Preamp with Home Theater Bypass?
swegyptian
Posts: 316
Hi all,
I’m considering a new preamp, as my Parasound P5 is acting up a bit. I should probably just have it serviced, but you know how our brains work....
So basically just use a Sonos Connect, so I’d like a DAC in the pre, and I really like having home theater bypass, but that’s it. If I could get really picky, I’d ask for XLR connections, too. But overall I don’t need other connections. What would you guys consider?
Thanks,
Alex
I’m considering a new preamp, as my Parasound P5 is acting up a bit. I should probably just have it serviced, but you know how our brains work....
So basically just use a Sonos Connect, so I’d like a DAC in the pre, and I really like having home theater bypass, but that’s it. If I could get really picky, I’d ask for XLR connections, too. But overall I don’t need other connections. What would you guys consider?
Thanks,
Alex
Comments
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PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell DAC/Pre. Hands down better than the P5 which it replaced in my rig.
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It does look great, but am I missing the home theater bypass feature?
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I know @joecoulson likes his P6 better than the Stellar GC Pre/DAC. I believe he said the bass management is what sold him in the end."This may not matter to you, but it does to me for various reasons, many of them illogical or irrational, but the vinyl hobby is not really logical or rational..." - member on Vinyl Engine
"Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to." - Cicero, in Gladiator
Regarding collectibles: "It's not who gets it. It's who gets stuck with it." - Jimmy Fallon -
PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell DAC/Pre. Hands down better than the P5 which it replaced in my rig.
+1 on the SQ of the PSA SGCD... However the Stellar does not have sub woofer mgmt like the Parasound...If you need that.... There are other (better) ways to accomplish that too..
My New Year's resolution is 3840 × 2160
Family Room| Marantz AV7704| Usher Dancer Mini - 2 DMD Mains |Usher Dancer Mini-x DMD's Surrounds | Usher BE-616 DMD Center | SVS Ultra Rear Surrounds | Parasound Halo A21 | Parsound Halo A52+ | MIT Shotgun S3's | Dual SVS SB 4000 Ultras | Oppo UDP 203 | Directv Genie HD DVR | Samsung 75" Q8 QLED | PSAudio Stellar GCD | Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ | Lumin U1 Mini | HP Elite Slice PC | ROON'd for life |
ManCave: HT:Polk LSiM 706VR3 LSiM 703's LSiM 702's|| Marantz AV7002 AV PrePro Sunfire TGA-7401| Sony PS4 Pro| Sony PS4 Pro|SVS PB13 Ultra| Oppo UDP 203 | Music Hall MMF 5.3se TT w/ Soundsmith Carmen | Samsung 55" SUHD TV | Sony PS4
Patio | Polk Atrium 8's | Yamaha R-N303BL |
Office BlueSound Node| KEF LS50 | Peactree Nova 125SE |
Bedroom | Focal 905's | Chromecast Audio |
Garage | Polk Monitor 5B's
Closet Yamaha M80 | 2 Polk MP3K subs| Yaqin MC100B with Shuguang Treasures KT 88's & CV181Z's | Tesla E83CC's | Marantz 2252B | Marantz 2385 |Polk SDA SRS 2.3 | LSiM 705's | -
I don’t use the sub out on my P5, but the home theater bypass is a must. I don’t want to run totally separate systems.
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Then the PSA SGC Pre/DAC might be the ticket. It has one pair of XLR inputs and a pair of XLR outs as well.
You might say I'm a fan:
"This may not matter to you, but it does to me for various reasons, many of them illogical or irrational, but the vinyl hobby is not really logical or rational..." - member on Vinyl Engine
"Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to." - Cicero, in Gladiator
Regarding collectibles: "It's not who gets it. It's who gets stuck with it." - Jimmy Fallon -
It has ht bypass. You can choose one input to be set to unity gain. Yes, this means it needs to be on when using it for ht.
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There's even a button on the remote for toggling 'HT' on-and-off."This may not matter to you, but it does to me for various reasons, many of them illogical or irrational, but the vinyl hobby is not really logical or rational..." - member on Vinyl Engine
"Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to." - Cicero, in Gladiator
Regarding collectibles: "It's not who gets it. It's who gets stuck with it." - Jimmy Fallon -
Ah, thanks everyone. I didn’t see the dedicated input but it sounds more like there is a toggle that can bypass the volume control on the unit and then HT Bypass is done on whichever in put you like. It does seem like the right unit. Now, to hunt out a used one!
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PS Audio has a trade in program. IMHO, they give ridiculously high values for used gear. Might still do better on the used market, but it's worth looking into. What's going wonky with your P5? Parasound has a good track record of fixing out of warranty gear for free.
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Good info. The volume knob was a little noisy, but now half the time I have reduced output and distortion in one channel. Sometimes fiddling with the knob will help. It’s pretty minor but obviously a deal breaker. I know it would be cheap to fix, but right now nothing being open makes buying another unit super tempting.
