parasound or emotiva

rjknbak
rjknbak Posts: 10
edited June 2008 in Electronics
I am looking at upgrading my current system. I have a pair of lsi 9 with a hsu vtf mk2 subwoofer. I am considering the Parasound 2250 amp and the 2100 pre amp orthe emotiva xpa-2 and rsp-2 when they come out. The price is comparable. Do any of you have any experience with either of these two or any other recommendations. I am replacing a NAD 372 that is only 2 yrs old. Thanks
Post edited by rjknbak on
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  • cfrizz
    cfrizz Posts: 13,415
    edited June 2008
    Welcome RJ. I had a Parasound 1500A a couple of years ago. It was my first taste of what real amplification can do for your speakers.

    I loved that amp & passed it onto my brother. You can't go wrong with a Parasound. I think either of your choices will work quite well.
    Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2
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  • SolidSqual
    SolidSqual Posts: 5,218
    edited June 2008
    If you have the money, the Halo series is quite nice. I used the Halo A23 on my old Rti8s and Lsi15s.
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  • billbillw
    billbillw Posts: 7,779
    edited June 2008
    That NAD you are currently using is no slouch. I personally don't think you would see much improvement going to the separates you mentioned. Now, if you were going to the Parasound Halo series, that's a different story.
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  • cfrizz
    cfrizz Posts: 13,415
    edited June 2008
    The only way to know for sure is for him to try out a more powerful amp.
    Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2
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  • pearsall001
    pearsall001 Posts: 5,326
    edited June 2008
    cfrizz wrote: »
    I loved that amp & passed it onto my brother. You can't go wrong with a Parasound. I think either of your choices will work quite well.

    Cathy, I'm so releaved that the amp passed on & not your brother!! Again! ;)

    Much better wording this time.
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  • rjknbak
    rjknbak Posts: 10
    edited June 2008
    Thanks for all the feed back. Does anybody else feel that an upgrade is not going to see any significant improvement? I would hate to drop $1500 and have everything sound similar to my current system. I thought an upgrade to seperates would make a great improvement to my system. Thanks for all the feedback. rj
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  • cfrizz
    cfrizz Posts: 13,415
    edited June 2008
    Going from a receiver/amp to a prepro/amp gave me another improvement in sound that was quite noticable. I will always have separates over a receiver from now on. To this day, the most significant improvement came from adding 200wpc of separate amplification with the Parasound.
    Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2
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  • Ethancf
    Ethancf Posts: 478
    edited June 2008
    Parasound fo sho.
    THE SYSTEM
    Polk Audio LSiM 707 Mains
    Polk LSiM 702 f/x Surrounds
    Polk Audio LSiM 706 C Center
    SVS SB-17 Ultra Subwoofer
    Rotel RSP-1582 Pre/Pro
    Rotel RMB 1585 Amplifier
    Oppo UDP-205 Blu-ray Player
    Samsung PN64D550 64" Plasma
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  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,728
    edited June 2008
    Can't go wrong either way
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  • rjknbak
    rjknbak Posts: 10
    edited June 2008
    thanks for the input frizz. I think I will give the parasounds a shot. thanks to everyone that put in there opinions. rj
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  • billbillw
    billbillw Posts: 7,779
    edited June 2008
    I'd say if you want to drop $1500 and get a noticeable improvement, buy used!

    I can tell you that for less than $1500, you could get into an older Parasound PLD-2000 and an HCA-2200ii and still have money left over for a nice CD player. The older Parasound stuff is much better built than the New Classic line. A nice older Rotel combo (RC-991/RB-991) would probably be better too.

