Parasound 2205 review {wow} !!! (1 Viewer)

[John Tompkins]

Hi, My name is John and I am an AMPoholic. Its been 5 days since my last amp. I have been through HK PA 5800, Carver 753 and 4.0T, Rotel RB993 and 985, NHT SA-3, McCormack DNA-1 deluxe, Sherwood 9080, Prasound 1201 monos, Sherbourn 5/1500, Citation 7.1 and I'm sure I am missing a few more. I normally would wait longer to evaluate, but I just cant.

Let me get the minor nit-picks out of the way. The inputs on back are a bitch to get to, The binding posts are configured in an up/down manor{you better use bananas} and it seems to run fairly hot.Probably because its so big that I only have an inch or two clearance on the sides. Also it hummed and I had to use a cheater plug.

I knew from about 10 minutes in that this was my last amp. Music listened to Creed, tina Turner, AC/DC, Alisdar Frasier, Sarah McGlaughlin, Blues travelers, Days of the new.

This amp is DYNAMIC, the bass is rock hard and well defined, the mids are sweet and the treble is revealing and not in your face at the same time. I cant explain it but normally when I get a new amp, it seems some type of music isnt right or something is wrong,not so with this amp. I normally have to reposition speakers, move my seat, shut bedroom door etc. to tell myself an amp sounds good. This amp just took over,,,I cant read the volume on denon 4802 so I just turn up volume to comfortable level...I had this thing at -5db, didnt realize it untill my wife came in screaming to turn it down and I couldnt even hear her.

It didnt break up at high volumes, never was harsh and had a sweet quality about it.

This amp is a great match for my NHT 2.9, by the way I had the speakers bi-amped with 4 channels..

My amp sluting days are over. I cant expain it be most of the time if an amp is revealing, it seems bright to me, This amp is revealing at the same time not bright. Drummers beats rock my chest, and symbols sound so clear. Strings are incredible clear. My nhts woofers were moving harder then they ever had. Sarahs voice was so calming. RAVE, RAVE, RAVE ...I hope this helps some nht owners try this before going through a thousound amps....Thanks

 

[Evan S]

John, I had a feeling you would love that amp. Never actually heard one myself but everything I've heard via word of mouth has been spectacular. I'll have to put Parasound on my short list of amps to listen to if I run across a dealer. Glad to find out you are totally happy with your purchase. Gotta love when somebody finds audio nirvana!!!

 

[John Tompkins]

Thanks Evan, I havent listened to any movies yet, as my wife is sleeping now, but I can only imagine with the type of dynamics this thing has, that it will even surpass my wildest expectations
PS. I might have to give that sony 555es player another chance combined with this amp

 

[ScottH]

John,

I'm currently auditioning amps, in fact a lot of the same ones you've owned. I'm definitely planning on auditioning the 2205, but I also am planning on trying the Sherbourn 5-1500. So I have to ask, how long did you have the Sherbourn, and what made you give it up...and what makes the Parasound better in your eyes?

Thanks!

 

[ScottH]

Also...does anyone know what the difference between the 2205A and the 2205AT is?

 

[John Tompkins]

Scott, I only had the Sherbourn for a couple of weeks, I had the bridgeable one. It was a fine amp, but Im just picky...I tried it with 4 channels bi-amped to my 2.9. I had been using the sherwood prior to this amd I must say the sherwood is a nice sounding amp. Anyways when I switched over to sherbourn I really didnt hear that much of a difference, it seems the sherwood was as powerfull as the sherbourn, the sherwood was a bit rolled off, but I kinda liked that sound, The sherbourn just seemed a little edgy, bass was good but didnt seem great, I then bridged and it sounded POWERFUL but a little to harsh for me in bridged mode, almost, dratts!!

The Parasound took me from minute one! the bass is quick and HARD. It was more revealing then the sherbourn, but at the same time, smoother ..I must say I havent had it long enough to evaluate but DAM, this thing sounds good..This is just my opinion and Im not cracking on the sherbourn as its a fine amp..thanks

 

[John Tompkins]

Scott, I was told the only difference between the at and the a was the T stood for thicker faceplate and it matched their newer pre-pro. But I not totally sure. I have the A by the way

 

[ScottH]

Thanks John! Where did you get your Sherbourn and your Parasound and what did you pay? (If you don't mind my asking.) I ask because I'm not too far from you (Baltimore).

 

[Tony Lai]

>My amp slutting days are over.

You've now become a certifed Parasound whore. There seems to be a strong Parasound following here, specifically for John Curl units. I've listened to a number of John Curl Parasound amps and they are largely identical in a good way with a transparent but muscular feel. it seems to me that if I buy another amp, it'll probably be a Parasound stereo poweramp. I have a 1206 as it is and it's superlative.

T.

 

[Brian Schucher]

So John, if the Newcastle could be picked up for 4bills or less than i guess you would say its a steal??

