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REVIEW: Parasound P5 Preamplifier (SS)

Model:	P5
Category:	Preamplifier (SS)
Suggested Retail Price:	$1095
Description:	Stereo preamp / 2.1
Manufacturer URL:	Parasound
Model Picture:	View

Review by hionfi on February 26, 2015 at 05:09:15 IP Address: 67.191.20.149

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Background that led to this review

Back in the early 2000s I was a partner in Audio Tweakers, a hi-end audio business. I rolled a ton of hi-end gear through my living room until maybe 2006. My system cost averaged $30K retail. My partner’s system easily 5-10xs that. I challenged myself to see how close I could get sonically, but his was a faster moving target.

One huge problem was/is my room: It’s 31ft x 19ft x 10ft to the peaked open-beam ceiling. Up/down open stair well on one side. Back ‘wall”, wrapped on 3 sides, with floor to ceiling windows. Zero reinforcement, and prone to audible vibration. To say the least this room is challenging. Making a play on words If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere

The following chronology can be confusing (it certainly tried my memory banks), but you should get the gist...

After several years of a revolving door of amps (including Rogue M150s , which to my ears lacked leading edge speed, even with cryoed KT88 tubes? They could have been 6550s, each rested on its own ERAudio harmonic wooden boards , all resting on Stillpoints with risers, as were most of the other components. No matter, the end result was the same- blunted initial attack. Numerous preamps, transports/dacs, power conditioners, cables and cords, plus exotic isolation devices, from Europe, Asia and US made zipped through.

In the recesses of my mind, I wanted to get off the hamster wheel and simplify with; a quality integrated amp, cd player and speakers.

I think my speakers were Reference 3A MM DeCapos + 2 large Sunfire subs. That was a hot set up

No matter which components, the room was my Achilles Heel.

Pipedreams to the Rescue, or Not

We hooked up with Nearfield Pipedreams. Eventually, we became Nearfield’s quasi sales arm. I got a pair of prototype entry level model ($10K. I forget the name) to test. Each speaker was ~ 6ft tall with something like 8-10 5” drivers and double that in parallel soft dome tweeters. The cabinet was curved, very handsome, beautifully finished. Importantly, they were 90+ dB efficient, and did a great job providing ample highly musical spls in my room. I didn’t own them, but I had full use of them until we had a parting of the ways. I probably could have kept them, but they were a constant reminder of what should have been, and I was pissed- Untamed egos can be very cruel.

My partner naturally loved the top of line Nearfields, being quite intimate with various versions. He went on to create Scaena Loudspeakers- Musical Art. I was fed up with the audio business, and went into commercial real estate. Anyway...

Enter a Simple System, If Briefly

I replaced a GCP with outboard PS, and GCA 250 with a PS Audio GCC 250 amp (with gain cell volume controls), which was moded as new by Underwood HiFi (now in my video system). This eliminated a power cord, 2 custom hi-end shelfs, and exotic isolation devices (chopping off many thousands of dollars). One down, two to go

I bought, an Asian SACD player (don’t recall manufacturer) George Bischoff moded it for me (It started having issues but GB did not want the distributor to see his mods, so it moved to Audio Tweakers’ storage)

What to replace the Nearfield’s with? I had plenty of experience with Accoustat 2 + 2s, which sounded fantastic with their otls, but they needed constant attention. Many a night the sudden cherry red tube glow would harsh my mellow and scare the crap out of me, and many times shock the shit out of me, literally.


I never owned Magnepans, and was curious. About this time I came across a great deal locally and bought 3.5Rs (true ribbons), thinking their large surface area would do the trick, and a new love hate relationship began.

Alas, I was still unable to achieve proper room filling spls, but wow the speed is addictive

The OEM crossovers and GCC 250 weren’t cutting it. I felt there was no way out but to go big again. I found refuge in the Parasound P3 and W4S MC 250/500 (with Jfet input stage).

Although the P3 is not dif balanced, Richard Schram responded to my query as follows : the P 3 and P 5 balanced outputs take full advantage of the superior common mode rejection ratio of balanced lines; at $850 it stretched my then budget, but was the least costly balanced pre.

