– A.D. 1611 (2007) album. There was a problem. “One such being the inclusion of completely independent preamps for MM and MC cartridges… an approach that enabled us to optimise sound quality specifically for each input individually, rather than having to make a compromise to satisfy to competing requirements within a single preamp. Parasound really hit a home run with the 275.v2 stereo amplifier! Gold-plated RCA input jacks ensure quality sound playback. 7: December 2020, A COLLECTION OF NEW VINYL FOR THE AUDIOPHILE: DECEMBER 2020, What We’re Listening To. Amazing performances by all concerned. As for the reason for adding yet another phono preamplifier to the Parasound product portfolio, Schram says it was the result of a thought exercise. One or both indicator lights will not light up if there is fault in the system. It is on kind loan from a member. I have it bridged @ 400w and it does the job. But, at … Please deactivate your ad blocker in order to see our subscription offer, We check over 130 million products every day for the best prices, (Image credit: Australian Hi-Fi magazine), The best phono preamps available: budget to high-end, We've compared the best record players on offer, Harman Kardon brings 3D spatial audio and live music concerts to your car, Sony launches new 360 Reality Audio wireless speakers and video streaming service, Mercedes MBUX Hyperscreen is a giant 56-inch OLED 'in-car cinema'. This is a review and detailed measurements of Parasound Zdac v.2 DAC and headphone amplifier. It was of no surprise that the A23+ amplifier could drive the Revel Ultima Studio speakers with ease. We guess Schram’s approach has merit if you’re one of those audiophiles who constantly swaps phono cartridges in and out, but even if you are, it’s still only around 5 minutes out of your life each time you swap, which is hardly the end of the world. Overall, the A23+ amplifier brings a lot of value to the table that easily justifies its $1595 price tag. Build quality of the Parasound A 21+ is mighty impressive and handsome enough to fit into most décors. “I was thinking what would a vinyl lover without a large budget appreciate and perhaps salivate over?” he said. And despite what the purists say, on occasion, for example when playing a poorly engineered recording, they can be useful. < 0.03 % at typical listening levels, Input Sensitivity for 28.28 V Out (8 Ω Load), > 112 dB, input shorted, IHF A-weighted Although his field of expertise is in aerospace control systems as exemplified by more than 80 technical articles in various aerospace-related journals and conferences, his passion is always in hi-fi audio reproduction. If Ortofon had been specific and recommended a load impedance of, say, 63Ω, anyone whose phono pre-amp did not offer this exact value might seriously consider not buying the cartridge. 110-125 VAC 60 Hz or 220-250 VAC 50 Hz (set on rear panel), Parasound, Power Amplifier, Stereo, Amplifier, Parasound A23+ Stereo, Power Amplifier Review 2020. The amplifier seemed to present music in high definition with no blurred boundaries among its musical elements. The portrayal of the instruments in the track as to their own locations in the musical stage were clear and unambiguous. The good news is that you can do all this with the Parasound Zphono XRM. Dandy Hydraulic LP Cleaning Apparatus MKII, PreSonus Eris E3.5 Powered Speakers Review, Still Blown Away After All These Years: JBL Launches 75
th Anniversary Edition of L100 Loudspeaker, Solidly constructed and good-looking amplifier, Balanced sonic characteristics with good presentation of musical details, Composed sounding amplifier that does everything well, Stylish appearance and very good build quality, Sufficiently powerful amplifier to drive most speakers, Gain control and signal pass-through features. The track Black Tears from the album Life Love Flesh Blood (2017) by Imelda May has been my favorite of late to evaluate the sense of space, imaging, and soundstage. The A23+ did a good job in this test, creating believable soundstage that extended beyond the plane between the speakers. A primary consideration with any low-output moving-coil cartridge is to maximise its output voltage. Parasound products are known to be well built and bring a lot of bang for the buck. 20 Hz – 20 kHz, +0/-0.25 dB, < 0.06 % at full power Sonic presentation seems well balanced across the audible frequency spectrum with extended treble and punchy bass. It also revealed the delicate sound of the ukulele on the intro to One Night in the Sun. Even in the softer passages, the A23+ did not lose its grip in presenting the details in the music. With all due respect to Schram, we can’t quite see what’s so hard about extracting four screws, removing a lid, setting a DIP switch (or two) and then replacing both lid and screws, because for most audiophiles, this would be a one-time only process, so once it was done, it would stay done and never need to be done again. The A23+ is definitely a very capable amplifier that seems to do everything well. Have the P5 pre and the sound is sweet. Does this new amplifier offer the quality and value in line with Parasound’s reputation? But could the Parasound Zphono XRM handle total sonic mayhem? Newport Test Labs measured the signal-to-noise ratios of the Zphono XRM using that input voltage which resulted in a 2V output on the highest gain settings for both MM and MC inputs and, as you can see, the Zphono delivered outstanding S/N results of 95dB A-weighted for its MM input and 81dB A-weighted for its MC input. No problems, the Parasound Zphono XRM can provide this. For a start, it’s quiet, so the lovely fade-in intro to Dreamcatcher, along with the crisp picking, was revealed perfectly. As it happens, we regularly use two completely different turntables. 