Parasound 855A ..Any thoughts?

gshisme

I've been looking for a used 5 channel amp for some time now and came across a 855A. Question is, would there be a big improvement over the H/K 320 receiver's 55 high current per channel? The Parasound is high current 85 per channel. My speakers are RT55i's, 800i's and a 400i center. I sometimes worry that I am pushing the H/K just a little too hard and am losing some tonal quality not to mention the worry of damaging the speakers..although I have yet to 'clip' the H/K.

Any thoughts on this?

Greg

tonyv1

I remember reading a review in S&V that the Parasound HCA-855A outperformed the amp section of a Denon AVR-5700 (that was their big boy then). I think it was in 2001, the same year I got a Parasound HCA-1500A and P/HP 850 for my stereo only rig.

gshisme

I've found that there are three models. the 855, 855A, and a 855a(x). Forgot the last suffix but makes me wonder why the suffixs'. Were they fixes or just uprades. Just curious, as these amps seem to pop up on a regular basis on some websites.

steveinaz

(A) indicates that the amp has a 12v trigger connection. Don't know what "x" means....