Biamping requires an active XO. Quality hi-end balanced XOs are expensive. As this was an experiment I went cheap on the XO: first I bought a DBX: when it crashed and burned, a series of Behringer XOs, which eventually did the same, along with several Magnepan ribbons. (3 XOs are available for parts). Alas, the sound was still thin, forcing me to twist the dial on the preamp. Just when it sounded right, BAM, either ribbons or XOs would blow.


The love side began when I replaced the Asian cd player with a Raysonic 168, which had variable balanced tube outs.

After a couple years, I upgraded to the then new Raysonic 228, a HUGE upgrade with massive external power supply. My music was deeply satisfying, while it lasted, but developed loud popping noise on first disc of the day. Tried to get it repaired but Raysonic closed it’s doors and parts were not available. $4800 player that won’t play Can’t find anyone qualified to trouble shoot/fix it. It’s for sale and a great player if you have the skillz to repair it. Music enjoyment was quite high. Audio jewelry, higher still

I feel as though the P5 is getting me close to its’ grandeur again.

It was about the same time (2008) that the real estate market crashed and my audio budget plummeted. Making matters worse, my system was dif balanced

Fortunately, I had a backup cd player a Pioneer Elite PD 65 with Musical Concepts mod that includes outboard power supply. I upgraded the dac chips ~ 4 years ago, but it requires a preamp. Even if not up to current dac standards, it’s a damned fine transport

I also bought a Parasound A23 in my attempt to solve a bit of high frequency stridency. I now realize that the P3 was simply over its’ head in my large room, which is a blessing and a curse

After 5+ years of my Magnepan love/hate relationship, about a year ago I gave up on the 3.5Rs. I found a deal locally on a pair of USA Swan Diva IIs. If they didn’t fill the room, I would move them to my video system where I have PS Audio GCC 250, Wharfdale Diamond 8.1 monitors + the SVS 500w BASH sub. I would love to hear this in a proper sized room, which is way to open for the Wharfdales.

The Divas did a lot to fill the room, but when run full range the bass is woolly. Stuffing the ports removed any and all bass. What to do? I had the 3.5Rs up for sale with zero takers/offers. They were gathering dust against the side walls. I was familiar with Magnepans’ new bass speakers, but they are $750 each, and I would probably need two. One day it hit me, why not experiment, and insert the 3.5Rs, using only the bass panels (each more than twice the surface area of 2 maggie bass speakers) with the Divas as the ‘satellites’, using only the mids/tweeters.

The Horizontal Bop

About a month later I got the bright idea to turn the 3.5Rs HORIZONTAL, thinking down low and wide might help couple the spls in my room. First I tried just one, then quickly both. Now we’re getting somewhere, but...

I reported on this in the AA Planar Speakers Forum. What they did for the warmth and body got a bit overshadowed by not being able to dial in the timing between them due to efficiency differences.
I tried a new power cord, designed by Patrick Cullen, who told me he voiced it to the W4S amp. It has a 15amp IEC, whereas my W4S is 20 amp IEC, so I bought a 15/20 amp bridge. Not sure where in the systems it would land, I tried it on the P3, my Pioneer, CD player, which had the only non Tekline power cord; it being a Eichmann eXpress, and on the MC 250/500. Patrick’s PC headed me in the right direction

Parasound P 5 pre-amp: High-End’s Swiss Army Knife

As the P 3 had served me well over 4+ years, I was most interested in its’ replacement, which was under $1100, and full of features that could help integrate the 2 disparate speakers. I contacted Parasound and was told it was a HUGE step up. Not only that, it incorporates a 192k dac circuit, plus bass management (which might allow me to biamp again, sans crappy XOs), tone controls, AND streaming, which I have not gotten into, but since it’s there ...

My primary motivation for buying it was to increase the spls, which the new power supply could muster by itself, plus better circuit design/parts but the many other features were tantalizing as well.

When it arrived Friday afternoon, I immediately plugged it into an outlet and left it on standby over night, allowing ample time for parts and circuits to warm up. Been listening to specific cds through the P3 for several days to establish a base line. LOL

Saturday morning, listening began, I stayed with simple music. First up Tony Bennett Duets, a fairly common CD. Cut 3 with Amy Winehouse: I hear much deeper into the music. This is the first time I was aware of a male vocal accompaniment

Cut after cut and disc after disc revealed nuances previously MIA, though a little 2 dimensional.

