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Submitted by
electronicsprof2
a AudioPhile
from Date Reviewed: February 14, 2009
Bottom Line: GOT THIS FROM AUDIO ADVISOR AS AN "OPEN BOX' SPECIAL FOR $760 (REG $950), AND COULD NOT SEE ANYTHING THAT WOULD WOULD INDICATE ANY USE AT ALL; SEEMS PERFECTLY NEW.
THIS AMPLIFIER SOUNDS AS GOOD, WITH BALANCED CONNECTIONS, AS ANY AMPLIFIER I HAVE HEARD AT $3000-$8000 SO FAR!
THIS THING IS SIMPLY UNBELIEVABLE AT THIS PRICE. IT IS ACCURATE, DYNAMIC, HAS HUGE BASS AND HAS TRANSFORMED MY SYSTEM; I CAN HARDLY IMAGINE BETTER SOUND AT ANY PRICE. MY OLD AMPLIFIER WAS VERY GOOD, BUT THIS IS MOST DEFINITELY BETTER.
THIS IS ESPECIALLY REMARKABLE WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT I AM FEEDING IT WITH STATE-OF-THE-ART ELECTRONICS UP FRONT. I ALMOST FEEL EMBARRASSED TO BE USING THIS AMP WITH $12,000 WORTH OF STUFF FEEDING IT...LOL.
MY AUDIO RESEARCH LS-26 PREAMP COST $6000, AND SO DID MY AYRE C5-XE SACD PLAYER; I THOUGHT I WOULD TRY THIS PUPPY JUST FOR THE HELL OF IT, BUT NEVER THOUGHT IT WOULD SOUND THIS GOOD. I WAS REALLY THINKING I WOULD NEED TO BUY AN AUDIO RESEARCH OR AYRE OR BRYSTON AMP TO GET THE PERFECT SOUND I AM AFTER, BUT NOW I SERIOUSLY WONDER IF ANY AMPLIFIER CAN SOUND SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER THAN THIS ONE.
i HAVE A BRYSTON 3B-SST COMING IN NEXT WEEK, SO WE WILL SEE IF THAT IS BETTER...LOL. IT'S GOING TO HAVE TO REALLY BE SOMETHING TO BEAT THIS LITTLE GEM. IF THE BRYSTON IS BETTER, I GUESS THIS ONE GOES IN MY FAMILY ROOM WITH THE 60" SONY TV; I'M NOT LETTING IT GO.
THERE IS ONE THING...THIS GUY HAS NO EXTERNAL HEATSINKS, AND IT RUNS HOT ENOUGH THAT THE LEFT REAR TOP OF THE AMP GETS HOT ENOUGH THAT YOU DON'T WANT TO LEAVE YOUR HAND THERE MORE THAN A COUPLE OF SECONDS...THE OTHER AREAS STAY A BIT COOLER. I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT, AND THE WARRANTY IS GOOD, SO....
IF YOU BUY ONE OF THESE AND DON'T THINK IT SOUNDS ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS, I SUGGEST THAT YOU NEED TO LOOK TO THE EQUIPMENT YOU ARE USING WITH IT; THE FAULT IS NOT WITH THIS AMP.
ONE THING THAT I THINK IS FUNNY; JOHN CURL, THE DESGNER AT PARASOUND, WAS POOR-MOUTHING THIS AMP IN A FORUM A WHILE BACK, AND SUGGESTING THAT THE A21 IS MUCH BETTER. ONE MIGHT NEED THE ADDED POWER OF THE A21 FOR CERTAIN SPEAKERS THAT ARE DIFFICULT ELECTRICALLY, BUT FOR MY BIG VANDERSTEENS, THIS A23 IS A WINNER.
(P.S.-SPEAKERS ARE VANDERSTEEN 3As...FYI)
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Submitted by
Rick Lee
a AudioPhile
from Date Reviewed: August 6, 2007
Strengths: Entry level to the real good stuff. Clear and dynamic and able to pass harmonic information along to your speakers if they are capable of reproducing it. Lots of hook up flexibility for biampers and sub users and people like me that have a control room for sonic isolation and use loooong XLR runs over to the amp (s).Weaknesses: Two down, one to go.Bottom Line: Voiced on the clean clear dynamic side rather than big sounding. Sort of "Krell Lite?" I used to be a Krell salesman---the amp is that clear if not as powerful in the bass as a Krell. It does sound like a healthy mid sized 125 watt amp should if that is important. Have yet to hear it compress or distort one bit. For other problems read on.
