Opinions please Rotel vs Parasound
jimmylee123
Posts: 105
Hello, sorry if this has already been discussed, I was unable to find anything in search results. I currently have a pair of SDA 1C's, with hurricane nuts, carpet spikes, and mortite seals around MW, PR. I am currently powering them by a thrift store find, Pioneer VSX-9500s rated at 125wpc into 8ohms. My dilemma is nothing is ever "good enough" so I'm looking at upgrading. I have been looking at Rotel RA-1592 vs Parasound Halo Integrated, both have similar specs and both MSRP for 2500 bucks. I am looking to get the most out of these speakers for said amount of money. Which of those two options would you prefer, and why? Also are there any other viable options that may yield better results for that amount of money? Thanks.
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both are very well respected, but for that amount of coin open up your options there are many for that amount. Search Audiogon for nice used pre amps and amps. You can find some nice stuff 5-7 yrs old at a pretty good price.
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My impression over the years is that Rotel gear tends to be a bit brighter sounding gear than Parasound's Halo line. The Halo is also a bit more refined with a lower noise floor/less grainy sounding solid state amps. If the SDA 1Cs have not had the tweeter upgrade I would not recommend using a Rotel amp with them as the original SL2000 tweeters are already ear splitting.
My first recommendation would be to upgrade the tweeters if they haven't been already. Either integrated would work well after that's done. The Rotel and Parasound are competing in the same market space and have mostly similar features. Both brands are known as being very good for the money. -
This is an excellent thread. As I have been searching for a system for my downstairs speakers for a few months now and I have stumbled over the whole Rotel vs Parasound all over again.
The RA1592 is brand new, it just came out. The Parasound Halo is a couple years old I think.
The main difference other than sound are features, I think Rotel has the Parasound beat. For example - bluetooth, Rotel has this cool feature and i think it is this that just might put it over the top for me because my wife would love to stream her music through the Rotel.
That said, the remotes of both (while a small gripe) has the remote of the parasound to be simpler and, for me, better since the volume control is right there in the middle, whereas the Rotel remote is better "looking" while being less friendly as there are just too many buttons for the integrated to make it useful.
As far as sonics...
I have not heard the RA1592 but I have heard the newer Rotel Rc1070 mated with the rb1582mk2 and the rc1590 mated with the rb1590... I thought both sounded quite good. I didn't find them to be bright but I found the 1590s to be even warmer than the lower and mid tier with better bass, impact, and transients. This was on store gear.
I was also able to listen to the parasound halo integrated in an older version of my system at home, my impressions were that it sounded a little dark but musical... But the one thing me and my brother noted was that there was this noise I could hear. Not sure if it was the integrated itself but it was noisy and surprisingly it sounded grainy.
I brought home the rb1590 amp and mated it to my system and it sounded warmer though not as dynamic and not as lifelike as my classe cam600.... And obviously worlds apart from the Boulder 2060... But it was not embarassed.
I owned Rotel in the past as well and have lots of respect for them.
Bottom line, I can say the older Rotel that I had 8 years ago (1070, 1090) tended to be brighter but these new generation seem not to be. While the parasound halo I demo'd had a higher noise floor than I would tolerate in my system.
Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R -
I don't know about Parasound, but my Rotel 1090 went into overheat mode while driving the 707s full range for a few hrs.
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Parasound would be your best option. Just make sure the integrated is common ground
The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
Honestly, my understanding is that you can't go wrong with either brand or model. I have never heard SDA 1Cs, so I'm not sure which would have better synergy.
I do, however, own and use daily a Halo Integrated. It's a fantastic amp, good all-around performer. Very powerful, with lots of heft in the sound. Honestly, I don't turn it beyond what I guess would be 20% in normal listening conditions, as the sound would pummel me into my chair. The thing is a beast, gets super loud.
