My parasound 2250 vs HCA3500

snake1

I currently have a 2250 parasound powering my rti12s and have good results with it. However I have seen several 3500s come across ebay lately and its got me wondering if there would be any advantage to trading up? Would I hear a difference with twice the amps and another 100 watts?

Sorry my sig doesn't show when I'm on my phone. Sound comes from an onkyo 809 preouts.

Glen B

You would probably be wasting your money. Is there something you find lacking in your present system? It requires twice the power (500 watts or 3dB increase) to obtain a noticeable increase in level. An additional 100W will bring you at most some very modest increase in headroom.

falconcry72

The HCA-3500 was a very special amp. I would think it would outperform the 2250 at ANY level, and not just because of its higher wattage.

HOWEVER

You will gain a much larger increase in overall sound quality by going to a dedicated 2-channel preamp instead of using a receiver.


Since I can't see you're signature, I'm going to assume that the reason you're using a receiver is because this is a 5-channel HT setup, and you can't use a 2-channel preamp. If that's the case, stick with the 2250 and be happy. It is a very nice amp too.

snake1

Yeah, when I'm mobile and signed in it doesn't post my sig. It will on this one.

Thanks for the info, just one of those wonder questions. It is for a HT setup, but I do listen to music frequently! I love turnin' the 12s up sometime!! Just wanted to see if there was anything to be gained by moving up. Its still tempting though I have to admit! Wattage aside, thats a lot more amps for when the big knob gets turned!!

falconcry72

snake1 wrote: »

Yeah, when I'm mobile and signed in it doesn't post my sig. It will on this one.

Thanks for the info, just one of those wonder questions. It is for a HT setup, but I do listen to music frequently! I love turnin' the 12s up sometime!! Just wanted to see if there was anything to be gained by moving up. Its still tempting though I have to admit! Wattage aside, thats a lot more amps for when the big knob gets turned!!

Like I said, that 2250 is a very good amp. You won't see a night and day difference by going to the 3500, especially if you're using a receiver as your preamp.

How much of a monetary difference would this upgrade be? Depending on the price, you could look at adding an external DAC for 2-channel music playback, adding a dedicated 2-channel preamp for 2-channel music playback, or even going to LSiM's for speakers. Any of these would yield a much greater improvement in overall sound than upgrading your power amp at this point.

Cheers.

snake1

falconcry72 wrote: »

Like I said, that 2250 is a very good amp. You won't see a night and day difference by going to the 3500, especially if you're using a receiver as your preamp.

How much of a monetary difference would this upgrade be? Depending on the price, you could look at adding an external DAC for 2-channel music playback, adding a dedicated 2-channel preamp for 2-channel music playback, or even going to LSiM's for speakers. Any of these would yield a much greater improvement in overall sound than upgrading your power amp at this point.

Cheers.

The difference would be roughly $500-600 if I sold my 2250 for $900. I would LOVE to go to some LSiM 707s but thats gonna wait a LONG time!! I'm really fine with using the AVR for all music duties for now. If the difference isn't going to be noticeable then I'm good. Just curious and wanted to ask the folks that know. Thanks guys!

asacam

You'll never get $900.00 for your 2250 on xbay. There's new ones going for $950-$1000 now. I believe your next move should be a quality non-ported subwoofer. It'll make the biggest improvement for the least expense.

snake1

asacam wrote: »

You'll never get $900.00 for your 2250 on xbay. There's new ones going for $950-$1000 now. I believe your next move should be a quality non-ported subwoofer. It'll make the biggest improvement for the least expense.

Thats debatable about the amp, however I will be looking into a sub very soon. A non-ported would not be a great idea for me as I have a LOT of room and need a bigger ported one to help move the air. Dual subs will hopefully be the eventuality! Some SVS Ported cylinders. Thanks for your input though!