Slight hardness in upper mids vanished when I tried running the amp's volume controls 10% lower and turned up my preamp volume a bit more instead. Maybe an impedance or capacitance issue? Cable swapping might also be useful as some cables are pretty "leaky" capicitance wise and will tame a brash midrange same as a tone control Personally I don't like weak cables of any sort but as a last resort... Anyway my fix worked and as a benefit I seemed to have increased the harmonic richness of the timbre while I was at it. Good enough!!!
Amp also did not like being used as a mono block (got very dull-but louder!). I use a pair of these amps bi amping Harbeth 30s and use the rca pass throughs to feed a powered sub on each side.
My conclusion is this is one very nicely designed amp which is a fair tast of high end sonic virtues for not very much dough. Plus it has great hook up options. Sort of like a better grade midpriced NAD if not Bryston solid.
I only wish the ones I bought were built better. I seem to have had a streak of bad luck with mine as one quit within a day or two. It got immediately replaced by Audio Advisor and then a couple months later another one started dying the same way.
Now I get to find out if Parasound is as good at fixing their stuff as John Curl is at designing it. Doesn't appear everybody else is having problems. I can't say I ran the first bad one very long or very hard---it died before I even knew what it should be doing... Hmmmm.
Price Paid:
$850.00
Purchased At: Audio Advisor
Similar Products Used: Bryston ST-4s, McIntosh 501s, Krell FPBs. All kidding aside the little Parasound doesn't have to apologise for a damn thing except perhaps unfortunately short life span.
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Submitted by
Nathan Goss
a Audio Enthusiast
from Date Reviewed: May 8, 2006
Strengths: Classy look...great silver and blue combination so it doesn't just look like a big black box that just sits there. While looks are not as important as performance it's great when you get BOTH! Excellent functionality!Weaknesses: All of the controls for the unit are in the rear and there is no remote for fine tweaking, which can be a pain at times. Although once you are setup...it's a non-issue for the most part.Bottom Line: For the longest time I used my receiver to handle all of my A/V needs for Home Theater. I always wondered what potential there could be by using the pre-outs and adding additional amplifers to increase performance. My world has never been the same after doing so. I added the Parasound Halo A23 to boost the potential of my PSB Image towers and I am in love all over again. First, the Parasound enables the full potential of these speakers to be reached. The detail and warmth is impressive and rich. The PSB towers are known for incredibly refined bass management and the Halo 23 takes it even further. Great Amp and the price is a steal!!!
Price Paid:
$550.00
Purchased At: Ebay
Similar Products Used: NAD C372, PIONEER
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Submitted by
Belgarchi
a AudioPhile
from Date Reviewed: January 24, 2006
Strengths: Features, Price, LookWeaknesses: Average soundBottom Line: This moderately-priced power amp has all the features I always dreamed of.
Hence the high expectations, and the disappointment: it has a good sound for its price, but is no match for more expensive power amps.
It is powerful, but the upper bass are ill-defined, the soundstage lack precision, the high are slightly harsh.
Better than Rotel RB-1070, but inferior to Bryston 2B-LP or SonoGraphe SA250.
More or less equivalent to Adcom GFA-545-II and Parasound HCA-1000A.
Price Paid:
$550.00
Purchased At: Audiogon
Similar Products Used: Rotel, NAD. Parasound, Adcom, Bryston, Musical Fidelity, Conrad-Johnson, Creek, Quad
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Submitted by
Audio Insanity
a AudioPhile
from Date Reviewed: October 18, 2004
Strengths: looks great, cool red lightWeaknesses: runs HOT, sounds harsh, MADE IN TAIWANBottom Line: overall i found the amp to be a little harsh in the upper mids and highs. I would prefer an anthem over this anyday, and the anthem costs a while lot less
Price Paid:
$850.00
Purchased At: JS Audio
Similar Products Used: anthem, magnum, ATI
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