Parasound HCA-1500A

mufsoman

For sale is my Parasound HCA-1500A. I just recently purchased this, but decided to go with a 2003A instead so my CsiA6 could benefit also. This amp is in great condition aesthetically and functionally. There is a spot on the top where the previous owner must have stacked another piece of equipment and caused a few small scratches. These have been filled in and only visible in the right light. The pics in the Photobucket album show this. I have the original power cord, but not the original box or manual. However, the manual can be downloaded online and the previous owner did a great job with packing the amp for shipment to me and I saved all those materials.

This is a great amp. I had read here in the Polk forum how good the synergy is between Parasound amps and Rti line of speakers, so thought I would give it a try. I am now a true believer. My Rti12's (and CsiA6) really sound great with the Parasound amps. In fact I'm thinking of selling my Rotel 1095 also and buying a Parasound 2205A to test the Mirage/Parasound synergy as well.

Price $550, plus shipping from Chicago area. Send me your zip and I'll estimate shipping for you.

Picture can be seen here: http://s1296.photobucket.com/user/mu...%201500A%20Amp

Specs are as follows:

FEATURES
•Designed by John Curl
•THX certified by Lucasfilm Ltd.
•Independent power supplies for each channel
•Massive 1 kVA toroid power transformer
•60,000 µF computer-grade capacitors in power supply
•Multiple polystyrene film bypass capacitors in power supply
•DC Trigger Auto On Feature
•Cascoded Class A input stages with matched J-FET pairs
•Handpicked complementary MOSFET transistors in high voltage driver stage
•8 complementary pairs of 15 ampere 50 MHz output transistors
•Output transistors direct-coupled to speakers without LRC networks
•DC servo direct-coupled audio circuits with 0.8 Hz rolloff
•High-bias Class A/AB operation
•Gold-plated metal structure RCA input jacks
•Gold-plated looping output jacks
•Multiple temperature sensors and silver-cadmium relay protection
•Glass epoxy circuit boards, double-sided for precision
•Custom designed audiophile-grade AC power cord
•Multiple Protection Circuits

SPECIFICATIONS
•Continuous Power Output - Stereo:
205 Watts RMS x 2, 20 Hz-20 kHz, 8 Ω, both channels driven
315 watts RMS x 2, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 4 Ω, both channels driven
•Continuous Power Output - Mono:
630 watts RMS, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 8 Ω
•Current Capacity:
60 amperes peak per channel
•Slew Rate:
> 130 V/µsecond
•Frequency Response:
5 Hz - 100 kHz, +0/-3 dB at 1 watt
•Total Harmonic Distortion:
< 0.03% at full power; < 0.01 % typical levels
•IM Distortion:
< 0.03 %
•TIM:
unmeasurable
•Dynamic Headroom:
> 1.5 dB
•Interchannel Crosstalk:
> 80 dB at 1 kHz; > 60 dB at 20 kHz
•Input Impedance:
33 k Ω
•Input Sensitivity:
1 V for 28.28 V, THX Reference Level; 1.2 V for full output
•S/N Ratio:
> 110 dB, input shorted, IHF A-weighted
•Damping Factor:
> 800 at 20 Hz
•Power Consumption:
500 watts
•Dimensions:
w 19" x h 5 1/4" x d 16", h 5 7/8" with feet
•Net Weight:
40 lb
Sharp LC-80LE632U
Pioneer SC-07
Parasound HCA-2003A (LCR)
Rotel RMB-1095 (SS, SB)
Front: Rti12's
Center: Csi A6
Side & Rear Surrounds: Mirage OMD-5
Subs: Epik Legend x 2 and SVS PB12/+2
Velodyne SMS-1
PS3
Pioneer BDP-320
Logitech Harmony 700 Universal Remote
APC H15
XLO IEC power cords by Pepster
Morrow Audio MA4 IC's
Audioquest Chocolate & Pangea Audio HDMI's

EndersShadow

Dang... If my money wasnt all tied up in some new speakers, I would be highly debating this.....

audiocr381ve

I'm interested. PM on the way.

tophatjohnny

exactly like the 1200II, Great amp for sure!

11tsteve

tophatjohnny wrote: »

exactly like the 1200II, Great amp for sure!

but updated with the 12V trigger? These amps sound awesome with the classic Polks. I had the 1200 mkII for a spell....

mufsoman

Yes 1500A has the 12v trigger. That's why I sought it out in the first place. I use the 12v from the Pioneer SC07 for both my amps. It makes the system start up clean and easy along with the Logitech remote. One button.

tophatjohnny

mufsoman wrote: »

Yes 1500A has the 12v trigger. That's why I sought it out in the first place. I use the 12v from the Pioneer SC07 for both my amps. It makes the system start up clean and easy along with the Logitech remote. One button.

