Parasound 2205, any good?

[dts_boy]

i was in Sevenoaks in manchester today and they have a sale on some of their stuff. they have a display parasound 2205 5 channel power amp going for £1799, is this a good price and how big a difference will it make to M&K speakers (150s and ss150 for rears?) with a denon avc a1se driving them? i was VERY tempted but thought i should do some research before blowing soo much on an amp i have never heard before! also, anyone know of a rack that will take it, it HUGE!!!

 

dts_boy.
I have got a Parasound HCA-2205 power amp.
It is a cracking amp. I used to own a Denon AVC10SE (the one below the origional A1SE).
I thought that sounded good, until i sold it & purchased the Parasound. The difference in my opinion is quite clear.
It is built like a truck, has good quality connections, has 220W X5
onboard, and i believe has no inbuilt cooling fan.
As long as you give it a bit of room to stop heat building up to high, it's fine. It also has front & back grab handles (Thank god!)
although one of the back grab handles is a little too close to the speaker binding posts. They recommend turning each channel up to the 'THX' mark on the dials & let your processor do the talking.
Strange that they didn't put in little detents on the separate channel levels??
I haven't got it fully setup yet due to some decorating, but i can say it is a great performer.
Even with your A1SE, you'll notice the difference. I'm sure you will.
Get a good power chord & Bob's your aunt's sister.
The Denon has fine surround decoding, but the Parasound amplification is superior to the Denon amplification.

Adzman

 

[dts_boy]

thanks for that Adxman, i am not doubting its abilities, just wether that £1800 is a good price or not. there are no other dealers in the area so it limits my choice unless i travel/phone around for one. the size does worry me though, its bigger than a big thing from planet big!

 

dts_boy
I dont think it's a bad price for it. I think that Parasound have got
a newer version of the 2205 out now/soon, but i think they still
retail @ about 2.5K
I paid £1600 for mine (also ex-demo) and havent regretted it.
I had set my heart on a Bryston, but i thought that the Parasound
was a good price for the unit, plus funds had been dispersed in other avenues, so i was more than happy to accommodate the
2205. Yes, it's a biggun & weighs a hefty lump, but it has super build quality. My g/friends dad is a wizard with wood & is building me a custom sized base to stand it on.....
All in all, i'm glad i emptied my wallet for it.

Adam.