About an hour later, the warmth and drive, which gives recorded music the3-D illusion began to fill my room, pushing past its’ substantial boundaries.

I listened late into the night. It just kept getting better. By better I mean the P5 relaxed more and more, letting more of the music flow with less restriction, increasingly becoming one with the music. String instruments had wonderful texture that had eluded me

My 3 classical favorites are probably hokie to most, but Chip Davis’ Yellowstone, Neil Diamond Jonathan Living Seagull, and Dancing With Wolves, the last 2 are quite repetitive. None- the- less, revealing subtleties previously masked


Day 3: This morning I put on Chip Davis’ Yellowstone, a wonderful mix of classical and nature soundscapes. Understandably, there was still a bit of hardness in large violin section passages, but damn.

Overall, the music is more planted and organic- I think it was/is Sam Tellig who first used the phrase “more fuzz on the peach” (or maybe he just quoted it, giving proper attribute. Time passes the mind fails)- a lot more, along with a much more integrated/continuous ebb and flow of dynamic contrasts, much closer to 3-D. Using plucked instruments as an example, not only do I hear the initial pluck/strum of the strings, but the resonant character/size of the instrument, as well as the air around it. Ditto piano. Real pianos reveal their size and grunt, choruses were easily located, singers readily differentiated

Day 5, but even after day one, IMO, it was obvious to me that the P5 is a dream come true for any reasonable hi-end audio enthusiast, reformed, or otherwise. Purists will gladly spend 10xs as much, with none of the flexibility. Maybe I should hear the JC 2 first.

Clearly, the P5 will break in a lot over the next 100 hours, and yet, my primary goal has been exceeded, as just a drop in replacement for the P3, no matter all the other features (or how much better it gets once it settles in) which could be huge for me

It occurred to me that I had been using the Eichmann eXpress on the W4S. I replaced it with a custom cord Tekline made up specifically for the W4S amp with 20 amp IEC. Within an hour of inserting it some high frequency hardness disappeared that I thought was the P5: thankfully, no.

Listening to Jonathan Living Seagull, the music is lovely; the message is powerful, as was Neil’s voice for the first time in a long time

I am yet to spin Dancing With Wolves

Any speaker timing issues seem overshadowed by the P5s, dare I say majesty?

For the last hour, I have been listening through the Clear Day Cables 1.5m silver IC with Eichmann eXpress RCA. Spinning Chesky K2 Sampler. WOW, it never sounded so big or powerful, or good.

Now I’m really excited because it seems I don’t need much volume adjustment for both sets of speakers to lock in

In Semi-Summation

Maga-Kudos to Parasound.

The bass management, onboard dac, and tone controls will only add layers of icing on this already tasty cake

If I can use the bass management circuit to interface to my MC 250/500 as a 4 channel amp and achieve a proper volume bass/satellite balance, sans external XOs (good balanced ones are $$$$$$), it becomes an even more incredible bargain.

Currently (npi), I am driving both sets of speakers from the W4S 500w monos. I will be doing the 4 channel experiment once I feel the P5 is properly broken in, and I have a handle on its’ overall character.

I am told the bass is summed. No problem. Just buy a second P5 and run them in mono. My idea is to use the 500s for the Maggie bass panels and the 250s for the Diva mid/tweeters.

Eventually, I will go back to the Maggies by themselves, vertically, as I can now see that a big part of me blowing ribbons and XOs was the P3s lack of drive. Don’t get me wrong: in a reasonable sized room and efficient speakers, one could be very happy with it, especially when used ones can be scored below $500. Hint: Go balanced

To be fair to the P3, I will compare it to an experience I had. In 1986 I had a new Corvette (225hp, with gobs of low end torque). I only had it 3 weeks when I got caught in a torrential downpour. From a dead stop I slowly eased around a hard left/right corner. I could not see the deep dip in the apex. Water flooded over the hood, sucking water directly into the intake, blowing the engine on the spot

To my surprise, Chevrolet ordered parts and rebuilt the engine, whch went well past my 30 day car rental reimbursement. I borrowed a current edition Mazda RX 7 until I got the vette back. I recall saying “I had more fun in second gear in my vette than any gear in the RX 7”. Now if you haven't had the vette experience then you could live happily with the RX7, which provides plenty of fun for the money.

