Rotel 1095 vs Parasound 2205 vs Parasound 5250

mufsoman
mufsoman Posts: 631
edited July 2014 in Electronics
Anyone have experience comparing these three 5 channel amps? I'm really impressed with the great sound I'm getting with the Parasound 2003A for my Polk front sound stage. Got me thinking of trying Parasound with my Mirage side and rear surrounds too. Not that my current Rotel 1095 isn't a great amp, just like the warm sound of Parasound. I've read that the newer Parasound 5250 doesn't quite reach the same performance of the older 5250. The 5250 has 250 watt/channel, but 45 amps/ch. The 2205 has 220 watts/ch, but 60 amps/ch. Maybe the weight comparison says it all; 5250 is 69#, the 2205 is 85#. The rest of the specs are very similar.

Any comparative thoughts and experience is welcome!!! Thanks
Parasound HCA-2003A & 2205A
Front: Rti12's
Center: Csi A6
Side surrounds: Polk Rti A1's
Atmos: Mirage Nanosats
APC H15
Power cords by Pepster, Morrow MA4 IC's, AQ Midnight, AQ Chocolate HDMI's[/SIZE]
The rest is TBD.
Post edited by mufsoman on
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • deronb1
    deronb1 Posts: 5,021
    edited June 2014
    I think for the 12s the Parasound is a better fit. I owned the 12s and they definitely need a warmer amp. Rotel is not chopped liver and have great detail, but can sound a bit sterile. Its all about the syneregy imho.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • soundfreak1
    soundfreak1 Posts: 3,414
    edited June 2014
    +1 to the parasound! Have owned several and do still. The current and dampening factor and slew rate might be the big diff in them. But the parasound absolutly vs the rotel. As said nothing wrong with rotel however......
    Main Rig:
    Krell KAV 250a biamped to mid/highs
    Parasound HCA1500A biamped to lows
    Nakamichi EC100 Active xover
    MIT exp 1 ic's
    Perreaux SA33 class A preamp
    AQ kingcobra ic's
    OPPO 83 CDP
    Lehmann audio black cube SE phono pre, Audioquest phono wire (ITA1/1)
    Denon DP-1200 TT. AToc9ML MC cart.
    Monster HTS 3600 power conditioner
    ADS L1590/2 Biamped
    MIT exps2 speaker cable
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • mufsoman
    mufsoman Posts: 631
    edited June 2014
    The Parasound amp and Rti12's definitely are a great match. The CsiA6 with Parasound is great too. I'm really curious about the Mirage/Parasound match. But with that said, still curious whether I should focus on the Parasound 2205 or 5250.....
    Parasound HCA-2003A & 2205A
    Front: Rti12's
    Center: Csi A6
    Side surrounds: Polk Rti A1's
    Atmos: Mirage Nanosats
    APC H15
    Power cords by Pepster, Morrow MA4 IC's, AQ Midnight, AQ Chocolate HDMI's[/SIZE]
    The rest is TBD.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,447
    edited July 2014
    2205 all day bigger power supply to heft that 60amps means more headroom, in the end too close to call for the most part.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • mufsoman
    mufsoman Posts: 631
    edited July 2014
    Thanks Pitdog. That's kinda what i'm thinking too. More power the better, whether used or not. The 2205A is a much older amp though. 1998-99 vs 2005-2011 for the 5250. Unless I can find a 2205AT, 2000-2004, but haven't even seen one of those yet. Bottom line is perfomance, but don't want to buy something thats going to need a lot of maintenance/repair either.......
    Parasound HCA-2003A & 2205A
    Front: Rti12's
    Center: Csi A6
    Side surrounds: Polk Rti A1's
    Atmos: Mirage Nanosats
    APC H15
    Power cords by Pepster, Morrow MA4 IC's, AQ Midnight, AQ Chocolate HDMI's[/SIZE]
    The rest is TBD.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,447
    edited July 2014
    mufsoman wrote: »
    Thanks Pitdog. That's kinda what i'm thinking too. More power the better, whether used or not. The 2205A is a much older amp though. 1998-99 vs 2005-2011 for the 5250. Unless I can find a 2205AT, 2000-2004, but haven't even seen one of those yet. Bottom line is perfomance, but don't want to buy something thats going to need a lot of maintenance/repair either.......


    well that is newer than my TFM45 but completely understand. If it needs a touch up it is still less than new and should last a good amount of time. I had mine worked on twice as I bought used it had problems. Told Roland(high tech audio ltd.) to fix it. fast forward 10yrs sent it back told him to hot rod that beast all upgrades him and Bob came up and with better caps etc. I've got 1200$ in it all total. good for 20yrs. finger crossed:lol: It is not the best amp out there I like it and I'd be hard pressed to get anything close for that money. I have looked at other amps and would most likely need to spend 3-4g to get what I would like to get.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter