Parasound New Classic Range: Any owners here?
- Thread starter raghupb
- Start date
It was wonderful meeting you finally after months of trying and what a day to meet when the parasound preamp came home.
It surely is a big improvement over the Marantz+Schiit Modi combination. The way the highs opened up and that control over the low end. Seriously amazing. Got to plan another visit, a longer one.
MaSh
Sure @MaSh
It is like coming to another city for you commute wise.
Next time take the Metro. We can plan beer and music
Cheers,
Raghu
Sure @MaSh
It is like coming to another city for you commute wise.
Next time take the Metro. We can plan beer and music
Cheers,
Raghu
Haha it sure was. It surely looks like a different city that side, it's so green and beautiful that side.
MaSh
Thanks, my current setup is 6012 and r3, was thinking to add emotiva a300 or outlaw. Will surely think about parasond, do you have any idea about Indian pricing of parasound?
Not really @lalit09. I spoke to only one dealer based in Bangalore.
They only carry the premium line Halo. But can procure other lines too on order
The markup from US MRP was 55%. So it was a non starter for me.
Cheers,
Raghu
It's very sad almost all hifi product is hugely overpriced in India.
If choosing 1U or even 2U units, they are light enough to be carried in suitcase.
My friend brought the preamp unit wrapped in jeans and towels. It was only 5 Kgs.
ZoneMaster 2350 is about 7Kgs, 2U (oodles of power Class D amp)
NC 275 v2 is about 9Kgs, 1U (respectable 90Wpc, peak current 20A for a class A/B, 2 ohm stable)
Scout around to find family or friends to lug it for you, if possible.
These days I hear customs at airport don't even bother.
Cheers,
Raghu
My friend brought the preamp unit wrapped in jeans and towels. It was only 5 Kgs.
ZoneMaster 2350 is about 7Kgs, 2U (oodles of power Class D amp)
NC 275 v2 is about 9Kgs, 1U (respectable 90Wpc, peak current 20A for a class A/B, 2 ohm stable)
Scout around to find family or friends to lug it for you, if possible.
These days I hear customs at airport don't even bother.
Cheers,
Raghu
What would be ur call between newclassic 2125 v2 and 2350 zonemaster and emotiva a300.
The correct comparison would be Parasound 2125 v2 vs Emotiva A300. Both are class A/B amps.
I have not heard Emotiva products. I have heard Parasound amps 20 years ago, not the newer models.
Emotiva is a well respected player in affordable amps and they have India presence.
On paper, the 35 Amp peak current and 2 ohm stable claim from Parasound will win me.
That is how I read specs; more info the better; makes it easier to do blind buys.
About sound signature, it is anyone's guess.
Cheers,
Raghu
Thanks mate.
@lalit09
It all depends on how you are building your system and its intended use.
KEF speakers are all rounders. At their price point, they are very good for music and great for HT too.
Models R300 and R3 are very similar in terms of impedance numbers; 8 ohm nominal and 3.2 ohm min.
And they love a bit of drive from the amp to come alive.
I have driven them with Marantz IA, Marantz AVR and the monoblocks.
The AVR clearly struggled; not it's fault, can't expect a 50 Watter perform magic on demanding speakers.
The IA was comfortable but runs hot; it is a high current model claiming 25A peak current.
Monoblocks, which I had before R300 came, drive them with ease. They don't even warm up. I place them as a stack.
With space being a concern for me, low height profile even at the cost of "lower watts" will my preference.
Identify your use case and tread wisely. Take opinions from this forum and others too.
If possible, borrow a decent power amp and insert between your AVR and speakers to hear what is possible.
Cheers,
Raghu
It all depends on how you are building your system and its intended use.
KEF speakers are all rounders. At their price point, they are very good for music and great for HT too.
Models R300 and R3 are very similar in terms of impedance numbers; 8 ohm nominal and 3.2 ohm min.
And they love a bit of drive from the amp to come alive.
I have driven them with Marantz IA, Marantz AVR and the monoblocks.
The AVR clearly struggled; not it's fault, can't expect a 50 Watter perform magic on demanding speakers.
The IA was comfortable but runs hot; it is a high current model claiming 25A peak current.
Monoblocks, which I had before R300 came, drive them with ease. They don't even warm up. I place them as a stack.