Getting back to the P5,

Day 5 update: The short answer is I am in awe. Can’t wrap my mind around how much better the JC 2 should be. Could it possibly be 4Xs better? See Law of Diminishing Returns

The P5 presentation of orchestral music is so good that I am going to reconnect with my 50+ CD Classical library, which was lacking through the P3, at least in my LARGE room. Please keep synergy in mind. Dr John sang “I was in the right vein, but it must have been the wrong arm”

The one change I felt important to make now was to replace the Eichmann eXpress 15 amp IEC power cord (~$350) via 15/20 amp adapter that was powering the W4S. I ordered the W4S with 20 amp IEC as it is a more substantial connection, but was experimenting, trying to reduce the hard edge. I have noticed some amp manufacturers are now providing 20 amp as standard.

Tekline Audio/Mr Cable altered me to the 20 amp IEC prior to buying the MC 250/500. He made up a special PC with 20 amp IEC specifically for the MC 250/500. All the other power cords are Tekline Reference power cords @ $800 http://www.teklineaudio.com/reference_power_cord.htm.

Built in 192K DAC

Even though the P5 is not fully broken in, it isn’t engaging in Jekyll and Hyde, like other products I have broken in, so….. what about that dac?

Will it surpass my Pioneer Elite PD 65 with Musical Concepts mod, including outboard PS? I updated the dac chips some 8 years ago. Fortunately, it does have both optical and coax digital outs, but which to try and which to buy? The good news it’s a great transport

Late last night I caved and connected it. And FYI, being a separate circuit, it too requires break in. Might as well do it now

I don’t have any digital or optical cables, so I inserted my shortest interconnect cable from Eichmann eXpress. It is copper and has their unique RCAs. In spite of not having proper cables, the soundstage was immediately wider, much wider. Diana Krall’s voice was oozing warmth and sexiness. The room felt dark and smoky, I was being transported. I will try my Clear Day Audio pure silver interconnect while I investigate which digital or optical cable to buy

Keep in mind neither the preamp, nor the P5s 192 dac circuit is broken in, and the cable I am using is a compromise PLUS the minor issue of timing adjustment between the sat/subs

How Good Is It?

It’s an awesome product at a ridiculously low price point $1095.

I can’t help but wonder how much better the JC 2 is. Even if it is a quantum leap as a preamp, it has none of the P5s flexibility. If they make a JC 2 with the P5s capabilities, I hope to be a beta tester. Or maybe the JC 2 outputs will plug into the P5s inputs, accessing all those cool features. Mind officially blown. RS are you listening?

It’s now 5:20pm. I have been listening to a wonderful troubadour,Greg Browne, whose music was introduced to me years ago by the one and only Clark Johnsen. CJ, w Any timing issues seem overshadowed by
ish you here to hear it.

Stay tuned for an update

I am itching to try biamping via the bass management circuit, but will let the pre and dac break in a few more days first.

Oh, and tone controls. Too cool for school, unless you’re a purist, but there is a defeat button taking them out of the circuit.

In 30 some years around this hobby, no room I ever had was perfect, so they may well be additive in most situations

and finally Streaming, which I may never get around to, but it’s there

My hunch is they’re every bit as good

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Product Weakness:	Makes me listen to a lot more music
Product Strengths:	Sound stage, warmth, texture, speed, drive, multi-function flexibility, independent balanced circuits

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Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier:	W4S MC 250/500
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Parasound P3
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Pioneer PD 65 as transport
Speakers:	Swan Diva IIs + Magnean 3.5R as bass panels
Cables/Interconnects:	Clear Day Cables- Pure silver XLR & RCA
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	all kinds
Room Size (LxWxH):	34 x 19 x 10
Room Comments/Treatments:	Argent Room Lenses
Time Period/Length of Audition:	5 days
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	PS Audio Premier Power Plant
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner
Your System (if other than home audition):	home audition

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