Full Review On My Parasound HCA-1205A *Long* (1 Viewer)

[Angelo_Petralba]

Can you guys tell me, if you can, where you got your amp from and for how much. I will be ordering a 5ES and from all the reviews I think I want to mate it with the Parasound.

Juan-

I got lucky and traded my Used Xbox for it plus a little cash. It really makes a whole lot of difference, Im sure your Divas will be extremely happy with this amp!
I take it the Pioneer never came..thats too bad but hey It will save you a LOT to go the Sony ES route PLUS you are already very familiar with the Sony's so its a WIN WIN situation for you.

Good Luck man and HAPPY LISTENING!!


Angelo

 

[DanaA]

Yes, Ubid is the place to go for Parasound. I think I heard they are an authorized dealer (correct me if I'm wrong anyone). Angelo seems to have gotten some steal. I myself had to pay $40 more than Greg, but I'll never regret it. In fact, after hearing the thing, I can't imagine how I ever lived without it. It has impressed me that much.

 

[DanaA]

Vlad D,
I bet that 855 sounds absolutely fantastic!!! I'm actually thinking of getting one for another room. And, man, what did you pay, $300 or somewhere about there. For the price of a very low end receiver, you have Parasound, with that beautiful etched Parasound logo on top. That's gotta be the audio deal of the century. In the Parasound pamphlet I have, the 850 and 1205 are basically the same, except the power. The only reason the 850 doesn't get a THX ultra certification is that they require it to meet certain power output criteria. Nonetheless, in my opinion, you'd have to literally pay thousands for a receiver which matched the sound put out by Parasounds power supply. If I sound biased, I am. I'm just that gaga over Parasound. I hope everyone is, although I'm sure there are some that wouldn't be. Hell, I feel like starting a Parasound love fest club.

 

[Vlad D]

I heard they are an authorized dealer (correct me if I'm wrong anyone).

Yes, they are an authorized dealer and the amps come with a 10 year parts and 5 year labor warranty from Parasound.
BTW, has anyone checked out the Halo line. Man do they look beautiful!

 

[Angelo_Petralba]

Vlad-
The Halo line will include some MultiChannel amps soon.They are BEAUTIFUL pieces of work!!! They only have Stereo amps right now, but this just means that the "OLDER" or "CLASSIC" line will be CHEAPER to get and we'll ge better deals in the near future.
I know I will be saving for a HCA-2205AT. I know I can probably score one from ubid for around $1300-$1500 shipped.
I must also include that I WOULD LOVE to join the PARASOUND LOVE FEST CLUB.

 

[Greg Haynes]

PARASOUND LOVE FEST CLUB...I like the sound of that Sign me up also
I just checked out the Halo line. Boy is that a classy looking amp.

 

[Vlad D]

I just calibrated my speakers using the Denon's internal test tones (I loaned out my AVIA & VE disks). Anyway, I noticed that I had to turn the levels way down as opposed to before. My fronts and center are -4 and my surrounds are -9. Is this due to the Parasound's amps being more powerful then the Denon's amps? Also, now my lefts and rights are at the same level, whereas before there was a -1 difference b/t L & R. Has anybody else experienced this?

Of course I'm going to re-calibrate with VE. Wonder if I'll get the same results?

 

[James Tg]

I own a 855, and love it very much. Please sign me up. Thanks.

James

 

[Edward M]

Greg Haynes -

I have the following similar equipment and am also looking at the 1205.

1 pair studio 40's
1 pair studio 20's
(soon - another set of 20's or ADP's for surrounds)
studio CC
ACI Titan II LE sub
Denon 3801
Panasonic RV-31 DVD
Sony 5 disk changer used as transport

Another thing we have in common is location...i'm in Pike Creek Delaware.

I also cross everything over at 80Hz and have never really been satisfied with the 3801 for music. My feeling is that the 2205 would be overkill for my situation and the 1205 would fit very well. Have you tried any other amps before your purchase? I'm trying to make that final decision.

Ed ([email protected])

 

[Dan Cabral]

I know I will be saving for a HCA-2205AT. I know I can probably score one from ubid for around $1300-$1500 shipped.

Just so you know, the ones usually being auctioned off on Ubid are the HCA-2205A, not the AT. From my understanding, the only difference is a new faceplate on the AT.
And I just scored one for $1179, so don't look to go too far over that. I'd hate to see you go for $1500 when you can win one for under $1200.
Can't wait to get it.

 

[Angelo_Petralba]

$1200 snds even MORE appealing.
This could be my Xmas present to myself.

 

[Greg Haynes]

Have you tried any other amps?

Edward,

I bought the 1205A without ever seeing or hearing it. I never went to any of my dealers to listen to any other amps. None of my dealers carry Parasound they only have Bryston, Adcom, & Rotel. Not that there is anything wrong with those amps but they were all out of my budget. I hate paying retail so I was going to wait and see if I could score a good deal online or from a HTF member selling a used one.

