driving bass great detail three dimentional sound to be used with the best of the best

none

A PROFILE OF PARASOUND Sound quality is the key element for Senior Electronics Designer John Curl. As one of the most respected circuit designers of our time and PARASOUND'S curator of sound quality, John insists on using the finest components and a rugged chassis design for his conservative, but ideally balanced circuits. As a designer, John Curl has left a trail of landmark designs across the audio industry in classics like Mark Levinson products and the amazing Vendetta preamplifier. He has also many written definitive articles on circuit design and influenced audiophile capacitor usage regarding overall accurate sound reproduction. One of PARASOUND'S best known critical listeners is Michael Tilson Thomas, the acclaimed conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Thomas, who has the unique perspective of listening to live music from the "best seat in the house," uses PARASOUND equipment at home. "I find it amazing to listen to a recording of one of our performances on my home system," says Thomas. "and to hear details I never heard at the podium ... it is remarkable." PARASOUND'S products have earned hundreds of rave reviews from audio critics from New York to Singapore. The company's trophy case is filled with awards, including more than a dozen Hi-Fi Grand Prix Awards, numerous EIA Design & Engineering Awards, and many others. FOCUS ON THE PARASOUND P/LD-2000 BALANCED LINE DRIVE PREAMPLIFIER BY JOHN CURL John Curl has outdone himself with his no holds barred design of the PARASOUND P/LD-2000 BALANCED LINE DRIVE PREAMPLIFIER. It is an pure Audiophile balanced design using a pure class A balanced discrete circuitry. This in a nutshell is the cleanest, clearest signal path from input to output money can buy. You simply can't buy a better preamplifier and it is a handsome unit as well. It is a Dual Mono Topology, Complementary MOSFET drive stage, 6 high level inputs: Direct coupled, Balanced inputs and outputs with XLR jacks, 100% discrete Class A circuitry, Switched by precision gold contact relays, High current dual mono headphone circuit, Polarity invert from handset, Fully remote controlled, External IR input. These are the kind of specs that made people in the know, drool. In short I believe this is better than my ML preamplifier and a wonder!!!!!! SPECIFICATIONS: FREQUENCY RESPONSE - 5 HZ - 150 KHZ, +0/-2 DB, FULL OUTPUT Total Harmonic Distortion 10 V before clipping Impedances Unbalanced inputs 30 k ohms, ±5 % Balanced inputs 30 k ohms per leg, ±5% Line outputs = 600 ohms Recommended headphone >= 8 ohms Input Sensitivity All inputs 150 mV, ±5% Max Input Level 10.5 V before clipping Signal-to-Noise Ratio >110 dB, A weighted, full output >90 dB, unweighted, full output Crosstalk >110 dB, 100 dB, 20 kHz, full output Channel Balance - < = 0.2dB Weight - 19 lb. Dimensions 19" W x 3-1/2" H (4-1/8" high with feet) x 15-3/4" Power Requirements 110 V - 120 V AC, 12 W; may be rewired for 220 V - 240 V, 50 Hz

Similar Products Used:

levenson krell classe tube stuff

I just recently gave up my P/LD-2000. I had it for a little over one year. I had no idea that the brightness I was hearing in my system was because of the pre-amp. At first I liked the unit but as I got to use it a little I found it frustrating. The direct input does no go through the tape loop so there is no way to record the CD if that's what is connected there. I just bought a Krell KRC-3 and cannot believe the difference in pre-amplification. The Krell makes the Parasound sound like a toy. I had, at one point, an all Parasound system. I have sold or traded off all of the pieces except the tuner and have never been more happy. The Parasound gear is too bright and harsh. Avoid this stuff at all costs.

I previously reviewed this pre-amp -- but I can no longer find the review. But here is an addendum. While I sort of liked the pre-amp, I was dismayed at the difference in sound quality between the direct input and the others. Well, I recently switched to balanced operation, and the pre-amp is a solid performer with balanced connections. Moreover, once the Direct input is switched (located at the rear) to balanced operation, the performance of the non-direct inputs is restored and is about on-par with the balanced input (hard to compare since you have diffent sources involved). This pre-amp is quite a joy to use and provides quite good performance for its usual asking price of $700. In fact, if you want solid-state and high-performance, I don't think there is any competition at this price level, but this is just my opinion, ill-formed or otherwise. I haven't read the manual yet, but if those balanced switches were removed, I wouldn't regret it one minute. Know how to operate your equipment is a good caveat for all you audiophiles.

New Page 1





I bought the PLD-2000 used for $650, with 9.5 years left on the warranty.The PLD-2000 offers substantial sonic improvements over the PHP-850, that I was using previously. The most noticeable difference was the improved soundstage. I never knew how much the preamp effects the system sound. If you don't need the balanced XLRs, the PLD-1100 is the way to go. I wish I would have bought the HCA-1500A amp used, the price/performance rating would be a 10. The negative reviews the TDQ-1600 tuner has received is due to a poor quality preamp used in their evaluation. It deserves the Stereophile Class 'C' rating it was awarded. I really like the Parasound CDC-1500 but, the programming features could be better. The C-101 is used occasionally to cut the bass in a small listening room, signal degradation is minimal.




EquipmentTuner
CD Transport
AESOP
DAC
Preamp
Power Amp
Speakers
EQ/Analyzer
AC Conditioner
AC Conditioner
Item (RI remote included)
Parasound TDQ-1600 (RI)
Parasound CDC-1500 (RI)
AES/EBU Module
Parasound DAC-1600
Parasound PLD-2000 (RI)
Parasound HCA-1500A
Legacy Classics
AudioControl C-101 III
Tice Elite 3
Panamax Max 1000+
[Rating 1-10, price paid/performance][8] good tuner
[8] high quality 5CD player
[9] adds balanced XLR digital output to CDC-1500
[10] fantastic deal for the money, has HDCD
[10] excellent preamp
[9] great amp for $$$, natural & dynamic
[9] great all-around performance
[8] best 10-band EQ/Analyzer at this price
[8] excellent product, high price limits the rating to an 8
[8] a good low-cost conditioner
(Paid)($379 new)
($650 new)
($75 closeout)
($399 closeout)
($650 used)
($995 new)
($2450 new)
($250 used)
($775 new)
($219 new)




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

extream musicallity, balanced connections, superior build and construction, limited production model

lost my remote
if power is not contineously supplied at the rear it takes a while to stabalize and come back on-line

Not for every but I use it in my best system.
compared to a pure passive box, much more detail and punch to the music
handsome and large unit, extreamly well made
very flexible inputs and outputs
nice smooth operations
everything a preamp should be
a real value for the buck - hard to find
a keeper
i bought mine used for $700.00 and thought it was great
liquid midrange and nice tight well-controlled bass

Similar Products Used:

Levinson preamps, mad mike's tube preamps, passive boxex with P&G attenuators