One thing to note is that it's heavy in the bass department. You could like that, but some don't. Oh, the remote is pretty junky when compared with the build quality of the unit itself, but like Joey said, the layout is nice. -
I'm not a fan of the 1C's in general as I think they are a bit thick sounding, but I'll never forget hearing a pair driven by a Manley Stingray at RT1's Polkfest. That was a magical combination.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
The RA1592 that Joey was talking about looks like a great unit. The dac section has 3 coax and 2 classes of USB. As others have said both are solid brands.Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
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I have vintage Rotel & Parasound - like 'em both. Can't hear a diffSamsung 60" UN60ES6100 LED Outlaw Audio 976 Pre/Pro Samsung BDP, Amazon Firestick, Phillips CD Changer Canare 14 ga - LCR tweeters inside*; Ctr Ch outside BJC 10 ga - LCR mids, inside* & out 8 ga Powerline: LR woofers, inside* & out *soldered LR: Tri-amped RTi A7 w/Rotels. Woofers - 980BX; Tweets & “Plugged*” Mids - 981, connected w/MP Premiere ICs Ctr Ch: Rotel RB981 -> Bi-amped CSi A6 Surrounds: Premiere ICs ->Rotel 981 -> AR 12 ga -> RTi A3. 5 Subs: Sunfire True SW Signature -> LFE & Ctr Ch; 4 Audio Pro Evidence @ the “Corners”. Power Conditioning & Distribution: 4 dedicated 20A feeds; APC H15; 5 Furman Miniport 20s *Xschop's handy work
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The RA1592 that Joey was talking about looks like a great unit. The dac section has 3 coax and 2 classes of USB. As others have said both are solid brands.
Here's the thing - my wife needs a unit that she can operate and stream her iphone music into.... and the Rotel preamps and integrateds can do it via bluetooth.
The other problem I am having is convincing her that the amp can look good outside the media console. She wants everything inside the media console... and the big Rotel or the large parasounds have no hope of being cooped up inside.
So, I'm stuck with:
Rotel RA1592 preamp in the console, hidden.
Or..
a small stack of Rotel RC1590/RB1590 on a small 2 shelf audio stand next to the speakers/media console, but in plain view.
Trying to convince my wife that it will look good is an uphill climb.
Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R -
Joey, take a look at the new Marantz HD-AMP1, which also has a matching DAC and CDP. They are small sized, but feature filled and look great too.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Pic
Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Are those side panels plastic or wood? They do look pretty snazzy.afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
Plastic, burl wood is not cheap.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
This one might seem a little off the wall but what about a set of powered speakers and a chromecast audio? I have heard some of the cheaper jbl studio monitors like the 308 and for the money they did not suck. OR the node2 that has a built in amp. The chromecast audio might open up a few more doors for $35Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
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The RA1592 that Joey was talking about looks like a great unit. The dac section has 3 coax and 2 classes of USB. As others have said both are solid brands.
Here's the thing - my wife needs a unit that she can operate and stream her iphone music into.... and the Rotel preamps and integrateds can do it via bluetooth.
The other problem I am having is convincing her that the amp can look good outside the media console. She wants everything inside the media console... and the big Rotel or the large parasounds have no hope of being cooped up inside.
So, I'm stuck with:
Rotel RA1592 preamp in the console, hidden.
Or..
a small stack of Rotel RC1590/RB1590 on a small 2 shelf audio stand next to the speakers/media console, but in plain view.
Trying to convince my wife that it will look good is an uphill climb.
How About a Peachtree Nova 220se you can add the Bluetooth adapter.
HTAVR-Pioneer SC99XPA-DR3 Differential Reference AmpPolk R-700Rear- RT150Side- RT150Center-CSi5Sub-Rythmik audio F25Player- Panasonic DP-UB9000Projector- Optoma CinemaX P2Screen- Silver Ticket Products STR Series 6 120"Audio Room 2ch rig.Cary AE-3, Onkyo M-504, Marantz SA8005, Azur 851NWharfedale - Linton, SVS SB12-NSDMinis Forum PC (streamer) and Panamax MX5105Headphone rig;Schiit JOTUNHEIM and different headphones.Samsung 42" flat screen TV. -
I thought about peachtree but I am
Not a big fan of class d.
Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R -
This one might seem a little off the wall but what about a set of powered speakers and a chromecast audio? I have heard some of the cheaper jbl studio monitors like the 308 and for the money they did not suck. OR the node2 that has a built in amp. The chromecast audio might open up a few more doors for $35
I already have speakers down here, wouldn't want to have powered ones. I thought about power node 2... But I don't know how that handles input from various sources.Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R -
What's the point in getting anything decent if one is going to stream via Bluetooth? Bluetooth cannot stream anything better than mp3 without compressing it.Oh, Listen here mister. We got no way of understandin' this world. But we got as much sense of this bird flyin in the sky. Now there is a lot that bird don't know, but it don't change the fact that the world is happening to him all the same. What I am tryin to say is, is that the course of your life, well its changing, and you don't even see it- Forest Bondurant
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BT aptx can stream CD quality
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jeremymarcinko wrote: »What's the point in getting anything decent if one is going to stream via Bluetooth? Bluetooth cannot stream anything better than mp3 without compressing it.
Flexibility. It has to play audio, tidal, watch movies, and stream if needed.
It might not be the same as the gear in the stereo room, but it's gotta be atleast decent.Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R -
Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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This isn't a Rotel or a Parasound, but, based on your wife's criteria, what about a modern version of a classic?
http://nadelectronics.com/products/hifi-amplifiers/D-3020-Hybrid-Digital-Amplifier
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NopeOh, Listen here mister. We got no way of understandin' this world. But we got as much sense of this bird flyin in the sky. Now there is a lot that bird don't know, but it don't change the fact that the world is happening to him all the same. What I am tryin to say is, is that the course of your life, well its changing, and you don't even see it- Forest Bondurant
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I'm all for decent gear, but there are much better streaming options than Bluetooth. As easy too.Oh, Listen here mister. We got no way of understandin' this world. But we got as much sense of this bird flyin in the sky. Now there is a lot that bird don't know, but it don't change the fact that the world is happening to him all the same. What I am tryin to say is, is that the course of your life, well its changing, and you don't even see it- Forest Bondurant
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In my livingroom, i have a bluray player that runs on droid. On it I have BubbleUPnp loaded on it. It points to my NAS. The sony bluray is digital out to the pioneer sc27. Maybe a chromecast audio digital out to your dac, BubbleUPnp on your wife's device ( it does have tidal) to output to the chromecast audio. BubbleUPnp is 5$. A chromecast audio is 35$. You will need to buy the 1/8" to digital cable.Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
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If you serve the right kind of liquor, you would get a much better class of critics.
I didn't hear a single complaint when I bluetoothed to my ifi Stereo 50 at LSAF. [/quote]
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Bluetooth doesn't have the bandwidth for uncompressed audio so it must compress the data. AptX trys to recreate what's lost during compression, think dsp, but the result is still lossy. The recreated data is not native, is inaccurate and contains digital artifacts.
It's not something any audiophile worth his salt should be recommending.Oh, Listen here mister. We got no way of understandin' this world. But we got as much sense of this bird flyin in the sky. Now there is a lot that bird don't know, but it don't change the fact that the world is happening to him all the same. What I am tryin to say is, is that the course of your life, well its changing, and you don't even see it- Forest Bondurant -
Sony UHP-H1 also could be an answer.
Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's. -
Boy this thread got complicated.Samsung 60" UN60ES6100 LED Outlaw Audio 976 Pre/Pro Samsung BDP, Amazon Firestick, Phillips CD Changer Canare 14 ga - LCR tweeters inside*; Ctr Ch outside BJC 10 ga - LCR mids, inside* & out 8 ga Powerline: LR woofers, inside* & out *soldered LR: Tri-amped RTi A7 w/Rotels. Woofers - 980BX; Tweets & “Plugged*” Mids - 981, connected w/MP Premiere ICs Ctr Ch: Rotel RB981 -> Bi-amped CSi A6 Surrounds: Premiere ICs ->Rotel 981 -> AR 12 ga -> RTi A3. 5 Subs: Sunfire True SW Signature -> LFE & Ctr Ch; 4 Audio Pro Evidence @ the “Corners”. Power Conditioning & Distribution: 4 dedicated 20A feeds; APC H15; 5 Furman Miniport 20s *Xschop's handy work
