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Model: | HCA 3500 |
Category: | Amplifier (SS) |
Suggested Retail Price: | $2195 |
Description: | Stereo Amplifier |
Manufacturer URL: | Parasound |
Review by lucius.morris@verizon.net (D) on December 25, 2004 at 10:44:54 IP Address: 141.156.143.249 | Add Your Review for the HCA 3500 |
Parasound Mod-HCA 3500 ReviewWhy review an amplifier that is >7 years old? Please note that the nomenclature of this amplifier is Mod-HCA 3500, not HCA 3500. And, you might just have an HCA 3500 tucked away on a shelf or in a closet ready to be sent out for a Mod at Empirical Audio by Steve Nugent. Tony at Parasound “technical support department,” refers to the HCA 3500 as the beast. I say amen to that! For Mod-HCA 3500 mod details and JC-1 comparison, see Steve’s web site: http://www.empiricalaudio.com/
My initial impression from my first listening to this amplifier was a startling experience. I first listened with the amp connected to the Von Schweikert Audio VR4-Jr, then the VMPS RM40 (ribbon highbred), and lastly, the Innersound Isis Mk-III (electrostatic highbred). No matter what speaker I tried, my impressions were the same. I was amazed by the sound of all three setups. I had never heard more realistic and robust sound from any other amplifier setup within these speaker systems. Transparency, natural timbre, and sheer musical life, even at loud listening levels, were the best I had heard. Dynamics are superb, and complex music textures are clear. Solo male and female voice and demanding solo instruments (guitar, violins, cello, piano, harpsichord, clarinet, and flute) were as natural as they get. Midrange performance was remarkably neutral. The upper to the low deep bass was earth shaking powerful.
At this point, I had to collect myself from the trance I was in and I began to wonder what was it I was listening to? I began identifying all the system components and they were the same as always with the exception of the Mod-HCA 3500. I was still shocked and in disbelief. How could one component change make such a dramatic difference?
I was hearing deeper into the music than ever before. I was hearing what was on the recording and not the colorations that components add to the sound. I could actually hear clear back into a trumpet and sax the sound of the vibrating reed, the piano hammers striking the keys, the piano’s foot pedal actions, the organ air pumps, the leading edge of percussions being struck, etc. Transparency is the key here. On the down side, you will also hear the effects of bad recordings and front end sources. The top octaves have all the energy, life, air, and detail to make music sound alive – no edge or harshness, no touch of excess or over hang. The Mod-HCA 3500’s freedom from upper-octave coloration means there is no warmth, softness, or euphonically forgiving nature. Listening to well recorded live music is a great joy. You are there in the midst of the action! Sound staging and imaging is outstanding. There is a sense of wall to wall sound with stable demographics of instruments. The 3D effect of the sound stage is very present. Soloist and instruments are out of the speakers and into the room. With your eyes closed, you have a sense of wanting to walk among the performers. The Mod HCA 3500’s superior transparency and resolving power open up and define the sound stage as well as the recording permits. Try some of your Count Basie and Duke Ellington live recordings. Awesome!
In terms of dynamics, power is telling. The beast (Mod-HCA 3500) was a match for the deepest organ and drum recordings I had available. It never ran out of power even at SPL of 117 db on the VMPS STIII/RSE (a 72 inch ribbon and (4) 12” woofers preside). Two stereo amps were used here, the Mod HCA 3500 on the high-end and a second HCA 3500 on the low-end crossed over at 150Hz). I couldn’t resist the urge. For the rest of the review, the Mod-HCA 3500 was used exclusively. The amp generated so much bass energy into the floor, I was prompted to load 87.5 lbs of No. 7 1/5 shot into the Von Schweikert VR4 Jr enclosures. I also readjusted the PR driver in the VMPS RM40s and adjusted the bass level in the Innersound Isis MkIIIs. Bass clarity extended down into the deep bass range. Bass was always tight, vibrant, detailed and deep. Chest pounding! Jazz and blues took on an added touch of realism, and good rock really moved. The dynamics were superb in all areas. Low-level percussion transients leapt out with the speed and definition of the real thing. And complex dynamics of well-recorded solo instruments, close miked, was remarkably lifelike with explosive impact. Listening to Christian Mc Bride “A Family Affair”, Nicholas Payton “Payton’s Place” will push you further back into you seat. Or Houston Person & Ron Carter “Now’s The Time” will lift you out of it.