    In general, a well built amp or preamp that is less than 15 years old should still be pretty much trouble free, of course, there are some exceptions, especially if it was a hot running amp.
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  • rjknbak
    rjknbak Posts: 10
    edited June 2008
    Thanks billbillw. I may have to keep my options open in that area. rj
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  • Early B.
    Early B. Posts: 7,900
    edited June 2008
    RJ --

    Look at the build quality of the XPA-2/RSP-2 vs. the 2250/2100. This may give you a rough idea of what to expect in terms of sound quality. The XPA-2 amp is supposed to weigh in at a whopping 75 lbs!
    HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50” LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub

    "God grooves with tubes."
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  • rjknbak
    rjknbak Posts: 10
    edited June 2008
    I thought of that earlyb. the emotiva xpa weighs 75 lbs to the parasound 2250 at 25 lbs. So what am I gaining with that 50 lbs if I go with the evotima's? There is a review on home theatre fidelity that compares them equal but the reviewer leaned towards the parasounds. I have considered warranty and being able to walk in to a local retailer as pluses for parasound. I suppose I could wait for the emotiva's and give them the 30 day trial. rj
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  • Early B.
    Early B. Posts: 7,900
    edited June 2008
    rjknbak wrote: »
    I thought of that earlyb. the emotiva xpa weighs 75 lbs to the parasound 2250 at 25 lbs. So what am I gaining with that 50 lbs if I go with the evotima's? There is a review on home theatre fidelity that compares them equal but the reviewer leaned towards the parasounds. I have considered warranty and being able to walk in to a local retailer as pluses for parasound. I suppose I could wait for the emotiva's and give them the 30 day trial. rj

    Since the XPA-2 is not available yet, there are no reviews on it yet. This amp will probably sound quite different from the Emotiva multi-channel products such as the XPA-5 or LPA-1. The XPA-2 should be available in a couple of weeks with free shipping. Give it a try. If you do, I doubt seriously that you'll be returning it.
    HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50” LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub

    "God grooves with tubes."
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  • xandra
    xandra Posts: 291
    edited June 2008
    WHOA - the Parasound is 43lbs. - not sure where you heard it was 25.
    I have the Parasound model you're looking at - it made quite a difference - but I've never owned any other amp so I've nothing to compare it with. Some plusses: helpful english speaking techies (1 walked me thru a hum). runs pretty cool. Liked some features I hadn't considered: high-pass filter, ability to trigger via audio input (nice since I was warry of powering on simultaneous with my Onk)

    Also be wary of some of the dimensions on their website: this baby is 6H x 17 1/4 and 18 5/8" deep (the depth includes handles on back - the body itself is 17 deep).
    LR Setup:
    Polk RTi10's, RTi6's, CSiA6 (5 ch setup)
    Onkyo 705 & Denon 3808ci Receiver, Onk 875
    Parasound 2250 Amp
    Sony 26" KDL series Bravia LCD
    Panny DMR-EH75 Recorder
    Panny DVD-F87 (5 disk DVD player)
    NAD T585 (DVD/SACD)
    Yamaha DVD-C961 (5 disk SACD/DVD)
    SciAnt Explorer 8500HD Cable Box
    Orig & 5Gen iPods, , Wii
    Plans/Fantasies:
    • 400 disk player that handles ALL formats, sounds as good as NAD with Panasonic interface & compatability.
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  • rjknbak
    rjknbak Posts: 10
    edited June 2008
    I read somewhere it was 25 lbs but 43 lbs does sound more realistic. thanks for all the inputs and I have some decisions to make.
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  • rjknbak
    rjknbak Posts: 10
    edited June 2008
    Looking into purchasing the Parasound Halo A23 amp and the P3 preamp. I can get them both for $1375. $125 less than the Parasound 2250 and 2100Anybody have any experience with these two ? Both have good reviews. Sorry to keep this post dragging on. I appreciate all of your input and is has helped thanks! rj
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  • mightymouse
    mightymouse Posts: 254
    edited June 2008
    I would get the Parasound Halo A21 instead of the A23. The A21 is a much beefier amp.
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  • malcolmp6
    malcolmp6 Posts: 70
    edited June 2008
    Would there be a mismatch in terms of SQ if I were to pair the emotiva XPA 5 with a parasound A21 for the fronts? I would use the XPA5 for the center and side/rear surrounds.
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