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In Reply to: RE: Experiences with Parasound & Magnepan? posted by slbenz on November 02, 2015 at 18:17:38
That's interesting, partly because it tends to jibe with my own impression across the two systems -- precisely the comparison I was reluctant to make because it's too uncontrolled. (Can't compare bass at all, though, since the IVA's go an octave deeper.)
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I am using 2 A21 TO BI-amp my MG3a, and I am very satisfied with the sound, I am using 2 SW BW ASW675 and a marchand xm44 3ways. To me this combo has one of the best sound You can get . I have a third A21 to tri -amp but as it sound so good i am not in a hurry to try it.
I'm very pleased with the A21 so far. But of course I don't have a Pass to compare it to!
Hey Josh,
I replaced my pass x-150 with 2 A21s. They were in the same league in terms of sound with the pass being a bit more refined IIRC. Anyhow I didnt miss the Pass and having 2 amps has its advantages.
Look in the archives I talked about it and Waz bought the Pass from me. IIRC he took it to a dealer that had the A21s and said the Pass was a better amp.
I would probably still have the pass if it didnt function as a heater and If the gain was less or adjustable (was using a digital vc at the time). Either way it would be sitting undhooked like my A21s :)
Both are steals for the prices and tha A21s even more so.
Cutting razor sounding violins
Hey, Dawnrazor!
I was thinking of you today when I was researching amps. I didn't know you'd sold your Pass to Wazoo -- he told me in an email a few days ago that the Pass was better, but not radically so. Of course, he may have been trying to preserve my feelings. :-)
I thought briefly about trading up to the Pass but was concerned about the space heater aspect too. John Curl says somewhere that if you want to improve the A-21, you can rebias it until the heat sink is hot or the thermal protection triggers! That would make it more Pass-like I'm sure, but I'm not sure my heart is up to that . . . or my ability to pay the electric bill . . .
Still not sure what I'm going to do amp wise. My MiniDSP is ordered so I'll definitely need another amp. One possibility would be putting the A-21 on the bass and then getting something smaller for higher up since the Neo 8's are so efficient -- Satie has a Mark III on his. I thought about getting an A52 so I could power both the Neos and the ribbon, but I'm afraid it isn't as good as the A21. A51 is a more expensive possibility. Overkill power wise, but it would likely sit in Class A most of the time, given the efficiency of the Neos. And the A23 isn't as good, either.
Was also looking at the HCA-3500, would make a good hefty bass amp and they're pretty cheap. JC has suggested some mods that he says eliminate the HF harshness and make it perform overall like a $5000 amp -- mostly upgraded caps, resistors, rectifiers -- not that I'd need to do them for use as a bass amp. But you can have the mods done for about $600 if you don't want to do them yourself. Looks like with the mods it could be an amazing deal for someone who needs a hefty amp.
So why aren't your amps connected? Is your system down? I thought I was supposed to be the guy who couldn't listen to his gear.
FWIW, that Pass was tweaked a bit by yours truly. Basically I put all kinds of dynamat in there and it was the kind without the aluminum so I couldnt remove it.
My guess is that had a lot to do with the difference Waz heard. Even with the dynamat inside, and I mean all over the place, on caps and the PSu, and well anywhere I could put it. Not sure if I removed all the stuff on the circuit board when I sold it, but at least there was a bunch on the top plate and bottom plate. Even with all that inside the midrange improved when I put it on a sand box....Pretty sure the A21's he heard didnt have that treatment, and they would benefit from some vibration treatment...I am betting you don't go in for that craziness, but for super cheap you can go to Michaels and get a round wooded box. They usually come with lids. Fill with repti-sand and put the legs of the amp in the sand. I use a tennis ball can lid so the amp doesnt sink. Instant sandbox. Buy 4 of course. Made a difference on the Pass.
I am a recovering audiophile so nothing is connected. Long story but I am in an apartment now and the walls are thin. If I connected things and played it I would probably get complaints or encourage others to play their stuff really loud. Also I dont have a room where there are symmetrical walls. Example one wall has a window, and the other one doesnt, etc. So it would be a challenge anyhow.
I am listening to more music though through headphones these days...from my stupid Iphone. Deezer rocks, and I do have songs on a NAS drive if Deezer doesnt have them.
Get your stuff connected dude!
Cutting razor sounding violins
Truth is, I never really thought about vibration in solid-state power amps. Tubes, certainly, when you rapped on the Brook amp my dad had when I was a kid you got quite nice boing -- almost like spring reverb. But I wouldn't rule out the possibility. I haven't heard of any experiments. You could try recording the output of an amp from the terminals while the speakers are powered by another amp, then with the speakers turned off. Then subtract one file from the other and see if there's a difference. Right now, I'll be happy just to get rid of the rattles and buzzes in these old speakers . . . some delam, and also the double-sided tape came unstuck in one of the midranges.
Hey, don't worry about your phone. I'm using my phone right now as a source for the Tympanis, since i haven't had time yet to put my new computer together. I borrowed the Dragonfly DAC from my computer speakers and then installed an app called Audio Tool that lets you play high res audio and control the DAC. Then I use ES File Explorer to stream audio off of my computer to Audio Tool, and they just announced yesterday that they can now stream Tidal. I have an Android phone but I'm sure there's comparable software for iOS.
Also, speaking of headphones, I've been playing with a very cool free VST plug-in called TB Isone that does HRTF correction to take the sound out of your head. No way I'd go back to listening to headphones without it! There's also a driver that works similarly. Of course you'd have to use your computer unless someone has done that for iOS. There's also that box that someone makes that lets you emulate speakers through headphones -- forget its name -- but it uses head tracking to adjust the sound as you move your head so should be even better.
Had the Parsound A21 for about 1 year, then got the Sanders Magtech, the sound was night and day difference.
Parasound would run out of steam and clip, when playing orchestral music on my 3.6R
Sanders Magtech is the best with Magneplanar speakers, well worth the $5.5K, with lifetime warranty.
Previously used Bel Canto 300 Mono, Krell KSA 200, none sounded as good as the Magtech
I've heard nothing but good things about the Magtech. I'm triamping and using a very high efficiency midrange so it's probably out of the question for me bit of I weren't it would probably be my first choice.
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