Very minor AC hum

Big and heavy, a great value, very, very minor AC hum I have not been able to eliminate, but it is not a distraction when listening to music. Spending a lot more cash on my system and amp would probably get a more clearly defined soundstage, but I doubt I could gain much more in low end reproduction. I am very pleased with this amp. No longer produced, but find one used and you'll have a great amp!
5 stars for the price.

Classe' .3 CDP
Parasound PPH-100 Phono amp
Parasound PLD-2000 Pre amp
Parasound HCA-3500
PSB Stratus Gold I
Dedicated 20A circuit

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Auditioned Krell Integrated amp

Bottom end control and power, can effortlessly power just about any speaker

Long break-in necessary; Less refined treble than the mega-buck amps

I own two of these amps in a home theater set-up. They took a very long time to break in -- nearly 200 hours before they began to smooth out. In addition, for the first 20-40 hours they both emitted a low level hum. However, after the long break-in, things smoothed out and now they drive 4 of my 5 Aerial speakers in a home theater set-up. For this application, these amps are great. They do not produce the "air" and genteel, refined power of the megabuck amps, but they have wonderful dynamics for home theater. Stereophile's Jan. 2000 review panned it too severely, IMHO. It is (was) a very good amp at a very good price.

Similar Products Used:

B&K, Krell, Classe

The HCA 3500 is an impressive amp in many respects. It is big, heavy (almost 100lbs) and well built. It produces a prodigious amount of power. In fact, this amp is much more powerful than its 350W/channel would suggest. This is a dual mono design right from the power switch (there are 2) to the power cord (there are also two)! Each torrodial transformer is rated at 1.4kVA and the maximum current is 120 amps per side! Note, however, that this amp is not rated for a 2 ohm load. Within its impedance range, however, one would be hard pressed to find an amp with more raw power anywhere near its price range.
I will be purchasing this amp, but I can only give it three stars. The reason is that my speakers are bi-amplified and I am buying the HCA 3500 essentially as a subwoofer amp (200Hz and below) where it has no competition anywhere near its price. The amp from 200Hz and up is the Spectron Digital 1. I tried the HCA above 200Hz and it had no where near the detail of the Spectron. As a subwoofer amp, the HCA is a five star product. As a full range amp, it suffers from big amp-itis, lots a power with insufficient detail.

strong bottom end ,open soundstage...

needs PS Audio "lab cables"

I started experimenting with interconnect cables,kimberly,straight wire,nordost,taralabs,synergetic research and some odd balls ones too.I found that it will change your sound to better sound or ultimate sound that you are trying to get to by buying interconnect cables .use your money wisely other then buying the high price equipment that most people can't afford and wouldn't buy.some interesting sounds can come out when you can get burnin demo cables from high audiophile stores and best buy for the money and sound quality is synergesic research start with alpha sterling line with discreet shielding then work up to the resolution reference phase II very nice sound and soundstage that spreads sound around instead of focusing in one point..I have looking glass phaseI w/rca connections very nice on tuner section and resolution reference on amp to preamp that makes a difference very quick and detailed sound wide open too...on parasound HCA-3500 for over year now it has been working real good with PSAudio "lab cables"
make sound dynamite when cannons go off in back ground "1812 telarc or WEllington victory...the amp has very open sound stage and very quiet moments between notes and found that has very detailed in background for violins & softnotes..I like the built in BI-WIRE setup already on the amp...it great makes my old speakers stand-up and shout to heavens ...
for he price it is worth the $1800. for it

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b&k,classe 300,proceed hpa-2,mcintosch 352,audio research "tube"

Strong TOP END, lots of POWER!!! Bi-Wire Ready for Unbeatable SOUNDS!!!

none

Right out of the box it was very impressive amp, Huge and very Heavy, RCA inputs, XLR balanced inputs, two sets of gold-plated five-way speaker binding posts for bi-wiring applications(perfect for my speakers) dual power supplies , Has excellent high-end, Bass is very POWERFULL! Build quality, I play some salsa, merengue,jazz and r&b cd's sounds incredible, lots of datailed and smooth sounds. I never have to buy another amp again! , Lots of Power. I'd recommend this amp if you are looking for REAL POWER!

Currently Using:

Fostgate Model DSL Two.
California Audio Labs MK2 CD Player.
Sony DAT DTC-700.
Parasound HCA-3500 Dual Mono Amp.
Icon Parsec three-way loudspeakers.
AudioQuest Green HL(Jade) bi-wiring speakers cable.
AudioQuest Viper Iterconnect Cable.

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Crown, Mac, Denon

when broken in after 50 hours,fanastic

none

after my burnin time for amp hc3500 using apha sterlings they were increditable sound.Sometimes a fell asleep I would wake up and notice nobody in the room there only stereo playing it gets spooky it is so realistic sound. I have friends come over they come into the room stop dead in their tracks or stop talking listening to stereo on how good it sounds.The investment in that amp makes whole world of difference in listening pleasure.I listen to Jazz,Classsical,Rockn'roll,Country,Blues,old Motown too.
using internconnect cables can make or break you in sound quality.some people wonder about my neighbors but I am not a blaster only listening level listener..Too bad they stop producing this AMP HC-3500 they are stopping a good thing..!