With space being a concern for me, low height profile even at the cost of "lower watts" will my preference.
Identify your use case and tread wisely. Take opinions from this forum and others too.
If possible, borrow a decent power amp and insert between your AVR and speakers to hear what is possible.
Cheers,
Raghu
At min 30cm away from all wall and small hole spong in it, i feel they are not very picky about distance, but yes i feel with more power they can perform even better, also avr room correction is helpful.
Good for you. I could not get R300s close to walls and sing. Even with the bungs they were horrible.
Boomy when port was not plugged in; muffled and muddy when bungs were inserted.
In my rig for 2-channel operation room correction is not in play. So pulling them away was the only option.
When controlled by the AVR, room correction kicks in and they are great for movies, but mundane for music.
So I have two positions:
1. HT position; pushed back so that the front baffle is about 21" from wall, no toe-in
2. Music position; pulled in so that the front baffle is about 40" from wall, toe-in sometimes
In both positions, there are no side walls due to an open floor plan.
Without room correction, I have tried to follow what KEF recommends (as practically possible).
Cheers,
Raghu
Long update:
Played around with the Parasound NC 200Pre unit a bit.
Added sub, integrated AVR using HT bypass, and a bit of placement/positioning.
Settled into the AV-Rack (lower row, center cubby hole)
TV/Movies
This position is calibrated as a 3.1 for movies using Marantz's Audessey.
L/R/C are all set to large and are carrying signal 40Hz and above. Sub is fed with LFE set to roll-off at 120 (I think).
Depending on the movie content, I just tweak the channel levels using AVR remote, if necessary.
The NC200Pre is usually in standby mode for TV/Movies. HT bypass is the default in standby.
It just passes whatever is on L/R/Sub input to output.
All family members agreed it is good enough for TV sound.
2-Ch/Music
For music listening, I have found that my ears/room prefer the L/R/Sub pulled into the room.
Front baffle of L/R is 40" from wall behind it (27" inches from rear port). L/R are about 80" apart (tweeter to tweeter).
Main speakers can practically go down to 55Hz in my listening space (my guess).
Sub is pulled in approximately to line up with front baffle plane.
I am currently using the 80Hz (and below) output from preamp, not the full range summed L+R.
Also, high pass filter to L/R on preamp is turned off; they get full range.
The sub is a sealed one, with 8" dual drive and 100W of class A/B amplification.
The positioning of sub is such that the drivers are perpendicular to L/R driver plane.
The sub is a 20-year old unit that can realistically go down to 40Hz. I have nicknamed it "20-40".
Listening Position perspective
This is primarily for music listening.
- The coveted recliner is about 8 ft from speaker plane
- When L/R are facing straight up (no toe-in) the staging is wide and great for background listening
- When L/R are toed in to sweet spot, the imaging is tighter; separation of instruments is wonderful
- DAC which is primarily in OPT mode due to streaming via Chromecast Audio is warm and fatigue free
- USB input via laptop is recommended for full album listening
- Bass is 'taut'; mids/vocals are 'fluid' and highs are 'airy' (using typical audiophile adjectives)
Sub usage and impressions
Sub is dialed in at 50% output and the internal LPF is set to max (effectively off).
I'm relying on the preamp LPF to send 80Hz and below to sub.
Bass/Treble controls are +/- 8 points each; I have not had to use them in the short time I've listened to the rig.
The preamp has a sub on/off control on remote; when "on" it can control the sub level +/- 16 points.
Parasound has done us all a great service by providing remote control of these functions.
On any track, depending on mood, one can engage sub or not.
When engaged, can quickly fine tune the sub level per track using the remote.
On most tracks with a good "beat" the sub brings in a fullness/richness to the presentation.
It does not overwhelm the overall presentation. There is no boom/muddiness or lag.
In fact vocal rich tracks also sound a bit more engaging. Makes me want to sing along (which I do quite often anyway)
This has given me further confidence to seriously explore a REL (or two).
Here is the place where I have to appreciate Onkyo for engineering a good musical sub 20 years ago.
For sub in 2-Ch "fence sitters" (I was one until now), please try it out with the proper gear.
It is a wonderful and enriching experience.