I bought the 1205A simply because of HTF. There was so MANY people here that had glowing reviews on the 1205A that I knew I couldn't go wrong with buying it. Especially since alot people here have Paradigms matched with Parasound amps.

I wasn't aggressively looking to buy the amp, because I was holding out for a really good deal and then UBID had one for $609. I had to snatch that up. I am so glad that I did.

I'm starting to see alot of people from Delaware here. I would LOVE for us to have a meet.

 

[David Berry]

Greg,

I have a very similar setup: Denon 3802, Paradigm Studio 60v2, Studio CC, Mission 700 bookshelf speakers, and a Sony SCD-C555ES SACD player. I usually listen to music at perhaps 75 dB (around -30 on the Denon). At what level do you normally listen at? My reason for asking is that I am strongly looking at getting the Parasound 1205A even though in Canada we have to pay a premium for it, and want to know if there is a difference at this relatively low listening level.
Thank you.

 

[Greg Haynes]

David,
My listening levels vary. But I usually listening at a higher level then you mentioned. Anywhere around -18 through -10. I definitely believe you will still hear a difference at listening at -30. Especially since you have a SACD player. Especially a very fine player. I noticed an immediate difference with my Redbook CD's. You will notice how clean the music sounds. How quiet the inbetween passages are. The imaging, soundstage, depth, I mean you name it. You will hear all new thing.
The funny thing is I bet if you got this amp I believe you'll want to turn up the volume just to be amazed how great the sound gets the more you turn it up. That's how I was. I kept turning the volume up and the sound was getting better and better. It seemed like the sound was becoming more alive and more detail.
It's ashame you can't pick one of these amp up at UBID. The prices that you have to pay in Canada are high. I don't understand it. It's real drag. But I still think its worth it.
I can't say this is the best amp ever since its the my first amp and I haven't tried any other amps, but I believe the 1205A mates PERFECTLY with Paradigm speakers and you can't go wrong. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the 1205A. I'll never go back to using receiver amps. Now if Denon could ever get around to releasing a pre/pro, my 3802 will be out the door

 

[Angelo_Petralba]

I'll never go back to using receiver amps.

This is the SAME EXACT FEELING I have regarding my HCA-855.
I really do enjoy listening at HIGHER LEVELS without having to worry about HARSH SOUNDING distorted music. This is how MUSIC is supposed to be listened to. I find myself listening to music MORE NOW than movies!!!
LOVEFEST MODE STILL

Angelo

 

[Vlad D]

Now if Denon could ever get around to releasing a pre/pro, my 3802 will be out the door

My sentiments exact. I wonder if they have one in the works?

David,

I agree with Greg, that if you got this amp, I also believe you'll want to turn up the volume. With my 855A the sound definitely gets better the more you turn it up.

 

[Greg Haynes]

I wonder if they have one in the works?

Vlad,
Denon does have pre/pro in the works. I remember reading about it a couple of weeks ago about someone heard from Denon that they are indeed making a pre/pro. I am going to see if I can find the thread. No pricing has been deteremined yet, but I hope its not 3k plus. Especially since Outlaw and Rotel can deliver pre/pros under $1000. Well maybe Rotel is a little more

 

[JoelM]

I bought a 855 a while back from ubid for $309 and was so happy with its results that I searched high and low for a 2003(200x3). I ended up paying $500 for a used one from ebay. I'm using the 855(125@4ohm) for my 4 surrounds and the 2003 for the 3 frontstage speakers and it sounds fantastic. My speakers are the Diva 6.1 package with 2 extra R3's. I originally bi-amped my front mains with the 855 to see the difference and it was a substantial increase for the 2003 upgrade. In any case I was quite skeptical in separates and now I would go no other route.

 

[David Berry]

JoelM,

Are you saying that when you have passively bi-amped your front speakers with the HCA 855A that you noticed a difference? The ball is up in the air for myself that when I get the HCA 1205A to passively bi-amp my front speakers (Paradigm Studio 60v2) and put the one remaining amp to work on the front (Paradigm Studio CC). With this configuration, I would let the Denon 3802 internal amps power the 2 suround bookshelf speakers. I listen to music ~80% of the time, ~20% for movies.
Thanks.

David

 

[Tony Lai]

I run everything thru my 1206 - TV, mp3, radio. The difference on even TV sound is quite apparent. Some of the music they use on the news is much more dynamic, Letterman/Paul Shaffer, even The Today Show's live music acts seem to stand out.

There is some 'drawbacks'. You'll notice that there is quite useful bass on TV and the jingles and score production on TV shows will tend to hit you 110%.

I watched a TV doco series on battleships (like the Missouri class etc.) and everytime the 16" guns went off - so did my main speakers

T.