Noiseless, Warranty, PRICE

sounds great, only wish now I had more of that clean power

Been looking for a good 5 channel amp to replace my old 2 channel system (with an HK avr45 running as the pre). Done some research and Parasound looked like a good bet.(plus it was the only somewhat high end equip avil. to me here without driving to Seattle.) Great choice, this thing rips. I know now its kind of an older model but I purchased the HCA855A along with a Parasound pre-amp (AVC-1800) open box from Good Guys for 1000 bucks not including tax. Could'nt pass up the deal after seeing some of the prices others had paid. Worth every penny. If you can still find one , snatch it up, youre not going to get anything as good for the price........
Modest sys. (Getting better)
AVC-1800 pre
HCA-855A 5 channel amp
Polk RT600 mains
Polk PW250 sub (the little guy)
Polk CS250 center
Polk m? rears
RCA (crap) DVD
Yamaha cd
Sony MD310 minidisc
Sony kv35s42 35inch trinitron
Zenith (really crap!!) VCR
Monster line conditioner
Monter speaker wire and interconnects for all.

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PS Audio..........old

Powerful, dynamic sound, built quality,and price.

None for this price point.

Decided to upgrade my HT system from a Sony ES STR-DA555ES A/V receiver, to one which comprised separate components. After much auditioning, I decided to purchase the Marantz AV-9000 preamp/processor because in my view it presented the best price/performance ratio relative to other A/V processors--since it also included a rather decent sounding tuner. Following that decision, I purchased the Parasound HCA-855A because my initial amplifier choice, the Parasound HCA-1205A, would be an extreme challenge for my A/V rack to
support--and my wife to tolerate having in our family room.

Because the HCA-855A was only 85 watts/channel, I had
some concern as to whether it would present the kind of
sound levels in surround that the Sony ES receiver produced
at 120 watts/channel--especially in a 23' X 23' room.
My concerns were quickly dispelled after installation
and setup. The sound produced by the HCA-855A over my
speaker system (Platinum Audio mains and Kef Reference
center and surrounds) was nothing short of startling!
Without considerable adjustment on the volume control
of the Marantz AV-9000, Dolby Digital audio sounded far
more powerful and dynamic than the Sony ES receiver at
120 watts/channel--and with exceptional bass impact and
transient response. The HCA-855A was extremely quiet
with no distracting mechanical noise from the unit
itself--which is the Achilles heel of many multichannel
amplifiers. After running Dolby Digital at high volume
levels for several hours, the unit was not excessively
warm to the touch.

For an amplifier at this price point, build quality was
exceptional. The unit has rear panel rack handles for
lifting, and five rear-panel knobs that allow adjustment
of each channel's input level. RCA channel inputs are gold plated and the multiway speaker binding posts have a solid
build and feel. Also, a 12-volt trigger-input terminal on
the rear panel allows for remote power control.

In terms of sound and construction, I believe the HCA-855A
to be an exceptional value. And I was able to acquire
a brand new one for $775 at a local retailer. Definitely
5 stars all around.

Solid build, powerful, clean, uncolored sound

took some time to eliminate hum and it needed a repair fesh out of the box

Truly an audiophile grade home theater amp. Plenty of power and dynamic range. Probably the best value on the market. My specific amp had a problem where the #4 channel did not work, nothing. Parasound was certainly willing to fix it under warranty but shipping a 40+lb item is a pain. Plus I would be without power for about 2 weeks. I called their local authorized repair shop and they told me it would take 6-7 days before they could look at it.
Anyway, I opened it up and found ten of the soldered connections that connect the RCA input to a circut board had seprated. There are 4 solders per RCA ground. All four on channel 4 had cracked away from the circut board. I simply applied a soldering iron to the pin and the solder melted and the cracks were fixed. Since then the amp has been flawless and I have added an HCA-750a two channel amp for the rear speakers.
The 855 powers a center channel and bi-amplification for two vandersteen 2Ce sig speakers.

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Denon receiver

Great amp. No coloration...what do you expect from Parasound.

Runs a little warm

If you can get your hands on one of these babies I recommend you do it!!! Pure power. 85W with Parasound is about equivalent to 150W of any receiver.

System:
Vandersteen 1C - front
Vandersteen V2W - sub
Vandersteen VSM - surround
Denon AVR3000 - preamp (for now)
Toshiba SD5109 - dvd, cd

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Bryston 4B, Rotel 985