Parasound A21+
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joecoulson
Posts: 4,943
in Electronics
Good people of PF
Anyone had experience with this “+” version of the A21?
Thoughts?
Anyone had experience with this “+” version of the A21?
Thoughts?
Comments
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I heard that the Benchmark AHB2 is better.
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Lol. Thank You Drew for your input. However I asked if anyone had “experience” with this amp, not opinions...
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I'm going to reach out to my contact at Parasound to see if he can share any first hand listening impressions on the A21 vs the A21+ or about the A21+ in general.
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Thank You señor
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Oh, that’s right. We know someone who knows someone!
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Yes! Phil Jackson at Parasound is a class act, great guy.
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Guts:
Rear panel:
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Stunning
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That is an impressive build.
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Sold!
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And they said I was easy!
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If you have a chance to listen at a dealer see if they have a Parasound Zone Master 2350 on hand to compare. I had multiple listening sessions comparing tha A21+, A23+ & the ZM 2350. All were driving the incredible & I mean incredible KEF Reference 3 & Reference 5 speakers.
I own the KEF R3 monitors so I am very familiar with the KEF signature.
When all was said & done the ZM 2350 was the one I went home with.
It is a class D but with Parasounds analog stage. There in lies it's magic. Even the guys at Parasound will tell you that the ZM 2350 is a real sleeper in their line.
From what I understand the new A21+ & A23+ bring a lot more to the table than their predisesters.
As usual when it comes to all things in audio everyone's mileage will vary."2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up. -
Thanks for your feedback.
The part I’m interested in is the pure Class A- A/B as It gives me the best of both worlds.
Coming from Class D, I am familiar with that power. But I also have a P6 pre. So that’s only going to add to the synergy -
FWIW, The Binding Posts on the later Halo Series are the best I've had experienced. Large Spade connectors slip into a 'slot' on the bottom edge of the Posts. The Spades are held in place by the Posts with no lateral movement, they lock in SOLID.
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Just buy the JC5 and be done. I still regret not buying the HCA 3500 here when I had a chance. That for me is the one that got away.
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I have an A21 driving my 1C’s ....
Love it !
I also have used it with my Salks, and its fantastic there as well .
I’m sure the + version is even better , but not sure you’d hear the difference - it’s basically the same amp internally with 50 more watts.
Output current remains the same at 60 amperes.
Filter caps go from 100,000 to 108,000 , although their website says 88 to 108 - but the 88 is the earlier A21’s - the later ones had 100.
Bk
Dayens Ampino , Yamaha wxc-50 , Polk SDA 1c’s ( my first love .. ) , Kimber Kable 4TC, Sony 42” - BEDROOM
B&K EX-442 ( it will go in my casket when I die ... ) , PS Audio 4.6 preamp ( old school , but it still jams on ... ) , Eversolo DMP-A6 , Boston Acoustic voyager 7’s - POOL
Parasound A21, Eversolo DMP-A8 , Yamaha wxc-50 , Kimber Kable 4vs , Salk Supercharged Song towers ( difficult choice between these and my family if I had to choose ... 😩 ) , Sony XBR-A8F 65” OLED - DEN , MAIN RIG
PS Audio S300 - sitting in the closet for now …
Onkyo TX-nr609 , Polk atrium 7 , Boston acoustic sound ware (4) , Boston acoustic sub , B&W center , Sharp 65” TV - PATIO -
Looking forward to it.
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@pitdogg2,
I remembered seeing this HCA-3500 on US Audio Mart a few days ago, and here it is below. When I saw the listing, I looked at the details because I had never seen one. How does the price on this one compare to the one you let slip through your hands?
All of these Parasound amps are impressive, and I am sure Joe will like his new one.
https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649652705-parasound-hca-3500-amplifier-the-holy-grail-2-x-350-wpc-8-into-ohms-john-curl-design/
"Sometimes you have to look to the past to understand where you are going in the future"
Harry / Marietta GA -
I used to see those HCA-3500s often being sold for around $1K to $1.5K more than ten years ago. The two power cord thing is pretty cool.
They are old enough now they may need some fine tuning inside. -
Yep Emlyn is in the park. The US audio mart is a bit high unless its been recapped.
IIRC it was Doros and he wanted less than 1500.00. They are actually basically a first generation JC amp. -
So the eagle has landed.
Plugged in and started the break in process.
I do like what I am hearing. Especially at lower levels.
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!!! Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them. -
I will leave my review for after break in
As far as how the thing looks and the tech, outstanding!
Built like a tank and very clean finishes.
Here are some outside shots:
The inside is just as beautiful, popped the top (as most of you know I am prone to do) and took some guts pix
And one last one for reference. That transformer is massive. Taller than it is wide.
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What gauge is that wire, I'm assuming it's the output wire, is it 10 gauge?
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Not sure
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These?
Those are running from the input/pre board to the main board. Looks more like 14ga to me.
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The camera must add 10 lbs then, they looked thicker in the picture. Nice amp.
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I've thought about asking Parasound for a JC5 to review, but I don't want a herniated disc from trying to put it on top of my rack.
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I've thought about asking Parasound for a JC5 to review, but I don't want a herniated disc from trying to put it on top of my rack.
Leave it on the floor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN2JlLKMqVA