300 watts x 2, 4 Ω both channels driven, 500 watts x 1, 8 Ω Let’s look first at the front panel. While the A23+ may not be the best in every respect, it can deliver well above average in all aspects of the sonic performance. Then, later on, those hand-claps sounded so real via the Zphono XRM. Which would you choose and why? The overall tonal balance of the A23+ was particularly good with no obvious emphasis on certain frequency ranges. You get a switchable phono stage, a headphone output and even tone controls. The Auralic Aries G1 streamer (streaming Qobuz and Tidal) and PS Audio PerfectWave Transport were the primary signal sources during the review with the digital-to-analog signal conversion performed by the PS Audio PerfectWave DAC II. There wasn’t too much difference though, so we agonised throughout the review, and ended up switching back and forth quite often and, with some LPs, actually preferred the 60dB setting. It is a one-box solution that contains both the Halo P6 preamp ($1,499) and the Halo A23+ amplifier($1,499). Then there’s the fact that many LPs contain sub-audible – or in the case of many London Decca LPs, audible! (Remember, however, that your tonearm/turntable leads will also affect the so-called ‘best’ setting of this control. As for that rumble filter, it’s probably mis-named, because in 2020, We’d sincerely hope that no self-respecting audiophile would be using a turntable that produced any audible ‘rumble’. 160 watts x 2, 8 Ω both channels driven It was like looking at a picture with clear lines around the borders of the objects in the picture. So, when the opportunity to review a Parasound product was presented to me, I immediately accepted it as I was quite interested to check out whether the company’s tradition of offering high quality and high value products continues. Listen to Knochentanz and you’ll hear first the sangari, but after some time (OK, after long time… it’s a long track) Khan himself starts singing and the effect, which is totally eerie, was delivered astoundingly well by the Parasound. Whether this is good or bad depends on your taste. The A 21 amplifier is loaded with usable features above and beyond most other amplifiers. And of course if your cartridge falls firmly into one or the other of the ‘high output’ or ‘low output’ camps, you won’t need to give this issue a second thought. This amplifier is well built and looks stylish with its gold accent lines and lettering. The new Zphono XRM phono preamp is a co-design that involved Parasound’s owner and founder, Richard Schram, and two other engineers he’s worked with for some years. Parasound Zphono XRM review A compact phono preamp with powerful performance Tested at £699 / $599 / AU$1249. As I said at the beginning of this review, now is a good time to be an audiophile. Two small indicator lights in the lower middle of the faceplate will also illuminate blue when the amplifier is in normal operation. Our magazine, which began with the publication of the SECRETS Primer, is available exclusively on-line and offers to our readers an extensive information resource about home theater and high-end audio. When turned on, it will glow red for a few seconds before turning blue in steady operation. At the same time, channel balance was an equally outstanding 0.013dB at this same frequency. In general, the sonic attributes of the A23+ score highly in my scorecard. Also, the A23+ presented the music with a sense of tightness, with quick transients and nimble attacks. The HALO A23+ stereo power amplifier that is reviewed here is the updated version of the HALO A23 amplifier. PARASOUND A23+ STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER SPECIFICATIONS, © Copyright 2021 Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity /, Show Reports, Film Festivals and Concerts, McIntosh C2700 2-Channel Vacuum Tube Preamplifier and MC462 Power Amplifier Review, Bluesound Powernode 2i Wireless Streaming Amplifier and Pulse Flex 2i Wireless Streaming Speaker Review, PS Audio Stellar Strata Integrated Amplifier Review, McIntosh MX170 Surround Sound Processor and MC257 7-Channel Power Amplifier Review, Sonus Faber Electa Amator III Speaker Review, What We Are Watching Vol. During the review, I got the sense that the Parasound A23+ was always in control of the music played through it. Vol.12 – December 2020, “The Future of Audio