Parasound 2100 vs Golden Tube Audio SEP-1
cstmar01
Posts: 4,424
Well, I recently have been going back and forth between these two pre amps. This is just going to be a quick review in regards to them both in my set up.
First the Parasound 2100.
Pros-I like that this thing has remote, it has a tone control and volume, input selection ect. I find this is nice as I don't have to constantly get up and change the volume manually but can do it at my seated position.
-I like the HT bypass option with this unit. Even though I honestly didn't ever use it, I enjoyed that I had that option to use it if I wanted to.
-I enjoy that you can run a 2.1 system with this and that it has bass management controls. This makes it nice if you want a little bit more low end out of your system.
-Tone controls. Even though I know people swear that they are not needed I like it when I had it paired with my A9's in my system as I rolled the treble off a little bit and it was nice. Also I could blast the bass and have more than I would ever want or need. For the most part I leave these off, unless I want a little more low end, then I boost it a tiny bit but nothing more than about 1 click.
-Volume control. I like that this isn't a step control, however it seems a bit loose on the unit itself. There is a bit of play and I'm not sure if they are all like that but I found another one that was at a shop had the same problem.
-Phono stage. Even though its not the greatest in the world, it has one and it works. I haven't gotten a Phono pre yet so it was nice to have this while using vinyl.
Now SEP-1
-I like the tube, honestly I found it took some high off the top end of the A9's and warmed it up a bit.
-very simple layout and pretty easy to get right. There are no tone controls and its just simple. Plug in and play.
-I like for getting a warmer sound than the 2100 which is solid state. Even though it could be argued that seeing it only uses 1 tube its not a "true" tubed pre amp, it does a nice job and creates one less connection and set of IC's if using a tube buffer.
-The thing is built like a tank, seriously its so freakin' heavy its not even funny.
-The power supply has so much shielding I think I could shoot it with a bazooka and it would be fine.
Now for comparison between the two. The set up of the SEP-1 is a bit annoying. The instructions are not written well and can be a bit confusing. I tend not to like the step volume control. It makes it difficult to get it dialed right into the spot I want it, sometimes it too loud and other times too soft and it seems like if I could get it right in the middle I would be happy. However compared to the 2100 even though I have not changed out the tube yet, it seems like I am getting a better sound stage. I'm hearing a bit more detail in things I feel and more of the instruments of themselves. It also seems to have a more laid back feel to it, and the high end needs no adjusting, its there but I don't need a tone control to roll anything off, I get highs but don't feel like my ears are going to pop from them getting to high.
I feel though that the 2100 gives a bit better imaging. For me the sound seem to come from all around and with the SEP-1 it seems like its just there in front and doesn't engulf me like I would like it to. However I tend to notice a bit more detail from the SEP-1 with tracks that I like. With the 2100 it seemed to get covered up but the SEP-1 brings it out a bit more.
Overall I still want to compare the two with a new tube in the SEP-1. I don't like that I don't have a remote and that right now I'm getting a lot of noise from the tube currently in there. I also want to see what vinyl can sound like on it once I get a phono pre. I really want to sell one but right now its a pretty tough call until I can get the other factors taken care of.
Items used.
RTIA9's, Pioneer 47ai, MIT AVT3 IC's,MIT T2 speaker cable, Adcom 5802, RTA 15TL's.
Some pics.
The 3rd pic is the rest of the poster everyone seems to like.
First the Parasound 2100.
Pros-I like that this thing has remote, it has a tone control and volume, input selection ect. I find this is nice as I don't have to constantly get up and change the volume manually but can do it at my seated position.
-I like the HT bypass option with this unit. Even though I honestly didn't ever use it, I enjoyed that I had that option to use it if I wanted to.
-I enjoy that you can run a 2.1 system with this and that it has bass management controls. This makes it nice if you want a little bit more low end out of your system.
-Tone controls. Even though I know people swear that they are not needed I like it when I had it paired with my A9's in my system as I rolled the treble off a little bit and it was nice. Also I could blast the bass and have more than I would ever want or need. For the most part I leave these off, unless I want a little more low end, then I boost it a tiny bit but nothing more than about 1 click.
-Volume control. I like that this isn't a step control, however it seems a bit loose on the unit itself. There is a bit of play and I'm not sure if they are all like that but I found another one that was at a shop had the same problem.
-Phono stage. Even though its not the greatest in the world, it has one and it works. I haven't gotten a Phono pre yet so it was nice to have this while using vinyl.
Now SEP-1
-I like the tube, honestly I found it took some high off the top end of the A9's and warmed it up a bit.
-very simple layout and pretty easy to get right. There are no tone controls and its just simple. Plug in and play.
-I like for getting a warmer sound than the 2100 which is solid state. Even though it could be argued that seeing it only uses 1 tube its not a "true" tubed pre amp, it does a nice job and creates one less connection and set of IC's if using a tube buffer.
-The thing is built like a tank, seriously its so freakin' heavy its not even funny.
-The power supply has so much shielding I think I could shoot it with a bazooka and it would be fine.
Now for comparison between the two. The set up of the SEP-1 is a bit annoying. The instructions are not written well and can be a bit confusing. I tend not to like the step volume control. It makes it difficult to get it dialed right into the spot I want it, sometimes it too loud and other times too soft and it seems like if I could get it right in the middle I would be happy. However compared to the 2100 even though I have not changed out the tube yet, it seems like I am getting a better sound stage. I'm hearing a bit more detail in things I feel and more of the instruments of themselves. It also seems to have a more laid back feel to it, and the high end needs no adjusting, its there but I don't need a tone control to roll anything off, I get highs but don't feel like my ears are going to pop from them getting to high.
I feel though that the 2100 gives a bit better imaging. For me the sound seem to come from all around and with the SEP-1 it seems like its just there in front and doesn't engulf me like I would like it to. However I tend to notice a bit more detail from the SEP-1 with tracks that I like. With the 2100 it seemed to get covered up but the SEP-1 brings it out a bit more.
Overall I still want to compare the two with a new tube in the SEP-1. I don't like that I don't have a remote and that right now I'm getting a lot of noise from the tube currently in there. I also want to see what vinyl can sound like on it once I get a phono pre. I really want to sell one but right now its a pretty tough call until I can get the other factors taken care of.
Items used.
RTIA9's, Pioneer 47ai, MIT AVT3 IC's,MIT T2 speaker cable, Adcom 5802, RTA 15TL's.
Some pics.
The 3rd pic is the rest of the poster everyone seems to like.
Post edited by cstmar01 on
Comments
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I own the 2100 and the volume control on my unit is actually quite tight.
Nice review by the way.
