables & interconnects
PSB Stratus Gold i fronts
Pinnacle Classic Gold Center
Mission 775 rears
PSB Subsonic 3i subwoofer

Wide soundstage, Powerful bass

I felt that extreme highs were a bit harsh

Last summer I sold speakers at the curcuit city store near my house, and became very interested in home audio. I saved my cash and bought the M&K 750 Thx system with the mx 105 sub. I used very hevy duity monster cables to connect everything to my onkyo txds777 reciever. At the time I was thrilled and amazed at the quality of sound that my system could produce, but after a few months, being the type of person who scrutenizes soundquality, I noticed that the mid-bass was rather reserved in my system. The Small M&K sattelites are remarkable at prducing awesome mids and highs, and the the mx105 is great at dishing out tons of accurate low bass, but the sub didn't produce midbass, and the sattelites were too small to really pick up the slack. I heard that this amp greatly improved bass reproduction, so I decided that it should be the perfect amp to stiffen up my midbass, while improving the overall sound.
Using my reciever now as the pre-amp, I finally got everything hooked up. To my delight, the amp did exactly what I hoped it would do. Mid bass vibrated my couch just as much as low bass. As my listening continued, I noticed a slightly more harsh extreme high end to the sound. It really stood out whenever a signer said the letter "s." While overall sound quality was greatly improved, the amp brought out more imperfections in the music its self. The scratchy "s" problem was not evident in really well recorded music, but in my older recordings, it was more pronounced. Because the amp in my reciever is not as accurate, it tends to smooth out the harsh "s." I have listened to many amps and I will admit that this amp kicks the teeth out of any amp under $3000. Don't get me wrong, I am a very satisfied customer. The amp improved every aspect of my system so much that it makes the imperfections in the music itself more annoying.

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Amp within Onkyo txds777 reciever

good looking, excellent for both (dts,ac3} music and movics. I think it may be the best multi-amp within 5K

1 need to have more room around speaker binding posts to place spades,
2. need a open space for heating ( your rack }

I got this amp for my lexicon DC1. It is excellent both for musics and movies. (sweet, smooth, clear, precise, nice ..)
I compare it for ATI1505.
Both I love, but This am is more warm and music oriental.
you will love the combination ( DC1 and 2205A ).
I do not know why Dave gave it only 1 star
Please let me know, within $2K you can find a $5K-8K value multi-amp !!
Definitely, 5 stars ( built likes a tank }
This is my setup
Totem tabu ( front spk } spk cable ( 12ft pair M2.4s}
paradigm c 450 center { 10 M2.4s}
paradigm ref 20 surr { 25 ft pair MIT T2}
subwoofer: JMlab sub 32A
source: Sony DSS, panasonic K510, pioneer LD ( used as CD transport}, ...
interconectors: Master cable M1500i, optical interlinks ...
amp: parasound 2205ATHX
from DC1 to amp interconnector : 5 1meter HK Hero

( this is my suggestion for multi-amp,
if($0.9K

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ATI 1506 + ATI 1504 ( bridged}.

Awsome powerful sound with smooth mids and highs, dynamic, detailed, and throws A great soundstage.

My arms, its pretty heavy at allmost 90 lb. trying to get it in my rack space and making connections. The binding posts are close to the handle making it A teadious install. No real complaints though just a chalange with the space I had to work in.

On my long quest searching for an amp I finally found it the Parasound HCA-2205A . And to my suprise the list price was in reach under $2,500.00 ,I had to have it. After the haggeling was done I walked out with A brand new 2205 for just under $2,000.00 YEEEEEHAA! (That translated texas slang means FU## YEA DUDE!) Well thats the way I felt anyway. Now after opening the box it was packaged verry good and found everything there ,I wrestled the para into my rack space and made all connections I use my Lexicon DC-2 P.G.M. To power up the DC trigger ,now I have remote power.COOL. I poped in A cd in the player(DENON DVD 2500 for now) and was floored . Everything sounded great I played my usual demo cds and was glued to my seat . The low end was deep heavy,tight and in controll.The mids are smooth and the treble was just the same. Everything sounds detailed or more focused all inside A wide soundstage. I left the Parrasound burn in for A good 24+hr. before I returned and decided to cheak out the heat issue.Well after scrapeing my flesh off the cooling fins naaa just kidding the unit was verry warm nothing to worry about It has plenty of air around it. So I went to my cds and dvds played more tracks and noticed even further improovments. It just keep sounding smoother and soundstage depth went deeper.I think after about two weeks is when it was broken in. Deffinately an awsome amp. Oh by the way my system consists of the following..........LEXICON DC-2......PARASOUND 2205......PARASOUND AM/FM TUNER.......DENON DVD 2500......HUGHES DOLBY DIGITAL SAT........CAMELOT DRAGON 5.1........KIMBER KABLE KCAG,.......TRIBUTARY 150 ON FM TUNER........MONSTER M1000 VIDEO AND M1000 DIGITL FOR THE SAT......AND MONSTER Z3 CABLE FEEDING ENERGY RVS SPEAKERS L,C,R,TYPE AND RVSS SURROUNDS.....TWO ENERGY SUBS ESP 150 .....