In terms of nuances, there is no comparison between the non-Mod Parasound HCA 3500 and the Steve Nugent’s Mod HCA 3500 amplifier as how they articulate music. For example: There is a chime percussion instrument in Shirley Horn’s recording with strings “Here’s To Life”, cut 2, that chimes for about 5 seconds. Although the un-mod HCA 3500 lets you here the sound of a chime for the 5 sec duration, the Mod HCA 3500 lets you hear the individual tones of the varying chime lengths. Awesome! The VMPS STIII/RSE speaker system driven by other amplifiers had moved me to the level of “Ecstasy”, but, with two of the Mod HCA 3500s, it will move me to the level of “Nirvana”.
Some comments regarding each speaker’s response to the Mod HCA 3500 follows: The test system components included an Accuphase PD-77 player, Pass Laboratories D1 D/AC (24/96 upgrade), and a X0.2 Pre Amplifier. Analysis Plus Silver Oval and Solo Crystal Oval interconnects were used between the components. Wire World Eclipse III+ (shot gun configuration) bi-wired between the amplifier and the speakers. The 8 AWG Wire World cable was selected for best bass control on all three speaker types. The room size is 18’x 26’x 9’. The VMPS RM40 was the best performer and most of the review was centered on it. The Von Schweikert Audio VR4-Jr was the next best with slightly less transparency and added weight to the music. I couldn’t completely control the large volume of bass this speaker produced. This anomaly affected the low range balance to the rest of the frequency spectrum. The Innersound Electrostatic Isis MkIII sound best when the Innersound ESL 800 mono block amplifiers were connected to it. The ESL 800 delivers 1200 watts into 4 ohms. That’s more than twice the power rating of the Mod HCA 3500. While the Mod HCA 3500 did a great job at low listening levels (below 100db SPL), the Mod JC-1 is a better match because it is rated 1200 watts into a 2 ohm load which is the nominal impedance for electrostatics at high frequencies. The Isis Mk III electrostatic speaker set up with the Innersound ESL 800 mono block amplifiers is one of my reference systems.
In conclusion – I expect that there will be many doubting “Thomas’s” out there regarding the contents of this review. That’s OK! All of us are entitled to our own belief based upon our personal experiences. With my 40 plus years involvement in the high end audio industry, I wrote my new experience as I heard it. But, education is a continuing process and without it we began to lose direction for the future. For those of you who have a Parasound HCA 3500 and want to experience this phenomenal amplifier with Steve Nugent’s Mod, then try it. The results just might make you a believer.
Product Weakness: | Not rated for 2 ohm loads |
Product Strengths: | Power, transparency, dynamics, deep bass |
Associated Equipment for this Review: | |
Amplifier: | HCA 3500 Modified |
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): | Pass Labs X0.2 |
Sources (CDP/Turntable): | Accuphase PD-77 player |
Speakers: | VMPS RM40 |
Cables/Interconnects: | Wire World, Analysis Plus |
Music Used (Genre/Selections): | Jazz, Classical |
Room Size (LxWxH): | 26' x 18' x 9' |
Room Comments/Treatments: | none |
Time Period/Length of Audition: | 3 weeks |
Type of Audition/Review: | Dealer Demo |
Follow Ups:
Your 1st post at the Asylum is a review of this amp? That seems rather odd. Are you a dealer for Parasound, VMPS, Von Schweikert, Innersound or Pass Labs? If the answer is yes then your review amounts to nothing but a self-serving promotion of products you peddle. Would you care to share some of your background to make this review more palpable?
despite the protests and billowing to the contrary (see below-way below). sound mind, your eye is sharp....albeit, the conflict is a small one, it does appear to exist.
Sound Mind - I perceive that you are a melancholy temperament. That’s OK! Often enough, I have been referred to as a melancholy because I frequently point out the negatives before the positives. As in your case, before stating anything positive or negative about the review, you voiced suspicion about the motives or intent of the reviewer. I view your expressions as an act of discernment, which is good, as it provides a measure of protection for the innocent.Be assured that I did not/do not have a hidden agenda for posting the review. My only purpose for posting the review is to bring to the general audio community the value of a modified Parasound HCA 3500, which is currently out of production.
The reason for listing the names of several companies and speaker types is because the posting form and rules require listing all equipment associated with the review. Thus, I thought it only appropriate to account for the impact of each on the resulting sound because the speakers were different and placed different demands upon the amplifier. As the review pointed out, only the electrostatic speaker revealed a weakness in the amp.
