Parasound HALO C2 in place (1 Viewer)

[John H]

I ordered a C2 from my dealer about 7 days ago. It arrived yesterday.

After setting it up I tested it's DVD performance. I am very impressed with it. I have not tested it with DVD-A/SACD yet.

I used a Parasound AVC-2500 for about 2 years. I sold it about a year ago and have been using a Pioneer VSX-49TX receiver as a pre/pro while long awaiting for the HALO controllers to be released.

I have it mated with a recently purchased B&K Reference 200.7. I had been using a
HCA-2205A/HCA-1500A combination for some time but needed to free up some shelf space.

I am using the 2 very flexible programable channels for my tactile transducer arangement. The HALO controllers have a preout dedicated for tactile transducer use but it utilizes a fixed 20Hz lowpass filter and the level adjustment is controlled by the main SUB/LFE out. I wanted completely independant control over my TT's

(AUX) Programable Channels:

"Each" of the 2 programable channels has independently set high-pass and low-pass filters and provision for mixing content from any or all of the other 8 channels, mixed in any proportion you would like.

The level is adjustable from -15 to +15 dB in 0.5 Hz increments. The delay is adjustable from 0.0 to 80.0 in 0.5 ms increments.

2 fillters can be implemented. Filter type can be "None," "Lowpass," or Highpass"
Filter frequency can be set in 5Hz increments. The high-pass can be set from 20Hz to 18kHz. The lowpass can be set from 20hz to 18kHz.

It doesn't state what slopes are used but I assume it is 12db per octave on the Highpass and 24dB per octave on the lowpass.

The mix levels are in percentages and are adjustable in 1% increments from -100 to +100. The minus values indicate the channels are mixed in with their polarity reveresed.

The piece also offers flexible bass management.

Speaker Setup:

The subwoofers lowpass filter can be set to On or Off. Off if you choose to use an outboard crossover.

It's frequency can be adjusted in 10 Hz increments from 40 Hz to 140 Hz. EDIT: The highpass is a global adjustment that effects all 7 speakers.

It also has the option of sending bass to the subwoofer from channels set to large. This setting can also be engaged and disengaged via a button on the remote.

From what I can see no bass management is available for the 5.1 analog inputs.

The Auto Calibration setup is the same as offered on the AVC-2500. If it has been improved on I can't see it.
Auto Calibration is a nice feature but I still prefer setting up these parameters with a test disk, SPL meter and a tape measure.

John

 

[Mifr44]

Hi John,

The AUX programmable channels are certainly unique. Is there an online document yet that describes how you can set up these channels?

Michael

 

[John H]

Michael,

I don't believe there is any information online available. The HALO C1 and C2 are not even listed yet on the Parasound website although I spoke with them and they should be up within a week.

The manual gives some examples for the uses of the programable channels.

True Stereo Subwoofers,
A Rear Subwoofer handling only surround and back channel bass,
Additional front or center channels,
Ceiling speakers for more seamless front to rear pans or added ambience,
Additional tactile transducers,
A mono channel for hallways and small rooms adjacent to the main zone

My original post outlines all the setup parameter options of the AUX programable channels.

John