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Denon AVR-3600 (can be harsh in the highs ).I demoed A bunch of equipment the past two years high dollar and similary priced. The Parasound can go up against anything and come out without any wimpering or flaws. It just sounds great.Definately the best bang for the buck.

Bass Control. Detail.

I have seen a lot of positive reviews about the HCA-2205A and I definitely agree with their conclusions. As an overview, it does nearly everything right, and a couple of things o.k. but all-in-all, nothing can touch it in this price point. There are a tremendous amount of amp selections out there currently, and more are ready to roll out. I currently carry a number of them (I'm a dealer here in Minnesota). I have the opportunity to compare and contrast many 5 channel amps like Cinepro, B&K, EAD, Acurus, Aragon, Bryston, Sim Audio, ATI, Outlaw, Class'e, Marantz, Krell (two channel/3 channel combo), Citation (4 channel), Sunfire, and Proceed. I carry all but the last five lines on this list. Most of you reading these reviews are trying to figure out what amp to buy or if you can get by with less $$ amp.

Do not underestimate the importance of clean amplification. In my view, amplification is the 2nd most important component in the system, next to your speakers. Good speakers become incredible speakers with a switch to an incredible amp. When people ask if amplification matters, I let them listen to a Citation amplifier. They then realize how good the Parasound sounds and it is obvious even to a non-audiophile... A lot of so called well reviewed amps (some of them on my list of lines) do a good job but not a GREAT job. Since I need to maintain relationships with many of these lines I am not going to get into too many negative specifics (although I can on the phone or in person). The 2205A is one of those who does a GREAT job. Amps may sound limp, thin, bloated, edgy, bright, forward, laid back, dark etc. These terms are actually positive to some. Words like, thin, edgy, bloated, and not positive to any one. But there are those who prefer laid back, bright,or even dark sounding products. Just because a product gets a good review it is not a reason to buy it. Nearly everyone who buys a "good" amp feels convinced they got a great amp and posts a 5 star rating on Audio Review. Magazines are paranoid of getting a bad reputation of giving honest reviews because manufactures will not advertise or allow their product to be reviewed. A bad magazine review can make or break a product and the manufactures will not drop off product to these magazines. If no one drops off product to review, magazines don't sell. This is a real phenomenon.

