Parasound Halo JC-1

Disclaimer: I'm a dealer, so get out your grains of salt...

My experience is primarily with the amps (and speakers) that I sell, and I don't sell Levinson gear. I can't say that I've heard Levinson amps in a familiar enough environment to make a fair and reliable assessment, but my impression has been that a Levinson amp of comparable power has a bit richer presentation, while the big Parasounds are a bit more lively and maybe a wee bit more articulate. I would say the Levinsons sound more like you're towards the middle or back third of the hall, while the Parasounds are more like the front third of the hall (I'm not talking about depth of image, but about overall "feel"). I can easily seem some speakers or listeners prefering one amp, and some the other. I have reasonable familiarity with several solid state amplifiers that are roughly two and a half times the price of the Parasound, and I think the Parasound is at home amongst them. Again, it's hard to speculate which amp might be the better choice without knowing either the speakers or ears involved.

Duke,
I know from reading your other posts (which are always articulate and well-reasoned) that you're very familiar with Clayton amps. How do compare the M-100s to the JC-1s? My speakers are a 4 ohm load and are ~93 dB.

Thanks for any input.

Bill

Hello Bill,

Thanks for your kind words.

I'd have to say that, between the Clayton M-100 and Parasound JC-1, it would probably depend on the voicing of the speaker.

The only such direct comparison I've made was on a pair of Gradient Revolutions, which are ballpark 85 dB sensitive (4 ohm load) . I'd thought the Claytons were a pretty good match, but the Parasounds made the Revolutions considerably more lively sounding. The owner sold his Claytons and bought a pair of Parasounds.

Now with 93 dB efficient speakers, I'm not sure the extra power of the Parasounds is going to make a significant difference. What speakers do you have? How would you characterize their voicing, and in what area would you like a little improvement?

Best wishes,

Duke

Hi Duke,

Thanks for your response. My speakers are made by Rick Reimer (Reimer Speaker Systems) in Cody, Wy. They are the Wind River GS model which have a ribbon tweeter and a second order series crossover. I love them! I could spew out all sorts of subjective superlatives but the important thing is that I am very, very happy with them. As far as characteristics - they are fast, accurate and revealing. As far as improvements - right now I'm using a Stan Warren-modded Adcom 5400 and I think that the Reimers could make me even happier with "better" amplification. I have a First Sound pre-amp and a Stan Waren-modded Pioneer CD/DVD player as my source (which is also destined for upgrade.)

Again, thanks for your advice.

Kind regards,
Bill