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Is that volume pot serviceable...cleanable with DeOxit?"This may not matter to you, but it does to me for various reasons, many of them illogical or irrational, but the vinyl hobby is not really logical or rational..." - member on Vinyl Engine
"Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to." - Cicero, in Gladiator
Regarding collectibles: "It's not who gets it. It's who gets stuck with it." - Jimmy Fallon -
I have deoxit, I should probably open it up and see. Are some pots not serviceable? Is there a way to inspect that?
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Yeah, a visual would help, but someone here probably knows off the top of their head for that unit."This may not matter to you, but it does to me for various reasons, many of them illogical or irrational, but the vinyl hobby is not really logical or rational..." - member on Vinyl Engine
"Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to." - Cicero, in Gladiator
Regarding collectibles: "It's not who gets it. It's who gets stuck with it." - Jimmy Fallon -
The PSA SGCD is the upgraded route I'm going this fall! I can't wait to get my hands on one. Looking forward to your thoughts on it if you purchase one @swegyptian2ch rig: Speakers: Magnepan LRS w/Magna Riser stands Preamplifier: Parasound P5 Amplifier: Parasound A23 CDP: Pioneer DV-563A Cables: Wireworld Equinox 7 XLR ICs, Wireworld Ultraviolet 7 USB, AudioQuest Q2s, AudioQuest NRG X(preamp)
Standby: LSi9s with VR3's Fortress mods -
swegyptian wrote: »I have deoxit, I should probably open it up and see. Are some pots not serviceable? Is there a way to inspect that?
Take the knob off and spray the shaft. Turn it up/down. Repeat. Good luck.
Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
A more thorough servicing requires that the preamp's cover be removed, and then try to access ports on the volume potentiometer from the rear. Ok pervs, don't try to make this sexual.
Come on, Bud ... "up/down"(?) ... are we talking about old slider volume controls here?
"This may not matter to you, but it does to me for various reasons, many of them illogical or irrational, but the vinyl hobby is not really logical or rational..." - member on Vinyl Engine
"Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to." - Cicero, in Gladiator
Regarding collectibles: "It's not who gets it. It's who gets stuck with it." - Jimmy Fallon -
I meant volume up/down. That is left/right with the volume knob. Of course, have it turned off while doing this.
Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
This is a good thread as I'm in the same boat. I would like to compare DAC's as well as a preamp/DAC to my McCormack RLD-1 SA8005 combo. I've been looking at the PSA SGCD also.I know @joecoulson likes his P6 better than the Stellar GC Pre/DAC. I believe he said the bass management is what sold him in the end.
Interesting....was this for overall bass or specifically for subwoofer options?
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The Anthem is a bit pricier but is a very nice unit... and has bass management for 2 subs. Also has room correction.
https://www.anthemav.com/products-current/series=str-series/type=pre-amp/model=str-pre-amplifier/page=specsMy New Year's resolution is 3840 × 2160
Family Room| Marantz AV7704| Usher Dancer Mini - 2 DMD Mains |Usher Dancer Mini-x DMD's Surrounds | Usher BE-616 DMD Center | SVS Ultra Rear Surrounds | Parasound Halo A21 | Parsound Halo A52+ | MIT Shotgun S3's | Dual SVS SB 4000 Ultras | Oppo UDP 203 | Directv Genie HD DVR | Samsung 75" Q8 QLED | PSAudio Stellar GCD | Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ | Lumin U1 Mini | HP Elite Slice PC | ROON'd for life |
ManCave: HT:Polk LSiM 706VR3 LSiM 703's LSiM 702's|| Marantz AV7002 AV PrePro Sunfire TGA-7401| Sony PS4 Pro| Sony PS4 Pro|SVS PB13 Ultra| Oppo UDP 203 | Music Hall MMF 5.3se TT w/ Soundsmith Carmen | Samsung 55" SUHD TV | Sony PS4
Patio | Polk Atrium 8's | Yamaha R-N303BL |
Office BlueSound Node| KEF LS50 | Peactree Nova 125SE |
Bedroom | Focal 905's | Chromecast Audio |
Garage | Polk Monitor 5B's
Closet Yamaha M80 | 2 Polk MP3K subs| Yaqin MC100B with Shuguang Treasures KT 88's & CV181Z's | Tesla E83CC's | Marantz 2252B | Marantz 2385 |Polk SDA SRS 2.3 | LSiM 705's | -
Noisey volume pot is a common issue with the P5. That's one issue I know I've read about them fixing out of warranty. Shoot Parasound an email and see what they say. Most likely Richard Schram himself will answer it.
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^^ this, I had 2 pots put in my P5 before it was fixed.The best way to predict the future is to invent it.
It is imperative that we recognize that an opinion is not a fact. -
Thanks everyone, sounds like I’ll try Parasound next week and go from there!
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Oh, we're still here to help spend your money. But, a fully functional P5 will be easier to move to help you do that!
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Using the P5 and had the same volume pot issue some time ago. Parasound support was fantastic.Living Room
Parasound HINT 6, Yamaha Aventage RX-A 1060, Oppo 103D, Cambridge Audio Azur 851N, KLH Model 5s, Polk CSi A6, Samsung 65" LED
Office
Yamaha A-S501, Auralic Aries Mini, LSiM 703s
Douglas Connection ICs and Cables
