New Amp

Mikey081057

Ordered it last Thursday and it got here today free freight from Audio Advisor in Michigan.

It is heavy but that was not to deter me from unboxing it and racking it.

So I purchased the Parasound P5 Pre a few weeks ago and talked myself into not going for a used Parasound 2200 mkII or a 3500 and I sprung for the A21.

Set it up no problem with a pair of balanced IC's and giving it a listen.

It sure is a nice combo visually; perhaps a little understated in it's satin black exterior without the wow factor of a tube amp.

Listening to SACD's on the SA8004 on the VR3 LSIM 703's and I hear nothing but sweet beautiful sound with no fatigue and seemingly endless gain.

Now you might say that this is overkill for the 703's but they are really singing like I never heard them. Very fast bass full mids and very sweet highs.

Time to just listen a bit for now...

"Would your pour me a Cuban Breeze Gretchen"

drumminman

Nice amp, gorgeous. Should sound even better with a little burn in. Congrats!

Msabot1

Downright purrrttyyyy!!!

dromunds

Yeah, really sweeeet

Mikey081057

Already nicknamed it JLO cuz it brings just the right amount of bottom!

pitdogg2

I think you did better that the 2200/3500 as both are getting long in the tooth, that A21 is a very nice amp.. great score

gce

Man, what a monster! That's what I wanted to get but I just didn't have the room... Congrats!

Hey on a side note I just noticed my Forum picture is blurry...is it just me?

Mikey081057

They are all a little blurry... Crop it tighter and see if it improves.

pitdogg2

I doubt it will improve as mine "was" clear and is a very small PC polite file and taken with my camera in PC mode. As I said mine was clear so it is on Polk's end....maybe.

polk500

Looks fantastic, enjoy the tunes.

Cheers
Roger

Mikey081057

It lets you load up to a 2MB file for your profile pic so use a bigger .jpg

pitdogg2

Click on my picture it will take you my profile and look picture is very clear there. Like I said mine looked just like the profile page until I seen it today.
My take is a bigger file will not get clearer if the picture in the profile page isn't blurry.

Mikey081057

pitdogg2 wrote: »

Click on my picture it will take you my profile and look picture is very clear there. Like I said mine looked just like the profile page until I seen it today.
My take is a bigger file will not get clearer if the picture in the profile page isn't blurry.

Yeah that's flaky... they must be effin with something.

gudnoyez

Very nice enjoy!

Mikey081057

Just flipped over to the SDA's...

Very Big Sound

voltz

Is that not one sweet Combo I have a nice Vincent combo, but I cannot help but think about a P5 + A21 combo! plus my Vincent is only 150wpc. I like the A21's extra power there and love the inside pictures of it. I not thinking of actually getting changing , but I like to dream about it.

hochpt21

Wow...that's pretty. I bet the 21 sounds great in that set up.

Mikey081057

It sounds good at any volume level that you play it at... It kinda emulates a tube amp in that respect. I would think that the pre has a lot to do with that also.

voltz

Nice...a little food for thought -> I bought my Vincent preamp for $600 needed a headphone amp - extra $500 & put $400 into a phono amp. got a $1500 setup. the P-5 has the headphone amp + Phono amp for under $1k ...my amp was $1400 ..so your Parasound Combo really is a good combo even $$$ wise. I could have had a V8 LOL but I do like the Vincent sound. but I sure wish you were my neighbor I like to hear how those 703's sound with the Parasound setup.

cfrizz

Very nice, congrats and enjoy!

hochpt21

Mikey081057 wrote: »

pitdogg2 wrote: »

Click on my picture it will take you my profile and look picture is very clear there. Like I said mine looked just like the profile page until I seen it today.
My take is a bigger file will not get clearer if the picture in the profile page isn't blurry.

Yeah that's flaky... they must be effin with something.

Probably has something to do with what Ken just posted about them making it more widescreen.

Mikey081057

hochpt21 wrote: »

Mikey081057 wrote: »

pitdogg2 wrote: »

Click on my picture it will take you my profile and look picture is very clear there. Like I said mine looked just like the profile page until I seen it today.
My take is a bigger file will not get clearer if the picture in the profile page isn't blurry.

Yeah that's flaky... they must be effin with something.

Probably has something to do with what Ken just posted about them making it more widescreen.

That'll do it...

Mikey081057

voltz wrote: »

Nice...a little food for thought -> I bought my Vincent preamp for $600 needed a headphone amp - extra $500 & put $400 into a phono amp. got a $1500 setup. the P-5 has the headphone amp + Phono amp for under $1k ...my amp was $1400 ..so your Parasound Combo really is a good combo even $$$ wise. I could have had a V8 LOL but I do like the Vincent sound. but I sure wish you were my neighbor I like to hear how those 703's sound with the Parasound setup.

Yeah I am sure discreet components for phono pre and headphone amp can sound better but I am also finding audio improvement in simplifying the signal path... i am selling my phono pre as I am sure I can't hear a difference and there are 2 less I/C's and 1 less switching power supply. The SDA's sound better than the 703's

vmaxer

Awesome setup!!

Which SDA'a do you have??

Jhayman

Nice set up, like the all black better than the all silver combo..

Mikey081057

vmaxer wrote: »

Awesome setup!!

Which SDA'a do you have??

SDA SRS 2.3's

vmaxer

Mikey081057 wrote: »

vmaxer wrote: »

Awesome setup!!

Which SDA'a do you have??

SDA SRS 2.3's

I bet they do sound great with that setup.

Mike Reeter

I recently heard the A21 and P5 combo in a dealers room, the Black version of the Halo series is striking in appearance and performance. I had my sights set on a Rogue Audio St 100, but the A21 is an outstanding piece.

I'm thinking a tubed preamp coupled with the A21 would be my drug of choice, I would LOVE to hear your 2.3's driven by such a stellar pre/amp pairing.

Enjoy!!!!

Mikey081057

The 2.3's sound amazing in my less than optimum listening room. My next home will have a better layout for my audio enjoyment. For me the P5 choice was based on it's build quality, flexibility and the very positive reviews it received on this and many other boards. After receiving it I decided to sell my Musical Surroundings Phonomena II Phone Pre along with the Parasound 2100... So it will basically have cost me about $250 to go with the P5. I listened to it a while back at a local Parasound reseller and ended up purchasing both units from Audio Advisor. They seem to be a good group very focused on customer sat. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone. Their sales guys are great. They ship fast.

WLDock

Mike Reeter wrote: »

I'm thinking a tubed preamp coupled with the A21 would be my drug of choice...

Me Also! Even though I have not heard the combo, the tons of feedback point me in this directions given my listening style. An A21 mated with a tube preamp.

mikey1987

very nice beautiful set up