Now to the HCA-2205A…. This Parasound HCA-2205A is detailed, tight, well control on the bottom end, and a little forward sounding. I personally am a detail and imaging freak so the Parasound plays well to what is important to me. In home theater environments, this amp immediately let's you know how powerful it is. When I say power, I do not mean wattage, I mean current. The Ultra high current design can handle any transient like explosions etc with control equal to the 200 watt Krell. This Parasound has a very muscular sound. This is not an easy feat! You need to spend a lot to get this control. 5 channel amps like, Bryston, Krell, and Sim Audio can do it. Sunfire, Marantz, Acurus (and others) cannot.
I mentioned that the 2205A is detailed and images very well. The 2205A will be a strong performer in stereo listening for those of you who critically listen. Imaging and detail comes at the expense of being a little bright. Quintessentially speaking, nearly all amps have some down sides (unless you have $10K each for the Pass Labs MonoBlocks) you WILL have compromises. Anyone who says different is not being honest or is sonically challenged. Independent of price, you cannot have smooth and detailed. I prefer neutral or a little "bright" over laid back or dark.
Another small down side of the 2205A is that you can tell this is a solid state amp (it is a little grainy in the mid range). It is not so noticeable in Home Theater but more in two channel. If you have a very transparent speaker and processor, you will hear what I mean. PLEASE NOTE: This grainy solid state sound is precisely the same sonic signature that the Krell amplifiers possess. My message is that it is well regarded amp.. If you never hear a Sim Audio, Plinius, Pass Lab Mono Block, or BAT, you would not notice it. These amps I just mentioned cost 2x more for only 2 channels. With many speakers and processors, the grainyness is covered-up. For instance, if you use the Lexicon or HCA-2500 for Parasound it smoothes it out.
In conclusion: I am not aware of any amp at the $2500 retail price that can compete. B&K just released a Reference 5 and 6 channel amp that might give it a challenge… If I repackaged the 2205A in a Krell box, only the most discriminating ear could tell the difference between the two. The 10 year warranty is the icing on the cake!!! Oh, I own this in my system and I have access to all the brands. Needless to say, I am a believer. Take a close listen and you will be as well.
If you have questions and do not have a dealer I would be happy to answer any questions and supply you pricing and technical info. Do support your local dealers if you have one.
Hope this helps!!!!!!
Steve 612-308-7736 (herra001@tc.umn.edu)
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Authorized Lines:
ATI, Acurus, Aerial Acoustics, Aragon, B&K, Bryston, Chiro/Kinergetics, Class'e, Cinepro, DynAudio, EAD (Enlightend Audio Designs), Energy, Gallo Acoustics, Gershman Acoustics, Innersound (ElectroStatic), Marantz, M&K, Monitor Audio, NHT, Panamax, Parasound, Pioneer (Not Elite), Plinius, Sherwood NewCastle, Sim audio, Toshiba, & Velodyne.
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I have had this amp for well over a year. In fact, I purchased this monster amp before any reviews were ever written about it. So I feel I have listened to it long enough to give it an accurate review. This is a well built and great sounding amp. I am currently using Polk 2B tower speakers that are not very efficient, and this amp has more than ample power to drive these power thirsty speakers at high volumes. I have watched numerous movies at high decibles and have not come close to clipping it. The lows and highs come accross very clear. If you are looking for a powerful amp that can play clearly, accurately, and very loud, I doubt you can get a better amp at this price level.

Power Soundstage Warmth Air Depth

Hmmm? I guess it would have to be it's size and weight for installation? If that is a problem for such a wonderful amp?

I have had this amp for little under a year and I can say the sound is very much like all the great reviews listed on this site. I won't restate what others have mentioned so articulately. The sound is warm rich and pure when you have the right source components, interconnects, and of course most importantly the right speakers cables and speakers. I have had no trouble with 2205A except for a very slight and almost inaudible (unless your ear is smack up against the speaker grill) hum in the left channel. To get rid of it all I had to do turn the unit off, disconnect the power cord and reinsert, then turn it back on. From there the sound is as warm and sweet as my good woman and she listens to it with great affection along with me! What better things in life is there? Okay don't answer that. Well Parasound has a great amp and I fully enjoy it and for me it was money well spent! Aloha!

System: Denon AVP8000, DH Labs and Audio Magic Interconnects, Denon DVD2500, Sherwood Newcastle CD980, Millenium 2-4-6 DTS decoder, Kef 104.2 (front), Kef 200C (center), Kef Coda 7 (rears), Infinity HPS 500 Subwoofer and one loving wife!

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Onkyo Hafler SAE

Built, muscularity in delivering wattage, bass, bass to boot!

none

Excellent, excellent product! Up there with the best, congratulation John Curl and Parasound, Five star all the way. This amp will kill Sunfire Cinema Grand in terms of musicality and quality. I was dissappointed with the Cinema Grand built quality. The Cinema Grand that I owned has produced a funny hum somewhere inside the amp everytime I turn on the amp. Oh by the way, one of my Sunfire RCA inputs has come off from the chassis! Bob Carver, I own your True Sub and Cinema Grand, and both built quality sucks! maybe that is why your stuff is called a "bargain" because you cut corners in built quality. I am truly dissappointed with Sunifre products, never buy another Sunfire products, I'll stick with Parasound for built and sound quality. The new AVC-2500 kills Sunfire processor! Death to Sunfire!Five stars for ALL Parasound products, Zero star for all Sunfire products!

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Sunfire Cinema Grand(The Parasound kills the Cinema Grand)