For Sale - Parasound HCA-750A - $175 Shipped and Paypaled

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Comments

  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 8,121
    vcwatkins wrote: »
    Hey, #rooftop59, if your dibs-guy passes, I'll take it. Can't believe this is still here either.
    Craig

    Sounds good Craig I'll let u know tomorrow.
    Paul
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
    Game Room 5.1.4:
    Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra

    Bedroom 2.1
    Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 8,121
    Sorry Craig, this amp is now under contract.

    Thanks for all the free bumps fellers.
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
    Game Room 5.1.4:
    Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra

    Bedroom 2.1
    Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
  • vcwatkins
    vcwatkins Posts: 1,993
    Thank goodness :)
    b]Beach Audio[/b]: Rega RP6 (mods) - AT33PTG/II - Parks Budgie SUT - PSAudio NPC * Eversolo DMP-A6 * Topping D90iii * Joule-Electra LA-100 mkIII * Pass Aleph 30 * MIT S3 * Polk SRS 2.3tl (mods) * PSAudio PPP3
    Beach Study: Pro-Ject Stream Box S2 Ultra & Pre Box S2 * Pass ACA * DH Labs SS Q10 * Brines Folded ML-TQWT RS 40-1354 * PSA Dectet
    Beach Master: WiiM Pro * Dayens Menuetto * Zu Libtec * Dynaudio Audience 50
    Beach Den: Bluesound Powernode 2i * DH Labs SS Q10 * Zu Omen DWII * Richard Gray RGPC
    Town Study: WiiM Pro * Chord Qute (Pardo) * Elekit TU-8600 * MIT S3 * Revel M22 * Beyer DT-990 * Shunyata Hydra 2
    Town Den: Music Hall mm5.1se - Denon DL-103r - Jolida JD9ii (mods) * WiiM Pro * Cary xCiter * Rogue 99 Magnum * Schiit Aegir * MIT S3 * Polk SRS 1.2tl (mods) * Dectet * Bottlehead Crack - Senn 600
    Town Porch: WiiM Pro Plus * Sunfire Sig II * Canare 4S11 * Magnepan 1.6 * Dectet
  • scubalab
    scubalab Posts: 3,101
    So, the mystery dibs-guy would be me!

    Craig, I completely understand your feeling. I watched this thread for a month sitting on the fence. Finally PM'd Paul last week. Still wavered for nearly a week. Part of me wanted this to sell to make the decision easy, but deep down, I wanted to give it a try (my first true 'separate' piece). Paul has been such a great guy to deal with, answered all of my many questions, and really helped me make my decision. At the end of the day, this was too good of a deal, and Paul was too nice to let this fall through.

    I plan on using this to drive some 'new-to-me' Paradigm Studio 40s (v.20) that are darn near mint. Setting up a 2 channel listening rig for me and my daughters.

    Craig, if for any reason this doesn't work for me, I'd gladly give you first dibs at the same price if you still wanted it. :D

    Working out shipping payment details with Paul now.

    Thanks!
  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,967
    Cool man, congrats on a great deal and it should pair well with those speaks too.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
  • scubalab
    scubalab Posts: 3,101
    Thanks Tony! Really looking forward to hearing them with better power.
  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,590
    They will sound great. I used this amp on my RTA 11TL's and it never even got close to full throttle before I had to back down the volume.

    If I didnt need something to feed my beasts of Infinity RS-II's (and I still stuck with Parasound moving to the 1200ii), I would still be running that amp on my setup.
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
  • Mystery
    Mystery Posts: 2,546
    la2vegas wrote: »
    I'm just trying to see if I can land a deal. Kinda like DSkip did when he bought from someone other than the OP.

    Hope you were the winner.

    Klipsch RB81, KG3.5, B&W DM602.5, Polk.
    Subwoofers: Klipsch RW10, Triad ProSub Bronze.
  • Mystery
    Mystery Posts: 2,546
    la2vegas wrote: »
    No deal. I was shutout on a late rally.

    That was very good price though and room to go higher.

    Klipsch RB81, KG3.5, B&W DM602.5, Polk.
    Subwoofers: Klipsch RW10, Triad ProSub Bronze.
  • scubalab
    scubalab Posts: 3,101
    Finally got around to getting this up and running. First, I must say that Paul was a great seller and packaged the amp very well. I had some issues with the original pre-amp, so ended up picking up a Carver HR-752 locally to use as a pre.

    My VERY first impression - definitely heard an improvement in sound quality! After spending about an hour listening to some CDs last night, I have some additional impressions. Now, it may have been the choice of music (Police, Tori Amos, Queen, Dido, Pink Floyd, Collective Soul, and George Michael to name a few), but I did notice the highs sounded a little bright - especially with the female vocalists. That could be the speakers too (some reviews say the tweeters in the Version 2 Studio line are very bright). However, I didn't notice this prior to using the amp, but may have been running them at very conservative levels. Even with this, the overall sound quality seems much better than before.

    One thing I want to ask is about the volume levels. I was pushing the amp, but it never got really loud. I noticed the current overload lights blinking brighter at times, and that concerned me. Don't get me wrong, it was fairly loud, but it seemed like the amp was 'warning' me at a level that wasn't too high (the volume on the Carver was only about 1/4 of the way up). Should I be concerned when these lights turn on brighter? Also, it seemed that the longer I listened, the louder I was able to push it before the lights came on. Does it 'warm up'?

