Musical

Speaker cable connectors

As a follow-up:

I still cannot accept that a $500 amp like Parasound can sound as good or better than any solid state or tube amps retailing for $1000 to $3000. I keep looking for something to beat it for the price, muscle, and musicality. Every time I sit down and listen to it, I melt into the musical soundscape it provides. I scratch my head and say "how can it be?".

In my initial review of this amp, my set up was crude compared to what it is now. I upgraded the coupling capacitors of my Anthem Pre-1 with AURICAPS(9 total). The auricaps upgrade reproduces musical signals seamlessly. Before the upgrade the highs, midband, and the bass were disjointed, harsh and crude. Now the presentation is wholesome, fat, airy,musical, and bouncy. ERGO, the Parasound 1500A is a neutral musical amp- you feed it GARBAGE(harsh musical signal) it gives you garbage. You feed it musical signal it is capable of giving you musical ecstacy.

Like someone wrote, the midband is weak. Not so. I also experienced this before tweaking with upgrades. As a matter of fact, I hated the lumpy and thumpy mid and lower bass regions. They were too thick for my taste. It was like playing a tom tom with a lead mallet. I connected 2 Versa Lab duplexes one after the other and this trick allowed the midband to sound bouncier with less lump, super definition in the low end, and airier highs. I tried the New York Jazz Ensemble album and man oh man, the midband definition showcasing the gripping acoustic bass lines was as good as I heard from the Manley 300Bs. Vocals too got wider and taller - Krall, Cole,Laurie Anderson.

A filtered power supply is must for the Parasound to sound its best.

I am afraid I still have to scratch my head and wonder if there is an amp twice or thrice its price that can beat it- $2000-$3000 range. I'll keep looking but I always find myself retiring at the end of the day with the Parasound.

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Tubes and Solid States

Great sound, more than enough power

It breaks down all the time

I really love the way this amp sounds with my MMG's and Electronic Tonalties Foreplay pre. The biggest problem I have is that it spends more time at Parasounds servicing department than it does in my house. In the last 8 months it has stopped working 3 times. I'm hoping this time when I send it back they will give me a new one or refund my money

Powerful, clean sound with a nice ample reserve to properly, accurately convey the dynamic spectrum from the lows to the highs

Annoying ground loop hum

Upfront I shall let the reader know that I have not auditioned other amplifiers, & that my previous amplifiers were all mass-produced integrated receivers - JVC, Teac, Sony, etc.
One exception is my Fisher Integrated receiver (solid-state, dating from 1969) which produced beautiful, clean sound. Its demise (it would'nt turn on) impulsed me to purchase a new amplifier, however going the separates route.
Therefore this is my first true mid-fi / hi-fi separate amplifier.

I first heard of Parasound when I stepped into a hi-fi store called "The Sound Approach" in Commack, NY.
This was way before I decided to purchase the amp.
Back then, I really could not tell ya that listening to this amp moved me.
What I do remember is that I have never heard of Parasound, & I was a "deer in the headlights of the new, exciting, & expensive world of high-fidelity"!
Now the years passed by & little by little, I found out more about Parasound.
I do remember speaking with a sales rep @ Myer-Emco (home-theater electronics chain in the DC Metropolitan area) about Parasound & he said that they were great, relatively inexpensive amplifiers & that he owned one.
Then slowly but surely, their advertising expenditures paid off in my being exposed to their name in the Stereophile rag.

The years passed by since my initial encounter with the Parasound name. I decided to return to "The Sound Approach" & buy their demo Parasound amp 1500A.
Granted that back then I was still stuck in the low-fi "middle ages", therefore my new Parasound amp was paired with sub-par equipment - KLH speakers, cheap Sony CD player, used Adcom pre-amp, cheap monster cables interconnects & spkr cables.
Albeit the inclusion of the Parasound did drastically change the presentation of the music - louder, clearer, more dynamic.
I decided to jump into the audiophile abyss & spent mucho dinero upgrading my components.