 

[John Tompkins]

Scott, I buy my equipment used most of the time. I got the Sherbourn for 850.00 on audiogon, he was asking 950.00. I also got the parasound on audiogon for 1188.00 and 40.00 shipping.
Brian, The Sherwood got a couple of not so good reviews from some of the rags, and I think there are a few people here that wasnt crazy about it. But I bought one and took a chance for 400.00, My opinion and anybody that knows me knows that I am brutally honest..If it doesnt stack up..its gone. The Sherwood was hard to beat !! It has a nice comfortable sound, its warm for music but still dynamic for home theater..Like I said I think it sounded better then my Highly regarded McCormack dna-1...No flames PLEASE ymmv
Tony..Yes I am a certified parasound whore..but Im the one who pays!!!

 

[Brian Schucher]

well ill know in a few days for myself.. Gonna have to use a Marantz SR700 for pre/pro for a few months.. We'll see how it sounds with my Mirage OM6

 

[Ricky T]

John,
Looks like we are both very happy with our recent purchases I told you the Parasound could easily be your last amp. I used to the 2 channel 205x2 version, 1500A...nice amp. And try driving the 2.9s unbiamped. It's scary how easily the single citation 5.1 amp channels can take my NHT 3.3s, AC2, etc to over 95dB peaks.
btw, that dealer you bought the Parasound from also has a mint MC1 for sale (and the unit is still available for future lexicon trade-ins).

 

[John Tompkins]

Ricky, Beleive me I've already spotted that mc-1
I told myself and my wife by the way, that I would be happy for awhile..Translation.."thats it are your on the couch".
When reviewing the amps, I had the citation almost two years ago and it was with the denon 3300 and the 2.5i, Not really fair as the 4802 and 2.9s are a big step-up, to be honest all I remember was that the citation was Powerful and neutral as neutral could be..The only reason I sold it at the time was to upgrade to my 2.9s
PS..Yes you did tell me, I guess I could have saved alot of time, but I guess that proves that you are OBI-WAN and I am just LUKE...but beware, Im feeling the force//

 

[RicP]

Sarah McGlaughlin

Who? Sarah McLachlan
Incidentally, I'm a Parasound whore too.

 

[John Morris]

JohnT: Congrats on your new amp! The Parasound 2205 / NHT 3.3 matchup was one of the best sounding amp/speaker combos that I have still ever heard. IMO, the slightly warm yet incredibly dynamic 2205 is perfect for the very revealing 3.3s, or in your case the 2.9s. Sit back and just listen, listen, listen and ENJOY!

 

[John Tompkins]

Thanks John!!... RicP, I was lucky to get Sarahs name that close
I was laying in bed last night and thinking about amps, thats right, cutting into my sleep thinking of amps!! Most guys lay around and fantasize about women, I fantasize about amps...well and women to! Man am I demented..Its like that movie, "Lord of the rings" except my ring is a DAM amp. If Im not careful me and my amp will end up in a dark cave just like Gullum..my precious..my precious.
Anyways I was thinking, man that parasound 2205 sounds so good,wouldnt it be nice to let it power the back four speakers along with the center and get the parasound 2200 or hca-3500 to power mains, yea wouldnt that be cool.
I guess it is a 12 step program and Im not yet ready to leave AMPohloics Anonymous..
I guess Im AMPlifying the problem by asking this but..Calling all parasound hca-2200 and hca-3500 owners, What ya think ??
PS.RicP..I know that your right about the hum.and you have now scared me enough for me to look into fixing it properly, by the way exactly which product should I look at on the link you gave me?

 

[John Morris]

I was laying in bed last night and thinking about amps... Anyways I was thinking, man that parasound 2205 sounds so good,wouldnt it be nice to let it power the back four speakers along with the center and get the parasound 2200 or hca-3500 to power mains, yea wouldnt that be cool.

JohnT: Counting Sheep or New Math: Four HCA-3500s + Four dedicated 20amp circuits = 1 wet dream.

 

[RicP]

PS.RicP..I know that your right about the hum.and you have now scared me enough for me to look into fixing it properly, by the way exactly which product should I look at on the link you gave me?

Well the first step is determining the source of the hum. Is it the CATV? is it a polarity mismatch with another component? This is the tough part.
Step 1 is unplug your CATV from the wall, if the hum goes away, there's your culprit. Get a CATV Ground Isolator and you're back in business.
If that doesn't work then you'll need to do the old "remove the interconnects" trick to determine the component that's causing the hum.
Starting from the source, remove the interconnects and listen for the hum. If it ever goes away, the unit that you just removed the interconnects from is the culprit and you'll need to either reverse the polarity on the plug if you can, or trap the DC from travelling through the interconnects.
If you get all the way back to the amp and the hum is still there unless you remove the interconnects from the amp, then you have no choice but to bite the bullet and get a DC isolator for the interconnects. It's pricey, but it's better than lifting ground on a power amp.
Try these docs as well...
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[Geo]

Why do Parasound amps hum? I've had a few and had to use cheater plugs to get rid of the hum.

geo