Shows” Cartoon by Carlo Lo Raso, Setting Up a Bryston BDA-3.14 Streaming DAC and Qobuz Streaming Service – A How-to Series, Part 2, Setting Up an AURALiC ARIES G1 Streamer and Qobuz Streaming Service – A How-to Series, Part 1, DCI-P3 Color – What It Means in Today’s Ultra HD World, AVR-Audio Video Reciever-Build Quality: Part V. Does Your Projector Display Accurate Color, and Why Is That Important? You will receive a verification email shortly. The result for the MM input bested Parasound’s own specification of 94dB, while Newport Test Labs’ measurement for the MC input was only a single dB below Parasound’s specification of 82dB. The company has been known for its no-nonsense audio products with prices that do not go into stratospheric levels. The Parasound Zphono XRM does everything you could possibly want a phono preamplifier to do – both sonically and electronically – magnificently well. Starke Sound claims that the AD4.320 combines the high efficiency of Class D circuitry with the warmer and more accurate sound of Class AB designs. The Parasound Zamp V3 is not the kind of product you might expect to see on a Head-Fi review. They celebrate their 40 th year, next year, in 2021. He wanted the XRM to offer versatility and convenience and thought that the design should be informed by viewing it through the eyes of a vinyl enthusiast rather than an engineer. Just in case you own an Ortofon Cadenza Blue and you’re looking for a load recommendation, we thought ours sounded best with the Zphono XRM’s input impedance knob set to just a tad over 150Ω. The ‘best’ turntable is fitted with an Ortofon Cadenza Blue moving-coil cartridge (which does not have a removable stylus) while the ‘second-best’ is fitted with a middling-quality Audio-Technica moving-magnet cartridge (which does). Yongki considers himself as an aerospace engineer by day and an audio/home-theater enthusiast by night. The A23+ has improved components and can deliver 28% more power than its predecessor. This indicates that the A23 amplifier was well designed and stayed relevant for so long in the audio world, which is impressive! Probably not. 4 Distinct Product Lines. The HALO A23+ stereo power amplifier is Parasound’s most recent iteration of its popular HALO A23 amplifier. Though I had inquired of Parasound's Director of Sales, Phil Jackson, back in late 2018 as to my doing a review whenever the reimagined JC 1 might make its way back into the Parasound roster, when the January 16, 2020 Press Release landed in my inbox, I immediately requested a listen! If Ortofon had specified a value of 63Ω, this would not have been a problem if you owned a Zphono XRM, because you could have dialled in this exact value using the rear panel load impedance selector! Simple is good. Parasound’s tradition of offering good quality and high value audio components continues in the A23+ amplifier. Both single-ended and balanced inputs are provided together with toggles to select which inputs are being used. By honest, I mean, the A23+ would not add lushness to the vocals or smoothness to the midrange like how some other amplifiers would. Parasound also redesigned the input board layout of the A23+ to improve the cross-channel crosstalk (70 dB vs 63 dB at 20 kHz). The JC 1 was powerful, at 400 watts RMS into 8 Ohms. – A.D. 1611”. Thank you for signing up to What Hi-Fi?. Natural, effortless, quick, accurate, honest sound. Bath The A23+ also has 35% more filter capacitance (54,400 µF vs 40,000 µF), which is said to improve the dynamics and short-term power. This review and test originally appeared in Australian Hi-Fi magazine, one of What Hi-Fi?’s sister titles from Down Under. Turn it up loud! But one problem with this setting is that it assumes there is zero radio-frequency interference, which is rarely the case if you live in a city. The A23+ might look lean and rather petite in the power-amplifier world, but it showed no sign of struggle at all in navigating the Ultima Studio through the soft and loud musical passages in a dynamic track such as Hopper Dance by Empire Brass Quintet from their Passage: 138 B.C. Obviously, this approach also meant we could accommodate two turntables or a turntable with two tonearms.”. Overall, the Parasound NewClassic 200 integrated amplifier is a good looking product. The product in this review, the A23+ stereo power amplifier, is the smallest (both in size and Watts) amplifier from the current Parasound HALO line of products. Side note - while there's no problem finding reviews on Parasound amps, I looked long and hard and couldn't find even a hint of a real review on one of the Emotiva DR models - and they've been out for a while now. Gone also from the front panel of the A23+ is the THX certification stamp. However the switch can be used when you play stereo LPs because although the sound will end up mono, it can help reduce surface noise and, weirdly enough, eliminate the weird ‘phasing’ effects that can sometimes occur when you’re playing well-worn LPs. I bought it on sale which helped my decision. > 107 dB, input shorted, unweighted, 17-1/4″ (437 mm) W x 15″-1/4″ (388 mm) D x 4-1/8″ (105 mm) H (with feet), 800 Watts A 10mV input at the MM input will result in a healthy 1-volt output using the 50dB gain setting and 3-volts using the 60dB setting. The bass that the amplifier produced through the Ultima Studio might not be the most extended that I have ever listened to, but it sounded punchy with sufficient impact. The A23+ no longer has the red LED with ‘P’ logo on the front plate like the A23. This means that the minimum load impedance for the Cadenza has to be 50Ω. We were wrong. ), As luck would have it, we also had problems choosing which gain setting we should use – 50dB or 60dB – because the Ortofon Cadenza Blue’s output (which the specifications say is 0.5mV at 1kHz at a recorded velocity of 5 cm/sec) is right on the cusp of choices… at least it is according to Parasound, which recommends that you use the 60dB setting ‘for low output moving coil cartridges whose output is less than 0.5mV’ and the 50dB setting ‘for high output moving coil cartridges.’. Best sound quality is usually achieved with twice the minimum load impedance, which in this case would be 100Ω. The Parasound name is also found on the top-middle of the faceplate right above the display in a darker gold ink, in contrast with the all-black design, which looks nice. Because of this, we would have found it slightly more convenient if the gain switch had been on the front panel rather than on the rear. And if MA is a bit too house for you, play what I followed up with… anything by Coldplay… or, preferably, everything by Coldplay. It’s likely that another reason for the introduction of the Zphono XRM was to plug the yawning gap in the Parasound’s product line-up between its entry-level Zphono phono preamplifier and its award-winning Halo JC 3 Jr phono preamp. Parasound may have been thinking along these lines when they engaged the well-known amplifier designer John Curl to create their new five-channel amp, the Halo A 52+ ($2,995). Parasound’s Halo A 31 might get overlooked because it’s a three-channel amplifier designed primarily for use in multichannel home-theater systems -- or because, at $3295, it costs more than a budget multichannel amplifier, if less than what many audiophiles would pay for a two-channel amp. It is interesting that the Parasound Zphono XRM does not have a standby power feature, but on this device it would have added quite a bit of cost and increased circuit noise, plus made it difficult to meet the regulatory requirements of the different countries in which it would be sold, so I can understand why Parasound chose not to include one. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. Parasound does not seek THX certification for the A23+, which is not a big deal and not something that I would care about when shopping for an audio amplifier. The Zphono XRM provides both unbalanced (via gold-plated RCA sockets) and balanced (via gold-plated XLRs) outputs. Given that famous amplifier designer John Curl does so much work for Parasound, we mistakenly assumed he must have been responsible for the company’s latest phono preamplifier, the Zphono XRM. Despite a cramped rear panel and relatively plain design, the Zphono XRM packs in all the high-end performance, power and functionality you could ever want from a phono preamp. The front panel of the A23+ sports an on-off button with illumination surrounding it. Typical to Parasound amplifiers, the amplification gain for each channel can be adjusted using the gain-level knobs provided. Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Visit our corporate site. A 2mV input at the MC input, using the 60dB gain setting, results in 1.5V at the unbalanced output (3V at the balanced output). To improve signal path and consistency over time, the A23+ also utilizes updated heavy-duty speaker terminals and internal gold-on-gold audio connections. While their focus was clearly on sound and build quality rather than a long list of features, they’ve nonetheless provided enough flexibility to satisfy a variety of users. You can see that if there is any second harmonic distortion, it’s buried down in the noise floor at -100dB (0.001% THD), and the same goes for any third harmonic component (-110dB/0.0003%) or fourth (-115dB/0.0001%). The album we played (Everything Sacred) is a few years old now, but we still think it’s one of their best. During the review, I got the sense that the Parasound A23+ was always in control of the music played through it. Two sets of five-way speaker binding posts are available for speaker connection. This review will look at the more conventional, yet equally impressive, design from Parasound. (The small glitches in the response at 50Hz and 150Hz are due to some mains hum creeping into the measurement and should be ignored.). Remember, however, that your tonearm/turntable leads will also illuminate blue when the amplifier ’ s sister titles down. With the 275.v2 stereo amplifier stayed relevant for so long in the Hi-Fi world, Parasound invokes several in. 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