Parasound HCA 1500A vs. HCA 1200II vs. other ~$500 power amps

comfortablycurt

What Rotel stuff do you have lying around?

msg

Curt - if it helps any, I can also confirm nice, smooth performance with the P5 and either B&K or Parasound amps. Tried it with an older B&K EX-442 (another amp to add to your list to keep your eyes open for if you can find one affordably. B&K EX-442 in the Sonata Series. this amp was an earlier precursor to the 200.2. look for a later 90-93 model; it had the higher current output. hold out for XLR ports, too) Monitor 10's and fresh 703's; both sound really good, though my current preference is for the M10's with RD0-194 tweeters. Point being - any combination thereof should sound good with your SDA's or 703's or something similar. if there was any way you could manage it, Rick's 200.2 should be a very nice combination with your SDA's.

along those lines, how did you fare on your bookshelf speaker search? did you end up with a set of LSi9's or something similar?

WilliamM2

I've had two Parasound amps lose a channel in the past. In both cases, it was just the circuit that powers on the relay. One needed a new cap, the other needed a diode. Less than a dollar in parts in both cases.

You may want to have them checked out, shouldn't cost much. In my case I have friend that does electronic repair (non-audio normally), so any shop should be able to handle it. It took him less than an hour in both cases.

WilliamM2

That's odd, the post above was replying to this thread:

http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/167265/another-multi-channel-bites-the-dust#latest

tophatjohnny

The 1200II served me well with my SDA's. I think you'll love it.

comfortablycurt

Well I pulled the trigger an a Parasound HCA 1200II. I got it for about $240 shipped, which I felt was a great price. As I thought about it more, I concluded that I should wait a little longer to drop a larger amount on an amp. I'm going to have a lot of expenses coming up unfortunately.

I just received my Parasound Halo P5 today though. I've got finals coming up next week though, so it may not get hooked up for a little while yet. My schedule is pretty hectic right now. I should get the 1200II Thursday or Friday, so I'm going to have a lot of new gear to play with.

Polkie2009

congrats on the amp Curt, that was an outstandingly good deal you got , especially shipping included!

comfortablycurt

Thanks! I thought it was a great deal as well.

Except I've missed the FedEx guy two days in a row now because I'm gone basically all day long...lol

I wasn't counting on the seller getting signature confirmation.

comfortablycurt

The nearest FedEx location where I could pick it up is about 40 minutes away. I called there and it's scheduled to be delivered on Monday now. I'll actually be there, so I'm just going to wait until then.

In the meantime, I finally got my Parasound P5 hooked up today. This thing has really brought my rig to life. I still have a lot of listening to do before I form too many impressions of it. However, I'm immediately noticing a huge improvement in the tightness and focus of the bass response in the LSi9s. The 9s have felt a little bit lacking in bass response on some recordings, and the P5 seems to have remedied that issue. I'm noticing a lot more detail in my sound stage overall. It looks damn nice too.

dpowell

I previously owned 3 of the 1200ii's. Powerful amps. After selling them, my power bill dropped noticeably. The only bummer about no 12v trigger is that if you don't shut them off, be prepared to pay to keep them on.

comfortablycurt

My CDP and preamp always get turned to standby when not actually in use. My power amp typically stays on for the day after I use it for the first time. Most days though, it doesn't really get any use until late evening and it's shut off by midnight or so.

I can't say I've ever noticed a difference in my electric bill, but it'll be interesting to see if I notice one after hooking the HCA up.

PSOVLSK

comfortablycurt wrote: »

...I finally got my Parasound P5 hooked up today. This thing has really brought my rig to life...

And you get to experience the same thing Monday when you get the amp hooked up Lucky Dog!

comfortablycurt

It was supposed to have been here this Monday, but I guess there was a bit of confusion after I'd missed it a few times. It got sorted out though, and it arrived today. I've got my last two finals over the next two days though, so it's not going to get hooked up until the weekend.

This new gear is revitalizing my interest in this whole hobby. I've done more serious listening in the last couple of weeks than I have in quite a while. I'm going to get together a full review thread of all my new gear once I've had a chance to spend some time with it. So far I'm very happy with all of the improvements I'm hearing. I'm feeling more engaged with the music than I have in quite a while, which is what this hobby is all about.

PSOVLSK

haha. I obviously didn't pay attention to the date of your last post.

You're exactly right about being engaged in the music. I've been spending a lot of time listening to my computer room rig since getting the Plinius from Skip...and I'm still using not so great IC's.

Good luck on the final exams and enjoy the music this weekend!

comfortablycurt

IC's and speaker cables are the next upgrades on my list. I'm currently using Audioquest Black Mamba IC's and Type 2 speaker cables, which are all nice budget cables. I'm ready to step up to the next level. I've got my eyes on the AQ Diamondbacks or King Cobras for IC's, and the AQ Type 4 speaker cables. I'm definitely not set on these cables at this point. I've got a lot of research to do still.

PSOVLSK wrote: »

Good luck on the final exams and enjoy the music this weekend!

Thanks!

11tsteve

King Cobras bumped Diamondbacks and Morrows out of my rig. Analysis Plus from dac to pre and King Cobras from pre to amp, and it sounds great. AQ CV-8 for speaker cables, which, thankfully, replaced Monster Cable.
I feel like I can be happy with the AQ cables for a long time.

gp4jesus

Nightfall wrote: »

He doesn't like the way it looks.

"Form follows function." I'll take a running car need needing paint over a pretty one w/out an engine any day & twice on Sunday.

My #1 reason I like the Outlaw over the Rotel is SQ. Tie for second place is black face & setup, again to the Outlaw. Rotel has a silver face, has (a few) more features, but setup is not as intuitive.

gp4jesus

"I'm kind of skeptical of the Class D amplifiers."
+1. I've read many reviews on the Rotel 990 series (1, 2, & 3 channel amps) Threshhold/Krell/Levinson comparable SQ @ closer to mainstream pricing. If you see one for sale, jump on it - they don't sit for the reasons above

comfortablycurt

So, I hooked up the HCA-1200II today. The differences were not as immediately apparent with the amp change as they were with the switch to the P5 preamp. Some initial impressions are that the Parasound amp has a much more laid back sound stage than the Adcom. Headroom! Holy crap. This thing can hit some dynamics. Bass notes have a much more visceral impact. I can feel it deeper in my chest. These LSi9s really sound much larger than they are, and this amp helps a lot.

I still have a lot of listening to do, but I'm liking things so far. Next I need to get the new Marantz BDP hooked up.