My current system consists of the following:
Meridian 508.24 cd player
Adcom GFP 750 preamplifier
Vienna Acoustics Mozarts
Analysis Plus Oval nine spkr cable
Silver Audio Silver Bullets 4.0 I/C
Harmonic Technology Pro Silway I/C
Harmonic Technology Pro-AC11 power cord
PS Audio lab power cable
Parasound 1500A amplifier
Monster 2500 power center

Even with this set up, the Parasound still produces a powerful, clean, dynamic presentation.
Given that I have the 2 input levels, located at the back of the amp, turned all the way up (maximum).
The only gripe is that I have to use a cheater plug on the Parasound's pwr cable, to eliminate the nasty ground loop hum.
I moved from the country/suburbia in NY to the city in Virginia - both abodes new construction less the 4 years old.
I believe that I can rule out the locale, but I am not sure of the cause the hum.

Eventually I will replace the Parasound with a pair of monoblocks (tube of solid-state, I am not sure).
However I will keep this amp & build an excellent mid-fi / entry hi-fi system around it - to be used in the basement or bedroom?

Great value for the money!
As always listen with your ears, not with these words!

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Before the Parasound > low-fi integrated receivers such as JVC, Teac, Sony, etc.

Price Sound

None

This amp sound awsome.With SACD this thing just brings a smile to my face. I love it and I suggest it

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Integrated Amps no seperates

Powerful, build quality, sound, and price.

None, so far

Just purchased this amp a week ago and so far very happy with it. Before buying this, I used the CJ to power my Energy V1.8. I knew the CJ was so "weak" to run my speakers, which required at least 75 wpc. The sound was OK with the CJ, although I thought the mid was a bit forward and the bass was "soft". I was thinking of bi-amping to please my power hungry speakers. My plan was getting a MV55 or CA50, and using the MV52 for the bottom. Last week, I had a chance to stop by at the GoodGuys! store in Anaheim. There, I saw the V1.8 along with this Parasound. After chating for a while with the saleman ( he was a very nice guy), I asked him to show a demo with the combo V1.8 + this amp. I was so surprised about the sound from the speakers. It's so lively, so powerful, and so musical. I brought this amp home and had been so happy with it since then. I hoped after breaking in, it would sound better.

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CJ MV52, B&K4420, Sony N90es.

I need a quality 200W/ch amp to drive my pair of Scan-Speak 10" drivers as bass/sub-woofers. It is actually used in my bi-amp system at the moment. Associated equipment;Sony XA7ES, Krell KAV300i, Kimber Silver Streak, Tara Labs Master Gen2, MIT T2, and Rane AC23 electronic crossover. Speakers are custom built with the best parts like Scan-Speak 2905/9500, 8565-01, and Vifa PW13, Hovland caps, Ohmite, Cresendo, Cardas wire, you have the picture. No, it's not the Ariels or ME2.
The sheer power, construction, damping factor, huge capacitor bank in the power supply, and price make this unit very attractive. This amp exceeded my expectations for driving the bass units. Solid bottom end punch with impressive transients, even at high SPL. That doesn't say a lot about mids and highs right? Well, I compared it with my Krell, and the HCA1500A is surprisingly transparent, details are pin-point in space behind the speakers. Midrange are palpable, and warm maybe slightly thinner compared to Krell. The highs are extended without robbing the details.

Overall, the presentation is pleasantly musical and balanced. Price for performance, this amp deserve a serious audition. It's a 5 Star in my book. Other amps in similar wattage don't come close in price/performance.

I will check out the HCA1000A for amping my tweeters.

I have owned this amp for a while and it performs quite well. I would suggest it for anyone looking in this price and power range.
The concern over the hum parasound (and other) amps can produce can be completely solved by using an adapter on the power cable that eliminates the ground plug connection to the wall outlet.

Incredible bass extension, tightness, and punch.
Incredibly open sound stage, with width, depth, and height.
Excellent manufacturing design and construction.

Can not be turned on by a remote control or a preamp.

