Parasound Halo

begbie · October 2002

Parasound has some awesome looking gear coming out called Halo (not the game). The tuner and 2-channel preamp goes for $850 and $800 respectively.
This is just the "3" series which is their entry level, there's still more to come plus the "2" and "1" series.
Anyone have any experience with Parasound ? Let's say compared to Rotel?

Parasound

begbie · October 2002

I'm already picturing a pair of Lsi9's next to them !:D

trubluluc · October 2002

Picture doesn't do them justice.

Should see them in a darkened room,
all buttons haloed with cool blue light.
Cool looking 2 channel rigs and affordable.
Heard somewhere their stuff comes with a 25 year (or something like it) warranty.

-Luc

jrausch · October 2002

10 year warranty, 5 full and 5 for labor. Bryston has one of the best for 20years full. I have their older line consisting of AVC2500u Pre/Pro and the HCA2205-AT 5/ch X220W. The equipment is very solid and the sound is some of the finest 2/ch and 5/ch I have heard for the money. Anthem makes a more up to date Pre/Pro and Amp section, but the extra cost put me out of that range.

mantis · October 2002

Parasound is a respected company in the industry.Rotel and Parasound is basically on the same level.

Comparing the 2 is personal choice and or needs of a given system.

I have very limited experience with Parasound, but the last demo I listened to there products ,I left with a couple of shallow opnions.......onely one demo so I need more to justify my comments.But nevertheless,I'll make em.

Parsound to me seems to be bright.It's fitiguing to listen to.I also noticed a 1 demensional sound, no depth or warmth.It did however have real good bass drive.But I need to hear Parasound more to say that........it's an incomplete demo as I never heard the speaker's they where driving before.

Rotel to me is my current choice in amp/pre combo's.I'm waiting to hear the new B&K avr507 before I lay my cash down and upgrade.I'm 99% sure I'm going Rotel, but I got to give the new B&K a listen and more so on my speakers before I deside.

Rotel is warm sounding with what seems limitless dynamic range.Good to better bass responce due to smooth calm responce.Detail and depth is very high.......silky if you will.I always think punch when I think Rotle.......man they got good drive..........

As as anything else, you have to sadisfy a need.Parasound might be that need or Rotel might do it .......who knows.The more I listen to seperates, the more I feel they all have a job to do.And the system they are going to be in they need to complete it.

jmasterj · October 2002

The guy I work with who got me back into this relentless pursuit
has the Parasound HCA 2205 with NHT 2.9's. It's really nice, only
problem is he just had a baby boy, and the wife won't let him play
it. Keeps asking him "could you turn it down a little" To top that
off his mother in law is living there to help with the baby. I was thinking of getting the 2205, but the Outlaw 755 came out 200x5
Think I'd have to go with that.

jrausch · October 2002

Here's a tip when listening to a Parsound Pre/Pro. The unit itself will adjust individually to each source that is hooked up to it. If you play a 2/ch CD in the DVD that it has been calibrated to, it will sound like crap. The speaker distance timings and reference levels will be way off and it will sound weak and 2 dimensional. Make sure the Demo has a separate DVD and CD hooked in and properly calibrated to each one. The nicest thing about the Pre/Pro is the automatic calibration via the supplied microphone. Just hold it up in your listening seat and it will send reference level tones out for volume levels @75db and distance tones for proper timings. No SPL meters are needed, it's all automatic. I'm sure most demo setups are geared toward the surround; have them calibrate the 2/ch setup if youre going to check that portion of it out. The 2/ch is the best I have heard from a Pre/Pro when properly setup. This unit was designed to give the best of both worlds, unfortunately most dealers do not have it properly setup for both sides.

George Grand · October 2002

Some of Parasound's EARLY products were designed by John Curl, a very respected designer. Very early on in his career, he designed Mark Levinson products.

I have a Parasound passive sub that I bought during the Gulf War. It employs two 5 1/4" inch drivers and is a real over-achiever.

A. Roma

TroyD · October 2002

On my last trip home, I demoed a Parasound amp and pre with a pair of KEF RDM1's. I thought that the rig sounded pretty swell to me. Now, as far as saying this amp sounds like this or that pre sounds like that, I take a lot of it with a grain of salt. Why? may you ask. Well, it's like this, I don't own any of that gear so I don't know, individually, what each piece plays in the puzzle. So, I would also conclude that it is difficult at best for someone to take an unfamiliar rig and analyze each component separately.

Now, if I was to bring, say, a pair of speakers or a pre home and plug that one piece into the 2ch rig, I can make a more educated (or as educated as I get) observation.

The Parasound rig had an EXTREMELY high cool factor though...

BDT

brettw22 · October 2002

I'm personally not so into 2 channel music exclusively, but they're supposed to be releasing their 7 channel pre/pro/amps in a few months. I called them and they indicated a late this year (Nov/Dec). They may have already come out. Anyone know?

I know that I asked them guestimate pricing and they indicated about $3000-4000 for each the pre/pro and the amp, which to me seemed pretty high.

jrausch · October 2002

I believe their new line will be the same quality as the classic line. The only differance will be an upgraded look with more features. I would like to hear their new JC1 monaural amp, 400/per side with an almost unlimited power reserves seems like a good deal @ $3000. I bought my Parasound combo from an authorized dealer who does exclusive custom home installs. My setup retails for $5500 and I paid $2950 with full warranty. He basically holds the stuff for a month or two and sells it at demo prices. That way Parasound is none the wiser that their product is being sold at a more wholesale price. I was looking at a Denon 5800 at the time and actually bought one and was unimpressed with the 2/ch. So I retured it and made a nice deal with this guy. I am still very happy with the way my system performs. He also sells Krell if I should have the extra cash.

gidrah · October 2002

Very sleek looking. I really like the sound of Parasound amps. The tuner on the other hand.......

I'm sure it's sweet, but dang. Unless it pics up AFKN and Aljazeera I don't see the need. Then again I like the old, weighted dial, no preset jobbies that can pull in everything possible.

jrausch · October 2002

When I first checked out the tuner section of my Pre/Pro I was amazed at how well it sounded. It was as good as cable TV digital audio. They truely have a broadcast referance tuner system.

gidrah · October 2002

What kind of antenna are you using?

jrausch · October 2002

The antenna was the factory unit. I had excellent reception out in California. My setup is now in a basement theater in Colorado. I 'm currently using a powered Terk to pull in the local stations from underground. I was thinking of purchasing a seperate tuner for my 2/ch setup upstairs. The $400 TDQ-1600 can be had for $250 from the dealer I buy from. Not a bad buy with a 10year warranty.

George Grand · October 2002

Excellent tuners are NOT being put into todays HT equipment. Older tuners that outperform the snot out of todays separates are:

Onkyo T-9090
Carver TX11a or b
Pioneer TX 9500 or 9800
Sansui TU-99

Look for those before purchasing newbies. Never know when there's one near you.

Also, any of Dick Sequerra's Magnum Dynalabs designs, or the McIntosh's.
Both will not come cheap. www.audioclassics.com is a wonderful source for these items. However, they are well versed on audio there, and things are priced accordingly. Their resident "tuner man" Richard Modafferri, is a legend in the tuner world. He MAY have been the man who designed the killer McIntosh MR-78.

George Grand (of the Jersey Grand's)

brettw22 · October 2002

Originally posted by George Grand
Excellent tuners are NOT being put into todays HT equipment. Older tuners that outperform the snot out of todays separates are:

Onkyo T-9090
Carver TX11a or b
Pioneer TX 9500 or 9800
Sansui TU-99

Pardon my ignorance, but what makes these old dial tuners any better than any of the newer ones? They all play radio stations, so if that's the only use ya have for the unit, what am i missing?

George Grand · October 2002

The ability to pull in and lock onto distant stations. The ability to reject stations that are near (on the dial) to the one you wish to listen to. They SOUND better.

To be sure, Magnum, McIntosh, etc. all STILL make tuners. They perform well. You will pay dearly for that performance. The lesser quality separates manufactured today, will probably cost you a lot more new than the good tuners of old.

For what it's worth, the Carver TX11's ARE digital tuners (20 yr old tuners to boot). In fact, they incorporate AM STEREO as well as FM stereo. Not an idea that caught on however. I have a Carver TX-11a sitting in my magic closet, purchased new in 1990. It is the best sounding and CLEANEST sounding tuner I have ever heard.

FM listening is almost a **** child or ugly sister in todays world, and is treated as such. This was not the case way back when, and manufacturers again, behaved accordingly.

It is understandable that most dispute, or cannot fathom that audio was as good in the old days as it is now. I have said many times in the past, on THIS forum, the only thing new under the sun audiowise, is digital. Find yourself an old, 60's vintage Fisher 500B or C receiver. Spin it around, and you will find rear channel RCA outputs, as well as a single "center fill" RCA output. All waiting to be connected to outboard power amps. Yes, the guys back then actually had an idea as to what they were doing.

Outboard COMPONENT LOOKING tv tuners were also available in the 70's. They were designed and manufactured to heighten the tv LISTENING experience. They pulled in tv signals, and allowed you to send the audio portion of those signals to your receiver, integrated amp, or preamp/power amp combo. Imagine that.

George Grand (of the Jersey Grand's)

TroyD · October 2002

Why George, are you trying to say that someone thought of surround sound before Dolby and George Lucas and his merry band of thieves came along?? :rolleyes:

Surely you jest!

BDT

jrausch · October 2002

With my impressions of Parasounds tuner section, I have to agree with this review of the HALO tuner. Nothing beats some of the old tuner sections, but for a matching component it does very well for itself.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_9_3/parasound-halo-t3-tuner-8-2002.html

Steve@3dai · October 2002

Unfotunately, the stations here in Austin suck. I've used my tuner like twice. Hell, I don't even have a radio in my car, just 30gigs of MP3s

yoeddy · October 2002

Mmmmmmmm....Parasound.

Sure love my 2205AT and my AVC2500U. Once it has over a hundred ours of use, warmth city. Wonder what LSi would sound like with it?

tonyv1 · October 2002

This happened at the 2002 CES:
Wilson Audio was auditioning their Sophia line ($11,900 a pair) of speakers.

"What you were listening to," beamed Mr. Wilson, "was not the $15,000/pair Spectrals. The amp was actually the Parasound under the table, which costs around the same as the sales tax on the Spectrals!"
The amp was the HCA-1000, $650 120W @ 8 ohms.

I own the HCA-1500A 205W @ 8 ohms. Love the way it drives my Maggies.

jrausch · October 2002

Wonder what LSi would sound like with it?

The 15's sound very clean and the imaging is solid. The AVC-2500U smooths out the CD audio really nice. The reinforced bass overkills them a little. If your thinking of using the Lsi's for movies, invest in a nice sub to finish out the low end. I have my 2.3TL 's running on the Parasound system right now and the 2205AT runs them with ample power.

Parasound Halo

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