Denon2802/Parasound855 troubles? Please Help (1 Viewer)

[JoelM]

I finally got around to hooking this up but I can only hear bass now and nothing through my speakers. Do you have to set-up the Denon so it recognizes the Parasound. I hooked all the speaker wires to the Parasound made sure all the gains are up and hooked the rca's to the Denon. This is correct right? Please Help.

 

[JoelM]

Nevermind WOW what a difference!!!

 

[John Royster]

Do tell...

 

[JoelM]

I have Pink Floyd cracked up SUPER loud as I type...hope I can concentrate. Well I bought 2 parasounds about a month ago and decided to hook them up because I'm on vacation Whoo Hoo. I just received the Diva 6.1 and wanted to hear the sound from the Denon before adding the amp to see the difference. Well what I'm hearing now is fantastic. I used to get this annoying "ticking" when turning in up at higher volumes..GONE. I can push them a lot harder without distortion. I am loving this. I still have to hook a Parasound2003 to my main front stage...maybe later here is a pic...enjoy. http://www.geocities.com/benefic2001...pagerock2.html
What you see here is
32 Vega
Diva 6.1/c3 r3's are in the rear
Parasound855
Denon2802
Sampson1000
(2)SVS25-31CS+ behind the entertainment center

 

[JoelM]

Here's a better pic of it:
http://mediaservice.photoisland.com/...5432161660.jpg

 

[Daniel T]

Joel,

I just received my Parasound 855a on Tuesday and man what a difference. I have an older H/K AVR55 that I love but the 55wx5 in a 18.5x15.5 with cathedral ceiling was not doing the job. I noticed a difference immediately becuase I didn't have to turn the receiver up as much to make my speakers sing. I have Axiom M3(fronts), VP100(center), and QS4(surrounds) along with an Axiom and Infinity sub. I plan to build a Shiva or Tempest DIY sub latter this year. My wife will divorce me if I buy more HT stuff so soon after the amp. I hope you continue to enjoy your new amp. I am now hooked on seperates.

Daniel T

 

[Kevin Deacon]

I sucks when you can't figure out why there is no sound except bass, and then you realize you forgot to turn the amp on. God I hate that!!

 

[James Tg]

Joel:

I have a Parasound to pair with Paradigm Reference speakers. I love it a lot.

James

 

[Marvin]

This Parasound 855 amp has me intrigued. How much space does it require, i.e. is there a minimum amount of space you have to have above it to allow for ventilation?

 

[Daniel T]

Marvin,

The dimensions from the manual are 17"widex5-1/4"HighX16"Deep. The manual recommends if you are not using a fan to allow at leas six inces on each side and above the amplifier and do not close off the front with a cabinet door. If you plan to enclose you must provide an intake and exhaust fan.

I just picked mine up for $320 including shipping from an authorized dealer. Since parasound has released their more expensive Halo series, dealers are trying to get rid of their other stock. At least that is what the dealer I purchased it from was doing. You should be able to find one for $300-$400 dollars right now. That is a good price for this amp since it was retail for $1200 not to long ago. Hope this helps.

Daniel T

 

[Marvin]

Daniel,
Yes, that helps. That bit about a fan complicates things since I'd need to have it enclosed if I bought one. But thanks for the info.

 

[Vlad D]

Daniel,
If you don't mind me asking, who did you order the Parasound from? I'm also intrigued. I been reading so much lately about separates that now I want to experience it for myself. Trouble is that I bought the Denon 2802 just this past December. My wife is going to kill me.

 

[Ken Custodio]

www.ubid.com has some parasound amps for auction. They go for around $300 to $400 on auction. Ubid is supposedly an authorized Parasound dealer so the 10 year warranty is good.
If you do a search for parasound of the web site you will find the auctions, I got a parasound HCA855 for $349 if I recall correctly.

 

[Daniel T]

Vlad,

I got mine from Poole Lumber Co. in Covington, LA. I don't know if he has anymore. Mine was the display unit. He was auctioning it off on EBAY and I was the highest bidder at $355 but did not meet his reserve. This was back at the end of April. I offered to purchase it for $440 but he wanted $470 so I declined. Then about two weeks ago I got an e-mail asking if I was still interested in the Amp and he said he was desperate to sell the amp because of the Halo line. So I offered him $300 and the rest is history. I have noticed since the Halo line has been released that an awful lot of 855s are up for aution on ubid and ebay. Hope this helps. I have had this amp for three days now and love it. I calibrated this afternoon and it sounds incredible. I am hooked on seperates.

Daniel T

 

[Vlad D]

Thanks guys,

I'll check out UBid.

 

[Marvin]

The manual recommends if you are not using a fan to allow at leas six inces on each side and above the amplifier and do not close off the front with a cabinet door. If you plan to enclose you must provide an intake and exhaust fan.

Following up on this, how hot does this amp run? Does everyone adhere to these guidelines? I have my receiver (Denon 2700) in a glassed-in cabinet and it gets kind of warm but it runs with no problem. Do amps run hotter than receivers?

 

[JoelM]

I really can't go by these rules but I do have a fan circulating on them(meaning all separates/gear). Leaving 6 inches on each side is impossible for me. That would basically mean a 30 inch shelve. My left side of my entertainment unit is like a heater though. To bad it's not winter. I'd say my Para's and Sampson run hotter then my Denon but not by much.

 

[Brandon_H]

I'm running an 855a on the bottom of a rack, with an open back but behind a glass door. It has several inches of space (more than six) above but very little on the sides. No fan.
It's never gotten more than warm to the touch, barely warm at that.

 

[Marvin]

Brandon,
Thanks. That's exactly what I wanted to hear. As I said, I'm really intrigued by this amp, though I'd probably need to get a new rack first to have some place to fit it.
As long as I have everyone's (anyone's?) attention, is there anything else I ought to know about this amp while I'm deciding? Does it need a dedicated circuit?
If I were to get it, I'd attach it to a Denon 2700 (which has only 3 pre-outs) to run NHT Super 2's (my mains) and a Super 1 (center). (These are not very efficient speakers - about 86 or 87.)
Joel, sorry about hijacking your thread. I hope you don't mind.

 

[JoelM]

Well I bought the Para2003(200x3) at ebay...finding one new is very hard. I was giving the 855 an extensive workout last night for about 10hours and was very impressed from the change(Denon2802). Today I hooked up th 2003 to the front main stage and it brought out even more musical/HT information then the previous. Went higher, sounded even cleaner. I could have hooked it all up at the same time, but I wanted to see results...and what fun would that be? I have the 855 powering the 2 surrounds and I'm picking up 2 more Diva R3's for the back surrounds. What's even better is that the 855 is 125X5 at 4 ohms so that helps. God I love separates and would have thought that a good receiver was more then capable...boy was I wrong. If you are teetering on the thought, do not hesitate you will be well rewarded.