I'm still digging the little extra effort in starting up my system and I'll take what exercise I can get these days!! lol These amps are a great value to my inexperienced ears for sure!

deronb1

I owned this amp. Very versitile, great sounding piece that really brings out the best in any speaker.

mufsoman

BTW - I'm traveling to Oshkosh, WI, area the weekend of 7/11 and Carbondale, IL, the weekend of 7/18. So if your interested in this amp and live close to the either of these two corridors from Chicago, I could save you a chunk of shipping cost and deliver......

dekuda

I had this amp, excellent quality amp with lots of power! These older HCA series amps are some of the best buys out there and comparable to the Halo line. Since I started with Parasound amps 7 years ago I never looked back.

mufsoman

BUMP for a great amp.....

DollarDave

I'm curious, are the "ears" for rack mounting removable, or is there a standard faceplate available?

mufsoman

Ears are not removable. The face plate is one piece with the overhang on both sides. Not sure if replacement face plates w/o ears are available. This was a concern for me too for both the 1500A and the 2003A, but the value and sound quality far out-weigh the aethetics......

EndersShadow

I think I read somewhere that the ears are intended to help you be able to pull the amp out of your setup given its 40 lbs and not super easy to move without them.

I am 99% sure they dont make replacement faceplates for these amps.

tophatjohnny

I like my ears!! The holes on my face plate have nice plugs in them. Looks great.

mufsoman

New week, new price. $500 plus shipping !!!!

Hermitism

I'm really loving your center channel! You hear everything in a person's voice. No comparison to the CSi3. It's as if you can hear the phlegm in that back of a person's throat when they speak with the full band phase control turned on. For HT, that was the best bang for the buck upgrade, so far.

mufsoman

Bump

tonyb

This amp still here ?

Guys, you'd be hard pressed to do better for the price. Sound quality of these amps work very well with Polks RTI line and many other brands.

mufsoman

Thanks Tony. Yep, this amp will make any speakers rock, but truly make an awesome match with Rti's. For those of you who are running your Rti12's or Rti9's or any of the Rti towers off an AVR, this amp will make your speakers sing in comparison......

tonyb

.....and if by chance your running RTI 12's/A9's off an AVR, PM me your addy so I can have Cathy come over and slap you silly.

steveinaz

I'm running an HCA-1500A for 10+ years now, and have no intention of replacing it anytime soon.

tonyb

Bump for a nice amp. Guys, this will open your eyes to what good clean power will do for your speakers.

mufsoman

BUMP!!!!

Heading to southern Illinois this weekend, so if your interested and live in the corridor between Chicago and St. Louis, we can arrange a meet and save a bunch of shipping cost.....

Polkie2009

GLWTS on this. If you get a chance, swing by Lake Shelbyville , take in a swim and cool off and relax for a hour or two.

tonyb

Can't believe this is sitting here a month later. All you guys under powering your RTIA 7'S, 9's or LSI's....all you guys who say you can't find a good amp cheap so you look at Emotiva, c'mon man.....this amp will walk all over anything new or used in this price range.

EndersShadow

I agree. If I hadn't found a 1200ii for my RS-II's for a even trade, I woulda been securing this amp myself...

Polkie2009

tonyb wrote: »

Can't believe this is sitting here a month later. All you guys under powering your RTIA 7'S, 9's or LSI's....all you guys who say you can't find a good amp cheap so you look at Emotiva, c'mon man.....this amp will walk all over anything new or used in this price range.

+1000 ! You got that right Tony!

cfrizz

Here is a newbie looking for an amp. Maybe you get it sold talking to him.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?162781-Recommendations-for-RTi10-Amp-and-HK3485-Receiver#post2066880

dkg999

I run a pair of HCA-1500's vertically bi-amped to drive my Magnepan 1.6's. Plenty of power, current, and reserves. The price is very high to take the next steps up the amplifier food chain.

Buy this!

dekuda

tonyb wrote: »

Can't believe this is sitting here a month later. All you guys under powering your RTIA 7'S, 9's or LSI's....all you guys who say you can't find a good amp cheap so you look at Emotiva, c'mon man.....this amp will walk all over anything new or used in this price range.

I can't believe it either......I had this amp drive the RTi12's I had a few years back. It was a huge improvement in sound coming off a receiver with 130w/ch. There are speakers out there that are just dying to reveal what they can sound like given the amount of current that this amp can give. My RTi12's just sung to me with this amp. Parasound makes some of the best amps for the money and will crush most amps in this price range. If only I was starting a two channel setup......