Cheers,
Raghu
Played around with the Parasound NC 200Pre unit a bit.
Added sub, integrated AVR using HT bypass, and a bit of placement/positioning.
Settled into the AV-Rack (lower row, center cubby hole)
TV/Movies
This position is calibrated as a 3.1 for movies using Marantz's Audessey.
L/R/C are all set to large and are carrying signal 40Hz and above. Sub is fed with LFE set to roll-off at 120 (I think).
Depending on the movie content, I just tweak the channel levels using AVR remote, if necessary.
The NC200Pre is usually in standby mode for TV/Movies. HT bypass is the default in standby.
It just passes whatever is on L/R/Sub input to output.
All family members agreed it is good enough for TV sound.
2-Ch/Music
For music listening, I have found that my ears/room prefer the L/R/Sub pulled into the room.
Front baffle of L/R is 40" from wall behind it (27" inches from rear port). L/R are about 80" apart (tweeter to tweeter).
Main speakers can practically go down to 55Hz in my listening space (my guess).
Sub is pulled in approximately to line up with front baffle plane.
I am currently using the 80Hz (and below) output from preamp, not the full range summed L+R.
Also, high pass filter to L/R on preamp is turned off; they get full range.
The sub is a sealed one, with 8" dual drive and 100W of class A/B amplification.
The positioning of sub is such that the drivers are perpendicular to L/R driver plane.
The sub is a 20-year old unit that can realistically go down to 40Hz. I have nicknamed it "20-40".
Listening Position perspective
This is primarily for music listening.
- The coveted recliner is about 8 ft from speaker plane
- When L/R are facing straight up (no toe-in) the staging is wide and great for background listening
- When L/R are toed in to sweet spot, the imaging is tighter; separation of instruments is wonderful
- DAC which is primarily in OPT mode due to streaming via Chromecast Audio is warm and fatigue free
- USB input via laptop is recommended for full album listening
- Bass is 'taut'; mids/vocals are 'fluid' and highs are 'airy' (using typical audiophile adjectives)
Sub usage and impressions
Sub is dialed in at 50% output and the internal LPF is set to max (effectively off).
I'm relying on the preamp LPF to send 80Hz and below to sub.
Bass/Treble controls are +/- 8 points each; I have not had to use them in the short time I've listened to the rig.
The preamp has a sub on/off control on remote; when "on" it can control the sub level +/- 16 points.
Parasound has done us all a great service by providing remote control of these functions.
On any track, depending on mood, one can engage sub or not.
When engaged, can quickly fine tune the sub level per track using the remote.
On most tracks with a good "beat" the sub brings in a fullness/richness to the presentation.
It does not overwhelm the overall presentation. There is no boom/muddiness or lag.
In fact vocal rich tracks also sound a bit more engaging. Makes me want to sing along (which I do quite often anyway
)This has given me further confidence to seriously explore a REL (or two).
Here is the place where I have to appreciate Onkyo for engineering a good musical sub 20 years ago.
For sub in 2-Ch "fence sitters" (I was one until now), please try it out with the proper gear.
It is a wonderful and enriching experience.
Cheers,
Raghu
I
I enquired about 2125 v2 and 2250 v2 power amp they are priced at 89k and 146k which is pricedmore than double than international market. Why almost every hifi product soo expensive in India?
I enquired about 2125 v2 and 2250 v2 power amp they are priced at 89k and 146k which is pricedmore than double than international market. Why almost every hifi product soo expensive in India?
Yes. For some brands, India pricing doesn't follow conventional logic.
Guess it is a demand/supply paradox.
Cheers,
Raghu
Yea new classic is budget line from parasound which is not budget at all in India
In India one cannot understand the logic pertaining to the rates of customs duties & taxes. Unfortunately most of the AV gear is exorbitantly priced. You actually feel bad that you are shelling out your hard earned money on a product that is available at half the price elsewhere. Besides for what you are paying in India, the next model up in the hierarchy is available elsewhere at that price. The duties & taxes should be logical & reasonable.
Last edited:
Ain't it so in India? We hear you buddy.Yea new classic is budget line from parasound which is not budget at all in India
Find that mule service
Cheers,
Raghu
A beautiful, well-constructed speaker with class-leading soundstage, imaging and bass that is fast, deep, and precise.