I am an electronic engineer graduate from Ohio State University, completed undergraduate studies at Penn State University and post graduate studies at Howard University in the field of electrical engineering. I served in the US Army Signal Corp a total of 6 years in the field of analog and digital electronics. I was employed at John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratories before assuming employment in the US Government. I am now a retired employee from the National Security Agency after 35 years of service. High end audio engineering has been a part time occupation for me over the past 50 years. First, designing and building my own electronics and now a retail dealer in the last 20 years. Engineers are perfectionist and are always pushing the state of the art in all fields. My greatest joy comes from perfecting or giving new life to the once abandon, like the HCA 3500. What I have learned about the field of audio is too much to print here. However, I hope what has been said will ease your mind and that you will be more receptive to the benefits of the review.
I believe that the poster is reviewing the modification of the amp. I do not know whether he sells these or not, but it should not matter for purposes of the review.
CTC made a few of these and even have a picture of one here in my photo gallery as well. Lots of work involved as well as new front plate and top to get rid of the surgisters and install circuit breakers.......Need to replace over 200 parts and delete another hundred or so and get rid of the IR mosfets which allow so much 2nd order harmonics through, but the beast turns into a decent amplifier....Think we build half a dozen of these and they made a really nice, but unwieldy amp at over a hundred pounds....It is way out of production as there was no way to do this without the new metalwork and lots of time involved for an amp that was not as good as the JC-1.......We made the decision not to build any more of these CTC units as few folks would be interested in an amp that was a notch below the JC-1 at similar pricing.......
Bob - actually my version 3500 is superior to my JC-1's, except the JC-1's drive low-impedance speakers a bit better, so better bass tightness. You can hear both of these at CES if you come by. I've actually learned a few things from the 3500 that I will be applying to the JC-1's.
Twice the transformer and 40% more heatsinks make the JC-1 a better place to start than the 3500......We'll be in AP1302, same place as the past few years, if you get a chance and look forward to seeing you Friday night for the annual bash.......Will be sharing with Sound Lab, Parasound, Grand Prix Audio, TG Audio and CTC Builders in that tiny room.......Misty River had to deline to entertain us this year due to illness of one of the band members, but we'll have plenty of beer and pizza...........
Janet and I will definitely be there for your annual Crumpfest. Too bad about Misty River. They are a local favorite and come to our Sisters Folk festival sometimes. We will be at our same room at THE Show, San Tropez 1203, doing some PC audio this year. You should hear it. We give away candy.....and of course, the booth toostie is a major attraction.
Audioengr - I am very much interested in the PC audio system you have assembled. I will not be at the 2005 CES, but plan to be there 2006. Will look you up then.
In many ways, the JC-1 and the HCA-3500 are almost identical. They have the same circuit topology, use many of the same parts in the same places. The JC-1 has a larger power supply per channel, better layout, and an extra output transistor pair for each output stage, in order to support higher sustained output currents.
However, they don't sound the same, especially in stock form. For a few years, we extensively modified the HCA-3500 and made a better sounding amplifier. Our problem was that we also became responsible for any warranty obligations on the unit. This made it unproductive for us to continue with it.
The JC-1 was our chance to put into the design what we had learned from modifying the HCA-3500, and to give it a better circuit layout.
John - I really enjoy working on both of these amps. The main differences that I see that makes them sound different is:1) circuit board partitioning between predriver and output stages is different in the two amps
2) Predriver power regulation is differentI believe that #2 accounts for most of the difference. After CES, I plan to redo the regulation on the JC-1 predriver board and see if that makes it sound more like the 3500. I will probably add low-voltage regulators, so it is double-regulated.
Hi John C. - I don't know if you remember my name or not, but I (Lucius Morris) am one of the east coast dealers for Brian Chaney. We met at one of the CES about 6 or 7 years ago, Brian & his wife, I and my wife, and you dinned together and I realy enjoyed meeting you. I have been a fan of your audio designs going back 20 years. I like your designs very much and now own 4 HCA 3500s, two of which have the Steve Nugent modification. Steve will have one of the modified amps at the 2005 CES. Please look him up there. Steve also own a pr of JC-1s and installed an applicable mod. Currently he thinks the Mod HCA 3500 sounds better and plans to implement some of the HCA 3500 technology into the JC-1. After his development work with the JC-1s, I will acquire a pr for personal use.I have tried to become a dealer for you products, but was turned down due to "Sound Works Audio" being near by and I did not have a walk-in store. I now buy the non "Halo" versions through east coast distributors at above normal dealer cost. If you ever come this way, please stop by. I would appreciate meeting with you again. Please keep in touch.
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