As a point of reference for the readers of this review ...
I replaced a 6 year old Onkyo 100wpc stereo receiver with this amp, a matching Parasound PLD-1100 preamp, and the matching Parasound TDQ-1600 tuner. I kept my Onkyo 6 disc changer since it works fine and I can upgrade to a higher caliber machine when the new formats standardize and the prices lower.My speaker system is my 6 year old Boston Acoustics CR-9's on high stands along with a B.A. VR500 10" 100w powered sub. I upgraded the speaker wire to 10 gauge OFC Monster Cable with gold pins and the cables are all M.C. Interlink 400 series. Cables can be upgraded later when I upgrade the CD player and the speakers of course.
This amplifier weighs about 40 pounds and is packed in a very rugged and well packed double box package. The face plate is 1/8" thick brushed aluminum with a standard and elegant black anodized appearance. As the manual clearly states, Ii set the two gain controls on the rear panel to maximum for full power and less effect on the signal as Parasound says. The connectors in the rear are very close together but not dangerous or annoying as others have written. As my sales person and former manager instructed me to do so, I connected the speaker wires first and then inserted the power cord and plugged it in and turned it on after the entire system was connected. As he also told me, the amp does run warm since it is pure Class A up to 15wpc.
The bass from this amp, along with the preamp no doubt too in fairness, extends lower, hits harder and tighter as well as almost eliminates the need for my subwoofer now. I am simply amazed at the sheer tactile impact it makes and how my 8" two way bookshelf speakers can simply pound and came to life, let alone with 205 wpc behind them. The power is in such great control and well damped that the speed and
punch is a smile maker if there ever was.
The midbass is quick, tight, punchy, and warm yet not colored either as the bass is clean as well. The male vocals and bass guitars I love so much in a good blues song sound so real and natural and smoothly blended.
The midrange is smooth and sweet yet mixed with a live "right there in front of you" transparent sound stage that is wide, deep, and tall and that lets you hear the placement of piano keys as the hands upon them move to the music. I would not say that the amp id bright or brash at all, and that is right out of the box mind you. The NAD preamp I auditioned is a very bright and alomst tinny or brash sounding piece that could benefit from the smoother and much more liquid sound of the Parasound PLD-1100 preamp.
Natalie Cole's voice or Eric Clapton's acoustic guitar are like they are in your living room whether the volume is down soft and intimate for background enjoyment or for a more viscerally powered pleasure trip down the road of your choice. This amp does better turned up a bit since the bass and midbass really come alive that way, but any system is that way I think. I would fully recommend this amp, and this system for that matter, to anyone looking for a killer sounding and highly effective solution to their system needs or desires for a serious upgrade that is not that much in cost but is of high return in sonic merits and offers the enjoyment via blissful to invigorating listening that we all crave. Thank you Parasound.

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No others used, but many were auditioned for critical and enjoyment listening.

I keep hearing everyone say that for the money this is a great amp. That said I think that for the money you can do better. I just dumped my HCA-1500A. The bass was lean and the amp sounded harsh. If it makes you happy to have an amp for less than $1000 that is missing the bottom end and is bright on the top then this amp is for you. I didn't know how much I was missing until I traded up to a Krell.

high power, great bass,

input coax and speaker terminals too close together makes it hard to work with thick cables. if shorting takes place because of this, the designer should be shot.

this is a great amp with open, detailed,clean, delivers great bass info i had to turn off my m&k subwoofer. for it to work optimally i inserted the hrs/sce(harmonic recovery system) box in the chain and did an extremely easy $30 modification inside the amp that makes it equal to brystons levinsons and surpasses krells.

after the easy modification, man oh man, smooth smooth and layered and snare drums has that bounce and powdery rattle. i played houston person he sounded so seductive. holly cole, kd lang, randy roos, and all the reference recordings sounded so natural;even limp bizkit, linkin park, and blink 182 sounds great.

for $528 amp it is one of the greatest buys i have made yet.

in the chain: parasound player, msb link dac,hrs,anthem pre1,analysisplus 9 biwire,goertz silvers,harmonic tech and synergistic power cords...and of course...the questionable and very expensive los anegles electricity courtesy of southern calif edison.

4 stars because of the %@$#$* terminals.
cheers!!!

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golden tube, manley SE/PP, audio research d400 II,b&k monos