Parasound P6 VS PS Audio Stellar Gain Pre/DAC

jdjohn

Excellent, Joe...welcome to the club! Are you going for silver or black?
Did you double-check that both balanced and unbalanced can used at the same time?

joecoulson

Here she is. Stunning black.
Wow what a huge jump in sound from where I was.

joecoulson

This solved all my issues. Just got done fixing all the inputs, running and wires, reprogramming the Harmony Elite and assigning input names and adjusting settings etc.
wow. So glad and happy that @kharp1 helped me get a fantastic deal on this - Thank You.
HT bypass so I can still enjoy movies the way I need to. But isolated 2ch with glorious sound now.
The imaging just went bonkers. Not that the Marantz AVR did a bad job as a pre, but it’s like apples and oranges to this.
Combined with the Vincent tube phono pre, the records are such an experience.
Still very new so I have to let all these changes settle down and break in, but initially so grateful to have this finally where it should be.
Thank You all (you know who you are) for your help and guidance on this.

kharp1

Good to hear. Look forward to hearing your thoughts after it's had some break in time. Walter does have some smoking deals at times.

joecoulson

No doubt. Thanks Kerry

jdjohn

joecoulson wrote: »

Here she is. Stunning black.
Wow what a huge jump in sound from where I was.

Fits like a glove.

joecoulson

John, never answered your question. Yes I verified it could be used (Xlr and RCA) at the same time with Walter.
I get my Xlr cables today so I will be able to verify for sure.

steveinaz

I like it! You got me running numbers in my head...LOL

joecoulson

Ha. That’s funny. I’m sorry (not sorry) Steve.

joecoulson

tonyb

That's the difference between using a receiver as a pre, and a dedicated quality pre. Congrats Joe.

joecoulson

Thanks Tony! Sure is.

Beside the stupid Roomba issue (mentioned in another thread) it has been decently simple to hook up. Have the HT bypass along with feeding the SVS in both 2ch and 5.1 was a little outside the wheelhouse but other than that, flawless execution.

pitdogg2

steveinaz wrote: »

I like it! You got me running numbers in my head...LOL

fudge it you need it Steve....

steveinaz

pitdogg2 wrote: »

steveinaz wrote: »

I like it! You got me running numbers in my head...LOL

fudge it you need it Steve....

...and you "need" my benchmark DAC2L....muhaha

pitdogg2

steveinaz wrote: »

pitdogg2 wrote: »

steveinaz wrote: »

I like it! You got me running numbers in my head...LOL

fudge it you need it Steve....

...and you "need" my benchmark DAC2L....muhaha

What I neeeeed is a cash infusion

jdjohn

joecoulson wrote: »

Try the PS Audio S300 or M700 monoblocks for even MORE synergy Of course you have to be willing to give Class D a fair shot.

joecoulson

Happy with the Linns. They are stellar power amps.

joecoulson

Ok some more thoughts as I have been with this for over a week now

The volume knob on the unit itself is beautiful. Not overly stiff like most AVR’s these days, but not loosy goosy like the old 70’s/80’s stereos. Fine myself wanting to get up off the couch and turn the volume up and down.

The DAC is a better performer on CD’s than the Cambridge is. Better soundstage and imaging. Clarity and resolution is about the same. But the music from CD (connected by a King Cobra AQ coax) is more engaging with the PSA DAC

HT pass through is great on this unit and very intuitive. The preset level out worked without any adjustment on the AVR for level matching on the channels. No lag and does exactly as advertised here.

Analog pre is fantastic on the Rega. But that’s hard to nail down to just this. Since within a few weeks I had the new Rega, upgrades to it, Vincent pre and then the PS. But records now are night and day. I just wonder if changing the cart to an MC will just be the icing on the cake (DL103r might be next) the biggest thing is how quiet it is. All the way up on the volume and the background noise is a small fraction of what it used to be (which wasn’t shabby). This lends itself to black backgrounds and more music.

Finally the lights. It’s blue hue on the display and also the power button is not overpowering or annoying. It’s gives a perfect offset color to the rack along with the tube light and Cambridge display screen.

Clipdat

joecoulson wrote: »

All the way up on the volume and the background noise is a small fraction of what it used to be (which wasn’t shabby). This lends itself to black backgrounds and more music.

I would be careful doing this. Turning a preamp or integrated all the way up can actually cause some serious but inaudible distortion to be passed onto the speakers and can damage them. I actually read a post on here about someone damaging their crossovers and/or tweeters by turning the volume all the way up with nothing playing.

joecoulson

Really?! I didn’t know that. Thank you Drew

steveinaz

You're a bad influence. This thing has loads of balls, and I like it. Low-level bass linearity makes late night low volume listening exciting again. Musical, punchy, fast paced, and a touch on the sweet side of things. I love the concept of the gain cell volume control, it reminds me of my passive Placette pre I had many years ago, and probably explains the low-level linearity. This thing is a progressive Jazz, Rock listeners wet dream:

tonyb

Looks sweet, they sure pack a lot of punch into one package, and the price is pretty good too. Gotta get an ear on this baby.

steveinaz

For reference, I'm running dig filter #1, connection to A21 amp via XLR cables.

joecoulson

I like filter 1 also. Seems to have the smoothest (tube like) sound to it.
If I crank up Tool, I like filter 2

joecoulson

Wait, did you say I was a bad influence? I’ve been told that before on this forum

steveinaz

Just an FYI, the digital filter you pick, sticks with the input that you selected it on, so you can select whichever filter you like for each input.

joecoulson

yes, thats a cool feature

jdjohn

Nice! Another convert in the house I agree on how it excels for low-volume listening. The matching PS Audio class D power amps are no slouch...just sayin'. I have the S300, and have to think the monoblock M700s are even better.

Joe, just let me know if you want me to bring my S300 down for the meet. It's light, and travels well.

steveinaz

I'm going to exercise it's Jazz-chops when I get home.

I did experience the sometimes mentioned "remote control conflict" on the forums. PS Audio said that some companies are not properly registering their remote codes, and it can cause issues. Mine is STRANGE. My new 65" Vizio reacts to the GCD remote, but ONLY if I'm using the smartcast app page on the TV, or watching anything from it. It was an easy fix, I just switched to my Oppo to watch Netflix. No conflict there. It doesn't affect watching DirecTV on the P65-F1 Vizio.

Clipdat

steveinaz wrote: »

I'm going to exercise it's Jazz-chops when I get home.

I read this as "Jazzercise"