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mc352,amber series70,sonic frontiers,classe' c200,classe 301,threshold st150,krell.

Power, Detail, Build Quality for the price.

None yet that I detect

Serious amp for the money.......the article in Stereophile a few months back sum it up 100 percent.

Similar Products Used:

Rotel RB1090, B and K 4420M's, Bryston products, Aragon

GIVES A SENSE OF DENSITY TO MUSIC

NOT SUPPORTED BY ITS CREATOR

FIRST, THE SYSTEM, THEIL 3.6 MAIN, SCS2 CENTER AND REAR.ENERGY18 INCH SUB, PARASOUND C/BD 2000 TRANSPORT, D/AC 2000 DAC,P/SP1500&P/DD1550 PRE/PRO,HCA 3500 FOR MAINS, HCA2003A FOR CNT & REAR, PIONEER 909 COMBI PLAYER,JVC/DISH D-VCR, DAVIS CINEMA ONE DLP PROJECTOR. I AM 80/20 MUSIC, WHEN I ADDED THE 3500 TO THE SYSTEM, I HEARD I SENSE OF DENSITY TO THE MUSIC THAT JUST WASNT THERE BEFORE, IT WAS MORE REAL IF YOU WILL, IT SEEMED TO GLIDE THROUGH EVERY CHALLENGE, GONE WAS THE FEELING THAT YOU WERE AT THE LIMIT! THE THEILS WANT THE BEST AND UNTIL I CAN MOVE UP TO KRELL OR MARK LEVINSON, THIS TAKES ON ALL COMERS. I AM IN THE CUSTOM THEATER INSTALL BUSSINESS AND HAVE BEEN IN AUDIO HOBBY FOR 30YRS AND YOU CAN SPEND MORE BUT IT DONT GET MUCH BETTER! I DONT WANT TO WRITE A BOOK HERE BUT JOHN CURL DESIGNER OF ALOT OF PARASOUND STUFF SEEMS TO HAVE SOUR GRAPES, HE CASHES THE CHECKS THEN CLAIMS HES IGNORED, PARASOUND ANNOUNCED THIS AMP NEARLY TWO YRS AGO I WAITED,WAITED,WAITED! WHY JOHN WASNT SATISFIED WITH THIS OR THAT. THATS COOL, I WANT IT RIGHT! BUT I CAN IMAGIN THAT AT SOME POINT PARASOUND HAD TO SAY ENOUGH ALREADY WE GOT TO GET TO MARKET!! NOW PARASOUND HAS DROPPED THIS AMP BECAUSE OF LACK OF INTREST? ( MULTI- CHANNEL IS HOT) FINE BUT JOHN IF YOU CAN MAKE IT BETTER, OFFER A SIGNITURE SERIES UPGRADE THAT US 3500 OWNERS CAN DO!!! (please no sour grapes).

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CROWN PL4 ADCOM 555MARK2 PARASOUND 1500A

Very smooth and articulate. Incredible dynamic range! Dead quite. Looks cool!

Large and heavy as stated in first review. Needs a lot of space around it for proper ventilation.

This amplifer performs as well as much more expensive amps. The sound is slightly on the warm side, but, has excellent high-end extention. The high end is very smooth with no edginess at all. The bass is very powerful yet controlled. The amp doesn't really sound forward or laid back, just right.

The build quality is very impressive.

The amplifier is a super value on the used market. Parasound has discontinued this model. If you can deal with its size, mainly the length, go for it! I'd recommend a separate circuit from your fuse box just for this amplifier. I have two dedicated 20 amp circuits for my A/V system. It makes a difference.

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Carver, Hafler, Dynaco, NAD, Denon, Adcom

Good dynamics and speed. Nice top end. Lots of power for the money

Midiocre low end detail.

Out of the box it was rather unimpressive revealing very little detail in the low end (using Holy Cole and Diana Krall). Once it was burned in that aspect improved dramatically. It took about a good 60 to 70 hours of play time though. The end result is an amplifier with good separation, dynamics, speed. As well as a fairly smooth top end, good extension and a ton of power. It's quite open but not the most detailed I have come across ( Mccormack DNA 225), still it's one hell of an amp. I am interested in trying the Celest or the new Mac MC202 though, their is always room for improvement.

Currently using:

Sony XA7 cd
Parasound HCA 3500 (no pre)
Castle Harlech (Internals re-wired in XLO)
Audio prism foundation 3
Wire world Aurora and Electra power cords
Monster Msigma 2 bi-wire speaker cable
Audio Quest Lapis 3 inter.
Audio Quest RF stoppers (inter. only)
Black diamond Racing cones 3 as well as other anti-vib. measures.

Similar Products Used:

Carver silver seven T. ATI 1502, pair of BK ST140, Mccormack .5 and 1