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Parasound Amps

AVSCraig

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Parasound Amps
« on: January 16, 2019, 01:02:11 PM »
I thought I should start a Parasound owners thread here. I currently have one Parasound amp -
a new Parasound New Classic 275 v.2, 90 w x 2 Class AB Amplifier. Bridged for use with the center channel
( 200 watts / 4 ohm ).


It's a heavy little beast !
« Last Edit: January 16, 2019, 02:24:04 PM by AVSCraig »
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Re: Parasound Amps
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2019, 01:08:34 PM »
New Classic 275 v.2 amp -

Power Output - (RMS power, 20 Hz - 20 kHz)
All Channels Driven
90 watts x 2, 8Ω
150 watts x 2, 4Ω
150 watts x 2, 2Ω (Load switch set to 2-3Ω)

Bridged Mono
200 watts x 1, 8Ω
200 watts x 1, 4Ω (Load switch set to 2-3Ω)

Build quality is excellent. This amp runs very cool in my set up ! 
« Last Edit: January 16, 2019, 02:24:22 PM by AVSCraig »
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Re: Parasound Amps
« Reply #2 on: January 18, 2019, 05:05:44 PM »
I just got a Halo A 52+ Five Channel Power Amplifier delivered. Man, this thing is a beast. 58 lbs. of amp !

180 watts RMS x 5 @ 8 Ω
255 watts RMS x 5 @ 4 Ω
225 watts RMS x 2 @ 8 Ω
350 watts RMS x 2 @ 4 Ω

The box it comes in is massive.  :-X
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Re: Parasound Amps
« Reply #3 on: January 18, 2019, 05:14:38 PM »
Really nicely finished. Did I mention it's heavy ? 
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Re: Parasound Amps
« Reply #4 on: January 25, 2019, 01:11:54 PM »
I have been testing out my Parasound A 52+ for about a week in my home theater. I have a Denon X8500 running 13 Martin Logan 4 ohm Motion speakers ( 2 Motion 40’s, 1 Motion SLM XL center speaker, 4 Motion FX surrounds, 2 Motion LX16 wide channel speakers, 4 Motion 4 height speakers, and 4 SVS subwoofers ). I have been running my Motion 40's with an Emotiva XPA 200 I've had since the Denon 4520 days. Now I'm using the A 52+ to run the L / C / R and wide channel speakers, and letting the X8500 run the heights and surrounds. The difference last night watching the Mission: Impossible – Fallout 4K Blu-ray ( excellent Atmos sound track by the way ) was noticed by all my guests. The extra headroom just seems to give a cleaner, less fatiguing sound. Even cranked to 78 on my Denon ( which is pretty loud in my theater ). So far I think the A 52+ is the perfect compliment for my receiver. I also installed AC Infinity Aircom T10 cooling fans, and the amp and X8500 never got much over 80 degrees, even after 2 1/2 hours of " Fallout " 13 channels of Atmos audio hammerfest !

This is a great amp ! I think I can stop upgrading stuff in my theater for a while now !  ;)
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Re: Parasound Amps
« Reply #5 on: April 22, 2019, 02:21:15 AM »
I know Parasound has a great rep for amps and came close to buying one at least a couple of times. Ironically I've owned 2 Parasound pieces but both were preamps. One was only briefly - the AVC-1800 pre-pro from circa 2000. The other was for a 2 channel setup, the Halo P3. I unfortunately had to ditch the P3 after getting married and losing my 2 channel room. (Fortunately a few years and new house later, that's been rectified!)

PS. The P3 was purchased from none other than AVS.

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Re: Parasound Amps
« Reply #6 on: April 22, 2019, 11:14:57 AM »
The combination of the  X8500 and the Parasound A 52 has been awesome over the last few weeks ! :) It more than enough power in my room. 
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Re: Parasound Amps
« Reply #7 on: May 16, 2019, 01:10:20 AM »
I owned a Parasound Halo A21 and A51 for many years. I'd love to try their new A21+ and A51+ amps. In my opinion Parasound makes the absolute best sounding and best built amps for the price. They're nearly impossible to beat at their respective price points.