    Will spend more time tomorrow with it. Any advice is appreciated!
  • Mystery
    Mystery Posts: 2,546
    Preamplifier at 1/4 doesn't mean anything.
    If the input is high, amp maybe pushing full power at low pre levels.

    Klipsch RB81, KG3.5, B&W DM602.5, Polk.
    Subwoofers: Klipsch RW10, Triad ProSub Bronze.
  • scubalab
    scubalab Posts: 3,101
    Thanks Mystery! Yeah, understand that the volume knob position is irrelevant and it's more the input level. With a lower input level from my Samsung MP3 player, had to turn the knob to 1/2 to 3/4 to get the same volume.

    It just seems like the overload warning lights are coming on at a volume lower than I would have expected. Again, not a real issue as it was loud enough for normal listening, but there didn't seem like there was room to go any higher if, well, I felt the need. :p
  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,967
    His Studio 40's are an 8 ohm speaker, should be easy as pie for that amp to push. I'm wondering if something got jogged loose in shipping.

    Aside from that, check all your connections. If the amp is straining at quarter volume, something is amiss.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
  • scubalab
    scubalab Posts: 3,101
    Skip - I absolutely agree.

    Paul (rooftop) is a great seller. The amp works and sounds wonderful. Something just didn't sound right (volume level wise). This morning I tried again and the overload lights were starting to blink at 1/4 volume. I disconnected the speakers and ran direct from the carver and they sounded good. Then I reconnected the amp, and wow, much better. It either had to warm up, or disconnecting the load and reconnecting it made a difference. I can't imagine I had something hooked up wrong. It's only two RCA interconnects and two speaker cables! Whatever it is/was, it now sounds GREAT!! Very happy camper here. My daughter even said it sounded better!

    I thought about starting a new thread, and probably should have separated my 'impressions' from my questions.

    As for the paradigms - very easy to drive.

    As for Rooftop - class act; fantastic seller! Buy with confidence! I certainly didn't mean to imply otherwise.

    Thanks again for chiming in.
  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 8,121
    Sorry I have been crazy busy with family and work and haven't been on much. Glad it worked out for you Al! I know the amp sounded great in my setup, and I figured it should drive those paradigms just fine. Glad its working out and thanks for the sale!
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
    Game Room 5.1.4:
    Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra

    Bedroom 2.1
    Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,967
    Good for you, glad you got it all worked out. The Parasound I bet takes a little edge of those higher frequencies the 40's are known for.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
  • scubalab
    scubalab Posts: 3,101
    Update on the Parasound...

    I was still getting the "Current Overload" lights flickering and coming on fully at relatively low volumes. The sound was fantastic, but the lights concerned me. Did a quick Google search and found a couple other threads in other forums from people having the same issue. One person posted a fix he said was from Tony at Parasound. Before I tried this, I wanted confirmation that I wouldn't hurt anything, so I called Parasound myself. They put me through to... guess who... Tony! When I started explaining the issue I was having, he chuckled and stopped me and explained the same fix. I felt reassured that trying this would in no way harm the amp, so I tried it last night.

    What it amounted to was literally a 1 minute job (and 55 seconds was removing and reinstalling the cover)! There's a screw in the middle of the main circuit board behind the toroidal transformer. It was loose. (Tony said it's not uncommon for it to come a little loose especially in shipping.) Just a couple turns to snug it down, and BAM problem solved!!! While I was in there, I dusted everything off, and sprayed some de-oxit on the volume level pots. Let it dry for a couple hours and put it back in the rack.

    I had to try it out before bed, just to see if it worked. Put CD on and cranked it. All I can say is WOW! I wanted to push it to see if the lights would come on but had to give up... Got it to 3/4 on the volume knob and had to back off. It was LOUD and CLEAR. Lights never came on, and the Parasound and Paradigms never broke a sweat. Additionally, the volume pots now turn like butter and no more static (although I really have no reason to use them...)!

    VERY happy with our listening rig now!

    Thanks again Paul for a great sale and support afterwards!
  • TNHNDYMAN
    TNHNDYMAN Posts: 2,145
    Great news. Glad it was an easy and free fix.
    2-ch System: Parasound P/LD 2000 pre, Parasound HCA-1000 amp, Parasound T/DQ Tuner, Phase Technology PC-100 Tower speakers, Technics SL-1600 Turntable, Denon 2910 SACD/CD player, Peachtree DAC iT and X1asynchorus USB converter, HSU VTF-3 subwoofer.

  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 8,121
    scubalab wrote: »
    Thanks again Paul for a great sale and support afterwards!

    Hey Al glad you got that worked out relatively painlessly, and good to know that parasound still has good customer service. I may have to contact them in the future!
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
    Game Room 5.1.4:
    Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra

    Bedroom 2.1
    Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
  • scubalab
    scubalab Posts: 3,101
    edited January 2015
    All's great with the 'new' setup Paul! We're loving the improvements in sound. The folks at Parasound were fantastic - very courteous and helpful.
  • Mystery
    Mystery Posts: 2,546
    Hopefully you don't have to check it every now and then.

    Klipsch RB81, KG3.5, B&W DM602.5, Polk.
    Subwoofers: Klipsch RW10, Triad ProSub Bronze.
  • scubalab
    scubalab Posts: 3,101
    Mystery - I don't think so... It sounded like (based on my discussion with Tony at Parasound) this is something that occasionally comes a little loose in shipping. This made a long journey from Texas to PA in the COOOOOOOLD!