Power, bass response

Quality Control, Customer service, noisy

A decent and powerful 5-ch amp, however the customer and
tech support leave much to be desired.

Amp began to make sizzling noise when in standby mode.
Problem verified by dealer who sent it back to CA for
repair. Amp returns from CA with new transformer. Schlep
it home, plug it in and guess what? Sizzle in the standby mode. Schlep the beast back to dealer. Dealer calls CA for
RMA to return for proper repair, Parasound refuses to
authorize until the local rep can have a listen. Evidently
the owner and dealer testimony does not suffice.
More time goes by and local rep finally confirms what
the dealer and I already know. Amp is sent back again
at the dealers expense.

Evidently, Parasound does not respect their customers or
their dealers. What were they thinking, that both the
dealer and I were imagining the same noise? My dealer
tells me this is typical of them e.g. mis-diagnoses,
quality control issues. I understand from other postings
that quality control issues have tainted their A/V pre-amps
although mine has been ok for a year.

Bottom line: I refuse to tolerate this sort of treatment
at these prices. I'll not spend another dime on their
equipment.

Similar Products Used:

EAD, Yamaha, VAC

warm, smooth mid; detailed highs; authoritative bass

not much room in the speaker binding posts

I was looking to establish a strong foundation for my system as I make the leap from mass-market equipment to the high-end, so I spent a lot of time researching amps. Based on reviews, listening and consultations with trusted audio pros I settled on the Parasound and couldn't be happier.

Things started out rocky. My first amp had a defective channel, but Parasound shipped a new amp immediately so I could continue to enjoy stereo music before having to ship back the defective amp. I was very pleased with their service.

I loved the sound of the amp out of the box, and after three months I am even more delighted with my purchase. I am using a Harmon Kardon A/V receiver as the pre-amp, with a HK CD changer and Panasonic DVD player as the sources, both funneled through an MSB Link DAC. Cabling is MIT 750 interconnects and and MITerminator 2 speaker cables (both highly recommended), with Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble speakers (say what you want, I compare them favorably with speakers 3X as much). The CSW speakers have separate cabinets for the tweets/mids and the woofers and require a lot of power, so my old receiver had been straining noticeably.

The Parasound's enormous power output immediately brought my bass performance to new levels. On Cassandra Wilson's Seven Steps (my favorite test track), the bass riffs jumped out at me -- I could feel the vibrations. The amp did an excellent job of controlling the bass, too, improving the bass responsiveness. Very crisp.

My soundstage opened up immediately and continued to improve well into the break-in period, and the imaging (already a strength in my system) also improved slightly. On Kind of Blue, I can hear exactly where Miles is versus Cannonball, etc. The cymbal is tinkling in mid air. The bass and piano are in back mid-left and left, respectively. Overall, the amp added about six feet of depth, four feet of breadth, and several feet of height to the soundstage. A huge improvement for me.

The midrange, already a strength in my system, is now smoother than ever. More importantly, the highs that previously showed so much strain are now smooth and mellow, but still far more detailed. I no longer have any complaints about listener fatigue.

The most telling comment I can make is that, after a period where I was playing music but not really listening, I put on Kind of Blue the other night. I picked up the newspaper to do some reading, but I couldn't read a word. The music sounded too incredible. I just put my paper down and tried to stifle my sh*t-eating grin. $2100 is a cheap price for giddiness.

Similar Products Used:

HK

Smooth power.
Built like a Brick S---house (89 lbs!).
10 Year warranty.

None that I can hear.

Unlike my review of the Parasound AVC-2500, I'll be very brief here.
Wonderful piece.
220W x 5 ch.
No cooling fan, no cooling fan noise!
Reasonable price for the power and quality.
Sounds better with each passing day/week/month.
If amps can be considered musical, this must be the Mozart of amplifiers.
Phenomenal soundstage, bass output. For High End HT or music reproduction, beats out amps at twice the price.
Buy it. Now.

Similar Products Used:

There is nothing similar for the price.

Power, smoothsound, power

none

I went to audition the parasound after reading marvelous reviews. The thing about this amp is that impressed me the most was the warm sound. You know the amp has power but until you hear this thing you really cant describe how warm and natural it sounds. For HT and especially DD&DTS it grabs your attention by the power and fine detail. On music it has an awesome soundstage and just a sweet laid back sound; no harshness whatsoever.

I got mine brand new for 1695.00 from a local dealer in shelby, nc. No one and I mean no one can touch his prices.
I recently bought the richard gray power station for 395.00 and it makes this thing sound even better.

If you are thinking about upgrading your system I highly recommend this amp.

Similar Products Used:

none