Even though I bought my amps used, Parasound's founder Richard Schramm answered all of my questions via email as if I were buying new and got back to me within hours on a Saturday. Where else can you find this kind of customer service now-a-days?
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Re: Parasound Amps
« Reply #8 on: May 16, 2019, 10:09:47 AM »
Parasound amps are outstanding. I had and A51 and A21 for a time, but in the summer they put off way too much heat in my room (Northern California gets quite hot). I ended up switching to ATI's digital amps (NCore) and they do an amazing job as well, but don't put off nearly as much heat. In fact, they rarely get to 100 degrees where the A51 and A21 would go north of 120 degrees. 
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AVSCraig

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Re: Parasound Amps
« Reply #9 on: May 16, 2019, 11:32:46 AM »
Parasound amps are outstanding. I had and A51 and A21 for a time, but in the summer they put off way too much heat in my room (Northern California gets quite hot). I ended up switching to ATI's digital amps (NCore) and they do an amazing job as well, but don't put off nearly as much heat. In fact, they rarely get to 100 degrees where the A51 and A21 would go north of 120 degrees.
I have an AC Infinity Aircom T8 cooling fan on my A51+ amp, and so far I have never seen it over 88 degrees, even after watching a movie like " Ready Player One " cranked to reference + 3 for 2 hours. I'll re - test it over the summer, although obviously we always have the AC on during the heat. It's the same temp as the Denon X8500 is ( which also has an AC Infinity T8 cooling fan ). Maybe these newer amps run cooler. Or, maybe my rack is better ventilated. Or, maybe I have way more power for my speakers now than I really need. :-X

I'll check the temperature tonight after watching " Black Hawk Down " in 4K at reference +3 ! That soundtrack is an ass kicker ! 8)

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Re: Parasound Amps
« Reply #10 on: May 16, 2019, 12:13:51 PM »
I have an AC Infinity Aircom T8 cooling fan on my A51+ amp, and so far I have never seen it over 88 degrees, even after watching a movie like " Ready Player One " cranked to reference + 3 for 2 hours. I'll re - test it over the summer, although obviously we always have the AC on during the heat. It's the same temp as the Denon X8500 is ( which also has an AC Infinity T8 cooling fan ). Maybe these newer amps run cooler. Or, maybe my rack is better ventilated. Or, maybe I have way more power for my speakers now than I really need. :-X

I'll check the temperature tonight after watching " Black Hawk Down " in 4K at reference +3 ! That soundtrack is an ass kicker ! 8)
Craig, my amps were in an enclosed custom built rack that went into a wall space. I did add fans, which helped keep the amps cooler, but they warmed up the room by blowing the hot air out :)
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AVSCraig

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Re: Parasound Amps
« Reply #11 on: May 16, 2019, 12:27:10 PM »
Craig, my amps were in an enclosed custom built rack that went into a wall space. I did add fans, which helped keep the amps cooler, but they warmed up the room by blowing the hot air out :)
My RS4500 doesn't even warm my room up. But, I have 12' tall ceilings, a ceiling fan, and my theater is 388 square feet ( excluding the projector closet )  and about 3547 cubic feet. With the AC on, it would take a lot to warm the room up much. Plus, I vent the projector hot air right out of the separate closet, which helps.

Our house is all 2 x 6 construction, heavily insulated, and stays about as cool as possible, even in summer. 
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AVSCraig

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Re: Parasound Amps
« Reply #12 on: May 16, 2019, 12:31:13 PM »
Still, the temp. on the T8 has never hit 90 degrees, so for some reason my system runs cool. Maybe it's the Martin Logan speakers and 4 SVS subs ? 
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Re: Parasound Amps
« Reply #13 on: May 16, 2019, 01:30:55 PM »
Parasound amps are outstanding. I had and A51 and A21 for a time, but in the summer they put off way too much heat in my room (Northern California gets quite hot). I ended up switching to ATI's digital amps (NCore) and they do an amazing job as well, but don't put off nearly as much heat. In fact, they rarely get to 100 degrees where the A51 and A21 would go north of 120 degrees.
Yeah, I know how you feel. Right now I'm using a Nelson Pass designed First Watt J2 amplifier. It's pure class A and runs HOT. In my small office/listening room it can make the room nice and toasty. I'm also reviewing the Schiit Freya pre-amp at the moment and this thing runs even hotter! It's the tube gain stage that creates most of the heat. Luckily it's still spring and nights are cool. The combination of these two in the summer would be too much.
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AVSCraig

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Re: Parasound Amps
« Reply #14 on: May 16, 2019, 01:48:57 PM »
So far the largest generator of heat in my theater would be having 8 people in there ! 
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